Kindle-ing an enduring love

A little less than 2 years ago, I got a Kindle. I loved it with all the urgency of a new passion, so I was really sad when, only a few months later, my Kindle's battery refused to charge and I could not read the gazillion books I had downloaded. So I called the Kindle folks at Amazon.com and they replaced my defective Kindle in about two days with a brand spanking new one already filled with all my books! Yay, Team Amazon!

Fast forward to last night. I am readying myself for a bath and looking forward to good long soak and a continuation of the Zombie/Presidential Campaign novel I am reading. But...but...the screen on my Kindle has gone all womlu and despite my attempts to troubleshoot, it appears to be toast. Sadly, I called the Kindle people again, credit card nearby so I could buy a new Kindle. I fully expected to have to buy a new one, because...well, two years usually means no more warranty, right? So you can imagine my surprise and delight when my support person, Catherine, tells me that she will send me a new Kindle right away!! I know, right? How awesome is that??

On reflection, this make so much sense. I am an excellent customer for Kindle and Amazon, having bought 54 books* over the last two years at what is undoubtably a terrific profit margin. Sending me a new one at no charge make me love them even more. I don't know how other e-readers would handle this situation, but Kindle has made me a customer for life!

And the moral of this story? Always make sure you have a real book on hand for when the Kindle goes kaput.


* I know, I know, not exactly a gazillion...

Torn

I am leaving on holiday soon, to a tropical vacation that will involve much hammocking and lounging and, oh yeah, air travel- so I require many books prior to embarking on this journey. As many of you know, I am a most happy member of the Kindle e-book family and have assembled an excellent list of books that I can buy on said Kindle. But I have a problem...sometimes I really like "real" books.

I have some Sookie Stackhouse novels on the list, but since I already have the first 8 in paperback, changing my collection to e-book will leave those books so lonely on the shelf. I want to read the Giller award winning The Sentimentalists, but if I order the e-book, I will miss out on the apparently exquisite hardcover edition. I almost always prefer children's lit in hardcover, because publishing houses usually take a special effort to make them attractive; plus illustrations rarely come through well on the Kindle. So The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate will just have to wait.

And so on and so forth.

I will order some books before I leave, because, honestly, the whole point of the Kindle is not having to haul 10 or more books along with me when I vacation. But I suspect that some of the books might end up being picked up non-electronically in the future.

Heathcliff: romantic hero?

Until this month, I had never read Wuthering Heights. As a matter of fact, until Valentine's Day, I had never seen the movie. (except for the scene where Cathy dies...hasn't everyone seen that?) I was always a Jane Eyre girl rather than a Wuthering Heights girl. Jane and Mr. Rochester always seemed far more interesting and romantic than all the heaving passion that Cathy and Heathcliff seemed to offer.

When I got my Kindle, one of the things I downloaded was the Complete Works of the Brontes. I had been told by other admirers of Charlotte Bronte that I would really enjoy Villette, so I splurged about a buck and a half and got the works. So, having an actual copy of WH in my hands, I figured, why not read it?

I remain unimpressed. In my opinion, WH doesn't hold a candle to JE. And honestly? I am flabbergasted that Heathcliff should be considered any kind of a romantic ideal. He is self-centered, vindictive and charmless. He is deliberately cruel to people and animals. Cathy is narcissistic as well, in addition to being obviously mentally ill. Sure, I get the "tragedy" of their respective social statuses and their love story, but I find it impossible to care about either of such unlikeable characters.

The movie sugarcoats some of Heathcliff's most blatant faults, creating a marginally more sympathetic character. And having a very attractive Laurence Olivier in the role makes him easy on the eyes, but even in the nicer version of the story, I found both Cathy and Heathcliff all angsty and tragic and really, really tiresome.The over-the-top emoting reminded of a singer I really like who had one thing to say about the two of them: "Get therapy!!"

I remain a devoted fan of Jane Eyre. Give me my mad women locked up in the attic, not bemoaning their own stupid decisions, and my romantic heroes sarcastic, intelligent and somewhat immoral, not vindictive, cruel and whining.

You all thought I forgot, didn't you?

Not a real post, but maybe a new start:

I stole this meme from Mindi Scott who stole it from Courtney Summers who stole it from Anna Jarzab.

All of this stealing!

Now you should steal it!

