The Geekly Reader

So for a techno-geek, I guess I am a little behind the times for not having an e-reader.  I still read the "old fashion" way, with book in hand.  I never really did get away from print books.  I have never used an audio book.  However, I love gadgets, and love reading, so I had to at least check out the various e-readers available to consumers currently.  Now this is not going to be a in-depth review of all the e-readers out there, I don't have the time for that.  This is more of an introduction as to what is currently available.  If you are looking for in-depth reviews, there are many great technology sites out there.  I always start with http://www.cnet.com/ . Both the  Digital Reader from Sony and  the Amazon Kindle   (photo above) use e ink technology.  E ink technology is designed to mimic actual ink on paper (Barnes and Nobel offers a similar reader known as The Nook).  The E ink technology allows users to read in bright sun light (something difficult to acc

So, how many of you have remember using an old style, card catalog?  You know, you want to find a book in your local library, so you pull out the long drawers flipping through cards.  Well those days are long gone of course (thankfully) and nearly all libraries use an electronic catalog system to keep track of their collections.  Many of the school districts in Wayne County are using a system developed by Follett .  It is a great system for school age children and prepares them for many of the advanced catalogs available in public and university libraries. Catalog software is quite expensive and really impractical for home libraries.  Some book lovers may create their own spreadsheet or database to keep track of their books, however there is a great (free) tool online to not only catalog your books, but also meet and communicate with other book lovers online.  The site  librarything.com is a wonderful site that lets you catalog your own home library.  Think of it as a "Facebook

I must admit, ever since I bought a notebook computer a few years ago to replace an aging desktop, I find myself watching less television at night and spend more time surfing the web from my couch.  This is especially true regarding watching the news.  I never watch the news anymore now that I have my notebook on my lap.  If I want to catch up on the events of the day I will go through a rotation of sites from various newspapers, television stations, magazines and cable channels. That brings me to my post tonight, while surfing around at CNN's web site I stumbled across two articles relating to books and/or libraries.  I found it kind of strange for such a big network site to have such stories as a focus this evening.  I guess it was a sign for me to write tonight. Bob Greene wrote  an interesting piece on "book jackets" and their possible demise thanks to e-books.  I never really though of book jackets as art, but Greene raises many good points.  At one point, cove

Greetings, and welcome to my blog, The Geekly Reader .  I am very excited about the partnership between The News Herald and a group of Downriver Bloggers.  When Karl Ziomek, Managing Editor for The News Herald, put out the call for local bloggers to join the team, I immediately fired off an email to express my interest.  My idea for a blog was simple; write about what I know (just like any writing teacher will tell their students).  My focus will be on technology and literacy.  I love gadgets and I love to read. Here is a little about myself, besides the little bio to the side.  I am a life-long Downriver resident (except for a few years during elementary school when the family moved to the Chicago area).  After graduating from Carlson High School in Gibraltar, I earned a degree in Secondary Education from Eastern Michigan University.  After graduating from Eastern I was quickly teaching language arts right back at Carlson High School.  I then went back to Eastern for a Masters degr