Preparing to Jump on the Ebook Bandwagon

I spent this evening browsing the iTunes music store for new releases.  Then, after downloading an album, I realized what an inconvenience it was to hook my iPod up to my laptop to sync the new music.  Ideally, I should be able to use my iPod to download music directly, shouldn’t I?  I suppose that’s why people like the iPhone and iTouch.

Then I imagined Don Mills (at the sassy blog, The Problem with Young People Today Is… ) ranting about my tech-savvy, lazy generation.  It wasn’t so long ago when the best way to sample music was to drive to a Sam Goody or Camelot and hope the album you wanted was hooked up to the headphones placed around the store.  I also tended to hang around resale shops like The Record Exchange (before it became The Exchange) and wait until I heard something I liked on their sound system. Then I’d ask, “who does this song?” and buy the album, hoping that the rest of it was as good as the song I’d sampled in the store.  I assume it was similar for Don’s generation:  Go to the record store, browse for something that looked like it might be good, and hope it lived up to your expectations once you got it home and onto the record player.

Now I know I’m a brat.  I get minute-and-a-half samples instantly from iTunes, and I whine that I have to connect my laptop to my iPod before everything is synced.  Synced!  Did that word even have meaning years ago?

But this brings me to the point.  My husband and I are trying to figure out when we’ll be able to visit our bookstore.  He is obsessed with a new series and can’t wait for Amazon’s “Super Saver” 5-8 day shipping.  If we had a Nook or a Kindle, this problem would solve itself.  I admit that it would be nice to download books instantly, but we are both so attached to our paperbacks. We love the look of our crowded book shelves and we love the feel of paper.

Is it time for a sacrifice?  Is it time to join the ebook community?  And if so, how do we decide which reader to buy?  Please weigh in with comments on the Nook, Kindle, and any general experiences you’ve had with ebooks.

© Alexis Jenny, 2011.

Photo by goXunuReviews at Flickr.

The Power of Sound

Image via Wikipedia

Music is the soulful remedy to everything that could ail us.  Regardless of genre preference, we know we can find the right sounds to keep us company, to inspire us, to give us hope, and to help us come to terms with what’s ahead.  Music offers us peace.  With ourselves.  With those around us.  With anything we’re preparing to leave behind.

Music fills the room!  Calms us.  Makes us forget our loneliness, our heartache, our anxiety… whatever it is, we are not really on our own when we have music playing.

After a busy day, music will ground us, give us energy, release mental tension, and lift our spirits.  After a fun night out celebrating, music can wind down our thoughts.  Music can even put us to sleep.  And in the morning, we can listen to music that will wake us and set the tone for our day.

Music can motivate us. To improve ourselves.  To improve our relationships.  To start a project. To exercise a little longer, a little harder.  To stay up late and finish our big assignments.  And when the space around us becomes eerily quiet, music can help us figure out how to enjoy our own company.

So choose your music wisely.  Music should be well-balanced and geared towards your physical, emotional, and mental success.  And really, above all else, you just have to enjoy it.  Without the love of music, music is nothing.

 

© Alexis Jenny, 2011.