(no subject)

Delia is back at school today. Last night, she was bouncing around with eagerness and declaring that she couldn't possibly sleep. She was up early this morning, too. She claims to have awakened at five, and I have no reason to doubt her. She was definitely awake at six because she came in and asked for a hug.

Surprisingly, I'm feeling awake right now. I didn't expect to. During the school year, I have to get up at seven in order to give Delia time to eat and spin up into alertness. During the summer, I get to sleep until nine. Sleeping until nine seems to be just what my body needs, and I expect I'm going to feel the loss of those two hours (for various reasons, going to bed two hours earlier isn't feasible). I look forward to the days of middle school and high school with more than a little dread when I think of what it will mean for my sleep. (There are other reasons not to look forward to middle and high school. I just try not to think about them.)

Some parents are trying to get the school board to change some of the cost cutting decisions that have been made for this year. I'm torn because, while the results of those decisions are genuinely negative, the district has had a vast amount of money cut from its budget. Something has to go, and the schools were already operating cut close to the bone. Everything that gets cut now is going to hurt somebody. I wish we'd managed to pass that millage a couple of years ago.

(no subject)

Delia is back at school today. Last night, she was bouncing around with eagerness and declaring that she couldn't possibly sleep. She was up early this morning, too. She claims to have awakened at five, and I have no reason to doubt her. She was definitely awake at six because she came in and asked for a hug.

Surprisingly, I'm feeling awake right now. I didn't expect to. During the school year, I have to get up at seven in order to give Delia time to eat and spin up into alertness. During the summer, I get to sleep until nine. Sleeping until nine seems to be just what my body needs, and I expect I'm going to feel the loss of those two hours (for various reasons, going to bed two hours earlier isn't feasible). I look forward to the days of middle school and high school with more than a little dread when I think of what it will mean for my sleep. (There are other reasons not to look forward to middle and high school. I just try not to think about them.)

Some parents are trying to get the school board to change some of the cost cutting decisions that have been made for this year. I'm torn because, while the results of those decisions are genuinely negative, the district has had a vast amount of money cut from its budget. Something has to go, and the schools were already operating cut close to the bone. Everything that gets cut now is going to hurt somebody. I wish we'd managed to pass that millage a couple of years ago.

(no subject)

Out of curiosity-- Does anybody reading this have an e-reader of some sort? I mean like a kindle, nook or something similar. If you do, what do you think of it? What are the good points and the bad points?

I've been thinking about getting some sort of e-reader for many months now. I actually forwent birthday presents back in May to save up for one even though I hadn't really decided that I wanted one, just that I might. I still haven't decided.

My impression is that e-readers won't work with my preferred method of reading books-- starting from both ends and working toward the middle. If I'm wrong about that and there is a reader that will accommodate that, let me know. I'd be glad to be wrong.

My other big hesitation is that I haven't been buying books in the last couple of years. I've been having trouble finding things that I actually want to read. I don't like urban fantasy for the most part, and I don't generally enjoy steampunk. Long fantasy series have been misses for me a lot more often than hits, and I've given up even trying new ones. I don't know if I'd spend the money to try more different things if I didn't have to worry about the physical books cluttering up the house or if I'd still hesitate to spend money when I'm not sure I'll read even as much as a third of the book. I've bought books that I was sure I'd read and have left them sitting for months on my to-be-read pile while I sit at my computer and play solitaire. An e-reader wouldn't change that.

Still, it would be awfully nice to have something portable and lightweight that I could take to soccer practices (an hour and a half this year!) and stick in my purse when I'm going somewhere by bus. It would be nice to be able to read without worrying that my arms will give out if I hold the book at a comfortable distance.

Any recommendations about e-readers or about books I might actually like would be appreciated. (On LJ and DW, I have a tag, 'book logging', for writing about books I've read and a bit about what I liked or didn't about each. I don't like vampires, werecreatures, zombies or unicorns, and I've been tending to have better luck reading middle years books than YA or adult books.)

(no subject)

Out of curiosity-- Does anybody reading this have an e-reader of some sort? I mean like a kindle, nook or something similar. If you do, what do you think of it? What are the good points and the bad points?

I've been thinking about getting some sort of e-reader for many months now. I actually forwent birthday presents back in May to save up for one even though I hadn't really decided that I wanted one, just that I might. I still haven't decided.

My impression is that e-readers won't work with my preferred method of reading books-- starting from both ends and working toward the middle. If I'm wrong about that and there is a reader that will accommodate that, let me know. I'd be glad to be wrong.

My other big hesitation is that I haven't been buying books in the last couple of years. I've been having trouble finding things that I actually want to read. I don't like urban fantasy for the most part, and I don't generally enjoy steampunk. Long fantasy series have been misses for me a lot more often than hits, and I've given up even trying new ones. I don't know if I'd spend the money to try more different things if I didn't have to worry about the physical books cluttering up the house or if I'd still hesitate to spend money when I'm not sure I'll read even as much as a third of the book. I've bought books that I was sure I'd read and have left them sitting for months on my to-be-read pile while I sit at my computer and play solitaire. An e-reader wouldn't change that.

Still, it would be awfully nice to have something portable and lightweight that I could take to soccer practices (an hour and a half this year!) and stick in my purse when I'm going somewhere by bus. It would be nice to be able to read without worrying that my arms will give out if I hold the book at a comfortable distance.

Any recommendations about e-readers or about books I might actually like would be appreciated. (On LJ and DW, I have a tag, 'book logging', for writing about books I've read and a bit about what I liked or didn't about each. I don't like vampires, werecreatures, zombies or unicorns, and I've been tending to have better luck reading middle years books than YA or adult books.)