What's up?/General discussion

*headdesk* Wrote out a full reply but pressed the wrong button and lost it all! ARGH!

But yes, nursing is pretty rough for me. I am just hoping to hang out for the one and half years I have left.

I don't read much non-fiction, preferring genre fiction.

There is Breaking the Bamboo Ceiling by Jane Hyun.

Do you like philosophy? I really enjoyed Plato and the Platypus Walk into a Bar, and Aristotle and the Aardvark Go to Washington wasn't bad either.

I recently read Sh*t My Dad Says which was really fun. I listened to the audiobook version, and the narrator was pretty good.

I also liked Learn Me Good by John Pearson, an engineer turned teacher who wrote about his first year teaching. It is self-published, and I think I got it for $0.99 on Amazon.com.

I had to read How Doctors Think by Jerome Groopman for a pre-req course, which I found rather interesting. I heard that Mountains Beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder was good. Since I heard a dramatized reading of Critical Care by Theresa Brown, R.N., I have been interested in reading it.

I've stalled on reading three non-fiction books: A Life In Secrets: Vera Atkins and the Missing Agents of WWII by Sarah Helm; Rise, Let Us Be on Our Way by John Paul, II; and A Priest Forever: The Life of Father Eugene Hamilton by Benedict J. Groeschel. None of them are uninteresting. Non-fiction is just not a genre I'm keenly interested in reading. However, I do have to admit that Rise, Let Us Be on Our Way is pretty dry, or maybe it's the narrator since I was listening to the audiobook version. Hopefully, I will complete these three by the end of the year. I also hope to read Heidegger and a Hippo Walk Through the Pearly Gates and Viva la Repartee: Clever Comebacks and Witty Retorts from History's Great Wits and Wordsmiths this year as well.

Ugh, I hate when that happens. Especially with e-mails. Thank goodness for the auto-save features.

I've never read a book on philosophy before but Plato and the Platypus Walk into a Bar sounds pretty interesting. I'll be sure to check it out the next time I go to the library.

I use to read a lot of fiction but it's hard to focus on the characters and the story when real life is so busy. Plus with fiction I sometimes lose track of time... :S Haven't read a good fiction book in years! I'm currently reading People and Empires by Pagden and seems interesting so far. None of my school books are very fun reads... great for reading right before bed though. Knocks you right out. For one course last semester, I read he Business of Women: Marriage, Family, and Entrepreneurship in British Columbia, 1901-51; 200+ pages on what could have been summed up in a page. Even the professor told us it was a really boring book but that it was mandatory for us to read anyway. I heard they switched it this semester to something different. :I

Plato and the Platypus was rather fun. It's kind of like Philosophy 101 for Jokesters.

Perhaps you might want to consider checking out fiction audiobooks from the library. You can listen to them while you clean, exercise, cook, travel, or maybe even eat. Although not a huge fan of audiobooks myself, I am listening more and more to it, especially if they are dramatized or a Radio Theater version which are more fun than having a single narrator read aloud.

I read an excerpt and it seemed pretty good so I put it on hold at the library. I prefer reading a hard copy of a book versus electronic or audio since it's easier to flip back and forth. Also, I'm a terrible listener. I'll get distracted by the easiest things and tend to zone out quite a lot. However, I do prefer electronic textbooks. So much lighter.

That's what I thought as well but I am reading more e-books than hard copies because of several reasons:

1. No shelf space. My father warns me not to buy anymore books and complains about how many books I've got.

2. Easier to read under the covers at night.

3. Instant gratification.



I started becoming more interested in audiobooks after listening to a couple of Radio Theatre ones. Those are basically voice acting and they are more interesting to listen to than regular narrations. They have sound effects and soundtrack included. It's kind of like turning on the television or film to listen while you do something else.

And then there are the few special few narrators who are wonderful storytellers and make story come alive. I have seen this in action when I used to do an observation of a K-1 classroom (one of the teachers was a great storyteller) and my own aunt. I haven't come across a narrator like this who reads a book I'm interested in though (mostly children's books).

The two Radio Theatre ones I've tried are The Chronicles of Narnia and Anne of Green Gables. If at any time you are interested in checking them out, I recommend trying The Chronicles of Narnia over Anne of Green Gables though. I liked that one better.

While I did find my mind wandering while I listened to Shelly Frasier's Anne of Avonlea (I was also reading along on an e-book copy and would often read ahead ^_^), I find that this happens far less often with the Radio Theatre versions.

What I like about the audiobooks:

1. I can listen to it while I'm doing things I can't do and read simultaneously i.e. cooking, cleaning, dishes, working out, while walking from subway to location and back, etc.

2. It is also easy to listen to audiobooks at night before bed.

It's funny what you say about electronic textbooks. I am not that fond of them myself, to be honest, but that sentiment is definitely flavored by my current "textbooks online" deal with the textbooks I have right now. They are online, not user-friendly, do not have bookmarking or highlighting capabilities, and when I scroll down, a wide vertical streak of color hides half the text! *gnashes teeth* Thank goodness I have hard copies, anyway.

I definitely need the hard copies for textbooks, especially if they come with important diagrams and images that are not as convenient to look at electronically. If I can't get a binder version, I just cut the bindings on the textbooks so that my load is lighter. It definitely drops resale value, but at least I can carry it around and read it, right? I find it easier to read a hard copy of books, and I find it easier to highlight, underline and make notes on hard copies rather than electronic versions. The electronic versions are definitely more convenient on a commute though.

I've listened to some of my mom's audio books but I find I just can't do it. I have a lot of difficulties with listening. If my eyes so as much wanders if I'm doing anything, I'll be guaranteed to be distracted. I find with an actual book I'll be less distracted cause all my attention will be diverted to it... so for now, I'll stick to reading physical books. I borrow most of mine from the library since I don't have a lot of shelf space either. I do buy the occasional book if I feel it was really good and rereadable (though the latter is super rare so I own very few books that aren't reference books.)

I read Chronicles of Narnia when I was a kid. The series ending was really disappointing to me. Funnily, I own one book from Anne of Green Gables series which is Anne of Avonlea... but I really didn't like the writing style. I loved the television series though and I ended up visiting Green Gables in P.E.I. It was really lovely!

As for sleeping, I am usually so exhausted I just pass right out. Plus my schedule is pretty tight so even if I can't sleep, I force myself to so I can get as much rest as possible. Same goes for reading on commute. I just sleep during my commute. Way to tired to read. I make notes for all my readings and just read those instead. I keep my hard copies at home for notes and use the electronic copies in class. They are far too heavy to lug around and I can't bring myself to breaking them.