5 Books I’ve Read Recently
1. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
2. Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
3. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
4. The Lost Fleet: Series by Jack Campbell
5. Get Opinionated by Amanda Marcotte

5 Books I’m Planning to Read (in the near future)
1. The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins ( I’m reading this now)
2. Someone Knows My Name by Lawrence Hill
3. A book with Dragon in the title given to me by my school librarian
4. Freefall by Mindi Scott (just waiting for October 17th)
5. Behemoth by Scott Westerfeld (sequel to Leviathan)

5 of My Favorite Books
(I have read all of the below books at LEAST 10 times)
1. The Secret Garden by Frances HodgsonBurnett
2. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
3. The Lord of the Rings by J. R.R. Tolkien
4. In This House of Brede by Rumer Godden
5. Greensleeves by Eloise Jarvis McGraw

5 of My Least Favorite Books
1. Twilight
2. The Great Gatsby
3. The Sun Also Rises
4. Flowers in the Attic (the only one that I was unable to get past the first page because it was so horribly written)
5. Atlas Shrugged (okay, I haven’t actually read it, but I hate it on principal)


5 of My Favorite Book-to-Film Adaptations
1. Pride and Prejudice (BBC adaptation with Colin Firth…yum)
2. The Joy Luck Club
3. The Lord of the Rings
4. Jaws
5. The Celluloid Closet

Added for my own personal enjoyment:
5 of My Favorite Book-to-Broadway Musical Adaptation
1. Les Miserables
2. Wicked
3. Cabaret (I am the Camera)
4. Guys and Dolls (Various stories by Damon Runyon)
5. The Secret Garden

Here is my current stack of books to read. These do not include the 4 or 5 I have up at the boat. Why, then, do I keep wanting to buy more?? Please stop me.

25 things about me

I have been tagged at least three times for this. Finally, I am getting around to doing it.

1. My paternal grandparents lived in Southern California, so during a large part of my childhood, my family managed to take us to Disneyland once a year. I have probably been there at least ten times. Although I loved many of the rides, my favourite was always Peter Pan. I still get a tingle when I hear Peter say "Here we goooooo!!"

2. When I was very small, I used to listen to my parent's recording of "HMS Pinafore" endlessly. The vinyl discs were stored in a cardboard case, with a photograph of the D'oyly Carte production. When D'oyly Carte came to San Francisco with their production, my parents took me to see it. The curtain rose, and the set was the exact same as the album cover!! I was amazed and delighted, as only a 7 year old can be.

3. I hate peas. I often pick them out of my food.

4. I have been fired three times.

5. I have always alphabetized my music collection. I have never alphabetized my book collection.

6. Speaking of books, I own over a hundred Star Trek novels.

7. For my university graduation present, my parents gave me $1000, which I spent on a week-long trip to New York City. The first two nights I spent at a hotel on Times Square, then I crashed (illegally) at a dorm room at Columbia with a girl I met my second night in town.

8. I drink my coffee black, but I like a bit of sweetener in my tea.

9. I have seen Barry Manilow in concert 4 times, Bette Midler 3 times, the Indigo Girls 3 times, and Barbra Streisand once. No, I am not a gay man.

10. My parents always wanted me to get straight A's in high school. I did not comply. However, when I returned to school at 44 years of age, I got my first (and only) straight A report card.

11. My sun sign is Virgo. My rising sign is Aries. My moon is also in Aries and Mercury is in Virgo. This means I am outgoing, impulsive, and critical. Who says astrology is a load of hooey???

12. The first album I owned was "Magical Mystery Tour" which I bought at the Bell Market grocery store.

13. Nearly every pair of shoes I own is black. Same goes for my dress pants.

14. I went to camp for two weeks each summer for 3 years. My best activities were archery and riflery.

15. Mickey was my favourite Monkee. I really didn't have a favourite Beatle until I was in my twenties and saw A Hard Days Night. Then I fell in love with John.

16. I am happy eating the same thing for breakfast and the same thing for lunch every single day.

17. I have lived in Canada for 9 years. I can't vote here, because I am not a citizen, but I have voted in every U.S. federal election since I was 18 years old.

18. My first car was an orange Honda CVCC. It was the size of a postage stamp. Seriously.

19. In 2001, I moved into a new home. That was the first time in my life I had ever painted a wall.

20. I love to cook. I rarely use recipes any more. And when I do use them, I rarely do everything the way the author does.

21. I can't tell you what my favourite movie or book is; there are just too many to choose from. However, my favourite musical is Sunday in the Park with George.

22. I find it nearly impossible to fall asleep in a seated position. Or when the television is on.

23. On February 17th, I will celebrate my 9th wedding anniversary. On March 24th, I will have been married to my current husband longer than I was married to my first husband.

24. I can usually identify, by name, an episode of ST:TOS within 1 minute of viewing.

25. Since my birth, the number of animals I have lived with is 11 cats, 8 dogs, two budgies, one hamster, one parrot and one rat.