A Little R & R

I decided to take a little R & R before things get crazy with back to school.  I wanted to spend some time with my family for these final weeks of summer, so I decided a break from writing was in order.  A trip to Kalahari and fun times with friends and family made August fly by.  So, what does school year 2014 bring for me?  Quite a bit, as always:

• Back to teaching two courses at Wayne County Community College.  Thursday evenings and Saturday mornings I head to Northline Road to teach college level English.  I really love this second job!
• Tuesday, I start my 17th year at O.A. Carlson High School.  While public education continues to face challenges, there is no other job for me at this time.  I love my co-workers and students.  Gibraltar is a great place to work.
• I will be running my kids all over as usual.  Gymnastics, religious education, flag football (which I coach as well), and others events "to be determined."  I would not have it any other way.  I love watching my kids enjoy themselves doing things they love.
• My extras: putting on an outdoor movie at Marauder Stadium, putting on a trivia night fundraiser, announcing football games, homecoming, dj gigs....it goes on and on...oh and of course my writing.  I also have big plans for expanding the Gibraltar School District Literacy initiative I oversee.  There is more we can do to spread the importance of literacy to all students of the Gibraltar School District.

So there you have it, tomorrow I will be back for my for my August 2014 Read of the Month Review.  Fasten your seat-belts, school year 2014 is about to begin!!!

August 2014 Read of the Month

My August 2014 Read of the Month is a book I really wanted to read last September.  I have read a few of Harlan Coben's books and I really enjoy his work.  I mentioned that I really enjoyed his character Eric Wu in Tell No One and one of my readers suggested Just One Look because Wu reappears in this title.

I have mentioned before that I usually enjoy Coben's writing.  The action keeps me on the edge of my seat.  Readers can also pick up any Coben book and start reading, his work is not a series.  To be honest I picked up this book at the Trenton Public Library and am already finished.  I enjoyed the book so much I was able to finish it in about three days.  I will still write a full review at the end of the month.

Hard to believe that it is already August.  I will be back teaching classes at Wayne County Community College in just a couple weeks and back at Carlson High School at the end of this month.  I hope everyone is having a great summer!  Keep reading!

July 2014 Read of the Month Review

Where has the summer (if you call it that based upon our recent weather) gone?  It is hard to believe that August is just around the corner.  Although Michigan public schools start after Labor Day, my college courses will be starting before I know it in August.  I sure hope I can balance my time and keep reading and writing.  Well enough of the back to school talk, I need to review my my July 2014 Read of the Month.

I know it is hard to believe, but this was the first time I ever read J. D. Salinger's classic The Catcher in the Rye. I want to start my review by stating this is not going to be some academic review of this classic novel.  There are plenty of those out there if that is what you want to read.  What I will provide is my feelings on reading this novel for the first time at the age of thirty nine.

I loved this book, 5 out of 5 stars from me.  I loved Salinger's main character Holden Caufield, probably because I see a lot of myself in Holden.  Now I am not going to get into some deep analysis over Caufield's mental state, but I will tell you that find myself saying much of the same stuff he says.  I am not depressed at all; but there are many things in this world that annoy me or I dislike (keep an eye on my Twitter account and you will often see what I mean.  When Caufield describes the movie he watched at Radio City Music Hall with "All I can say is, don't see it if you don't want to puke all over yourself" I immediately thought to my self "this is me!"  Some may get annoyed with Caufield's constant repetitions, but I loved his use of language.

After completing this novel I amused that this book is so often challenged.  The content and language may have been "risky" twenty plus years ago, but in 2014 not so much.  Besides a few mentions of the dreaded "F" word I see much worse on network television.  I guess as a librarian I will always find it amusing when books are "challenged." 

I really regret waiting so long to read this novel.   I am sure I will re-read it, just as I do with The Great Gatsby.  I have already started my August 2014 Read of the Month, so keep your eyes open for my choice.  It is a title that has been on my "to read" list for a while.  Happy Reading!

Movie Making via Smartphone....So Much Easier

I still remember when I decided I was going to film and edit digital movies.  It was right after my first child was born in the fall of 2004.  I purchased a "digital" video camera (tape based) specifically for the occasion.  All I needed was some fancy Firewire cable and some "super user-friendly" Movie Maker software and I would be directing numerous classic movies detailing Chloe's every move.

So, what actually happened?  I made one movie....after a long, frustrating struggle with nearly all of the elements involved in the process (camera, wires, computer, software, DVD's, etc).  Things did get a little better when I upgraded to a Mac and the iMovie format and things became even easier as digital video recording spread to hand-held devices.  However, making movies on the computer still involved a good deal of time sitting in my home office hunched over a computer screen.

This Has to Be Easier.....Right?

The other day I decided to give Splice on my iPhone 5 a try for making a movie.  I bought the $1.99 app a while ago for my daughter.  She wanted it to make movies on her iTouch.  All I can say is "wow!"  I was able to make two three minute videos of both Chloe and Nate's gymnastics highlights for the previous year in minutes.  I was able to include photos, video, transitions, text, and audio all while using my iPhone.  It was so easy.

Chloe's Gymnastic Movie via Splice

Now, I have to be honest about a few things.  I am not saying Splice (or Apple's mobile app version of iMovie) are going to be used anytime soon to make full length movies.  However, to just throw something together quickly while watching my kids at swimming lessons nothing beats these app based movie makers.  No headaches and very user friendly.  Obviously, there are more options and "special effects" via a full computer version of editing software.  It is also nice to have precise editing/time marks on a computer.  Making a movie on a smartphone via app requires users to use their fingers for making cuts/time marks.  The final movies also have a few rough transitions, but did come out pretty good.  Most armature movie makes will be satisfied with app based movie makers.

Nate's Gymnastics Highlights and Tribute to Randy Orton via Splice 

While these may not be Oscar winners or technical masterpieces they were very easy to make and were on YouTube within minutes to share with friends and family all over the world.  I find it amazing how digital movie making has become so user-friendly in the recent years.  Does anyone else enjoy making movies via their tablet or smartphone?  I would love to hear what app(s) you enjoy using.

Amazon's "Netflix" for Books

It was only a matter of time, but if you like to read a lot (or listen to audiobooks) Amazon has introduced Kindle Unlimited!  For $9.99 a month subscribers will have access to over 600,000 eBooks via a Kindle or Kindle app and thousands of audio books.  The 600,000 titles is only a small portion of what Amazon fully offers online.  Their current dispute with publisher Hachette may be a reason for a  lack of titles; 600,000 is still a lot of titles.  On Friday, investors seemed to be happy with the plan.

Amazon is not the first company to offer a subscription service for eBooks.  For $8.99 a month Scribd offers access to 400,000 titles and for $9.95 a month Oyster offers access to 500,000 titles.  Also, do not forget that if you are an Amazon Prime member you have access to one book per month free through their lending library.  Lending Library books are only available via Kindle devices.

How Many Books Can You Read in a Month?

Critics have pointed out that this is another step Amazon is taking to kill the physical book.  Also, critics of the Kindle Unlimited plan point out that subscribers would be paying $120 for a library card.  Personally, I do not plan to subscribe to the service at this time.  I may actually buy a Kindle because as a Prime customer I still do not take advantage of the lending library and I would like to do so.  I do not think subscribing to Kindle Unlimited is the same as paying for a library card.  Subscribers would be able to access a book anytime and anywhere they are able to connect to Amazon instead of driving to their local library branch. 

Any big time readers plan to subscribe to Kindle Unlimited?  There is currently a 30 day free trial period available if you want to give it a try.  I would love to hear from anyone that decides to give a try.  Happy Reading!