Lit Bit

   While I generally love being able to hold a book in my hand and read it that way, I can’t deny the convenience and accessibility of e-books. And so I thought I would share a couple of sites with you all. The first one is a site where you can download free e-books in PDF format. I actually heard about this site Wowio from my good friend Skunkie. When I first took a look around Wowio, I didn’t have a lot of time to take much of a gander on the site or even create an account. And tonight, in hopes of finding something new to read, I finally set up an account and downloaded three books. Now of course, these books are technically free, but you do have to succumb to a page in the beginning of the file that is an advertisement for a company that has sponsored the book. Personally I find this to be nothing more than a minor (if even that) inconvenience. No, not even “inconvenience”. More of a slight annoyance that is so slight, I’m not sure why I am even bothering to mention it. That’s how big of a deal it isn’t. For a free book, I can handle one page of advertisement.

   Now PDF files are easy to take with you. Load’em up on a memory stick or email them to yourself so you can access them anywhere. There are even some mobile devices and such that allow you to read PDF files on them. Like my first generation iPod Nano. And also my iPhone, well, sort of. This brings me to another site I wanted to share with my fellow iPhoners that enjoy reading. I was browsing the Apple site one day for wep applications for the iPhone and stumbled across Readdle.com. This application allows you to upload different document type files to their site and then access them from your iPhone. There is a free account that maxes out at 5mb, but there are also paid accounts. I find the free one to work just fine. It holds a few books and I think that is more than enough. I had originally hoped that my iPhone would allow me to read PDF files, but alas, no such luck. Then I had read that you could access PDF files through emails only on the iPhone, but that didn’t work for me either. So, needless to say, I was thrilled to find this web application as a substitute. I’ve already used it to read a book and I found it to function really well with the iPhone touch interface. The size of the text of the PDF document seemed a bit small at first glance, but in relation to other type on the iPhone, it actually wasn’t that big of a deal. Once I got it set up the way I liked, reading a book in Readdle.com worked nicely.

   Another site that I have enjoyed from time to time to get some free e-books is GirleBooks. Now the free e-books on this site are all by female authors and classical literature. It’s a great resource for classic literature by authors like the Brontë sisters, Jane Austen, Mary Shelley, George Eliot, Louisa May Alcott, etc.

   While I will probably always love holding a book in my hand, I also love the fact that these kind of literary resources are available to us. I think it’s a great way of getting literature out there and keeping up with our uber techie generations. I really hope you give these sites a good look and read a book. Also let me know if you’ve heard of any other e-book sites (free or not) that you think are worth a mention or other applications (for any device or OS) that aid in the reading of e-books.

    Okay…so I don’t actually have any screenshots. I have a good reason…well maybe not a good reason, but reason enough. I can’t settle on a wall. I want something bright and summery and I don’t know. I want something that reminds me of the weather we had here today. Something that makes me want to go outside and roll around in the grass (without contemplating how many dogs have recently pissed in it). I’ve gone through my bloated collection of wallpapers, but nothing has really struck that chord. So, naturally, I’m gonna turn to my readers and ask: Do you have any suggestions?

    Since I have completed my classes for the Spring semester, I no longer need the journal entries on the right hand column, each entry it’s own page. But I’m not sure how I want to incorporate them into the regular blogging layout. Since they all have their own pages, converting them into posts means I will have a huge update of posts that are all old journal entries. Or I could just copy and paste them all into one LARGE post and just get it out of the way… I can’t seem to decide. I think I would rather just do one large post, but is that fair to those entries? They do mean something to me. I’m torn. Any ideas?

    I know! I’ve been horribly neglectful these past few weeks and I deeply apologize for my blogging negligence. I made it through the last couple weeks of school (and found out today that I aced all my classes ) and have now been adjusting to a new work schedule this week, which will last my summer vacay. I’ve been itching to get back to serious blogging, but for my first week off of school I have suffered from some serious mental lethargy. But hopefully in the next couple of weeks, I’ll get back on the ball and start posting more.

    The weather was GORGEOUS today… one of those beautiful days where it is the perfect temperature with a slight breeze that keeps you from being hot. I even kept my windows open all day, despite my neighbors that smoke (gag!) and play their stereo ridiculously loud. I couldn’t resist the air and breeze filtering through the apartment. It was one of those days where I just lounged around on the couch reading and flipping channels. The kind of weather that reminds me of being a kid, when summers seemed to go on forever and there was always something to do (even doing nothing was doing something then) and I would run around the neighborhood without shoes on, feet getting black from the asphalt. Oh how I wanted to be a kid again today, get out of my own head, put off my list of to-do’s that I have for the summer. If only it were that easy to shut off my brain.

    Because I do have quite a lot to get done this summer. There is sooo much reading that I want to do and blog on. I’m even thinking of heading over to the campus library and check out some books to read for the summer. My little collection just hasn’t been calling to me lately. I’d like something new to read, something different. Which also means I’m definitely open to suggestions. I also have to start preparing my stuff to graduate in December as well as apply for grad schools this fall. I have to write a letter of intent for the universities I intend on applying too, as well as prepare a sample of my poetry, since I am aiming to apply for creative writing masters programs. Frankly it’s a bit overwhelming if I stop and think about it too long. Especially on top of everything else I want to do this summer. Like paint and draw and knit and crochet and read and read and read. And I need to clean clean clean before I can get anything else done…or at least I should, before I get anything else done.

    I know I have mentioned a few times already how excited I am at the prospect of grad schools and some of the programs I’ve looked into. Have I mentioned how scared shitless I am at the same time? I’m sure I have. I feel as though I’m setting my sights so high for grad schools and I can’t help but have that daunting fear that nobody will want me. My GPA could be better (though it is only lower because of my Elementary Ed classes that I stuck with when I hated the major) and I’m not the most aggressive, out-going type of person. I’m afraid to push too hard, but I’m afraid I may not push for what I want nearly hard enough.

    My biggest ambition for grad school is attending one in a different country. In the UK to be exact. I’ve looked up some Universities in London and I really really really want to go to them. It makes me squirm with anxiety and excitement when I think about the possibility of getting into one of the universities I’ve settled on. And part of me feels like saying this out loud to anyone other than my closest friends, this idea of going out of country for school, will take away the novelty of it, will somehow show everyone how ridiculous I am. Which is stupid, I know. There is nothing silly about going to another country for an education. Hell, my sophomore year at the university I attend now, I had a roommate from Quito, Ecuador.

    And I really want that experience. I really want to push myself out of my comfort zone. I’m too prone to laziness and stagnation. My creative mind is never going to produce anything without new stimulus. Right now is simply the perfect time in my life to do this. If I don’t do something drastic now, I probably never will. I tend to settle too easily, so what’s the harm in dreaming a little this time around? I have no attachments, no kids or husband or boyfriend or any such thing like that. Certainly not a job that is worth sticking around for. So, with nothing to hold me back (except maybe myself), I’m really gonna plunge into this and hope for the best (which would mean being accepted by my first choice in grad schools overseas) and prepare for the worst (which would mean being rejected by all the schools I apply to overseas). Keep your fingers and toes crossed for me, will ya?