Superior Reading

It seems like I have been reading Nevada Barr's Winter Study for a long time now. This is the second book she's set in Isle Royal National Park. I picked it up because it incorporates information about Rolf Peterson's ongoing study of the wolves on the island and as a Yooper, I've read many newspaper accounts of the wolf study in the Houghton Daily Mining Gazette over the years. While the book is as good a story as her others, I guess I'm not really wanting to be reminded of the winter conditions at the end of summer. It's all too soon that the landscape will resemble frozen tundra and we'll all be exhausted just getting bundled up in our winter wear before we can head outside. I have strong recollections of reading another of her books during an outbreak of temperatures ranging down to forty below zero. Her all to vivid descriptions of spelunking in narrow passageways below ground gripped me with a panicky claustrophobia. The tiny house where we stay in Minnesota suddenly seemed the size of a matchbox and I needed space and air. I don't recommend standing outdoors in pj's and robe at midnight when it's forty below..but I had to gulp in huge breaths of fresh cold air and not feel so confined. Now that's GOOD writing!

Finally ALA on the Image Generation Bandwagon

As I've been playing with easy to use image generators online, not to mention free, the thought had often crossed my mind that ALA was missing out on a great opportunity by only offering their READ cd for sale. Since it also required some expensive Photoshop software to create the READ posters in addition to the READ cd , which was not inexpensive itself, the average librarian, operating on a shoestring library budget, would have to think twice about making a major investment for PR.

Imagine my surprise when I came back from vacation to find that they had finally hopped on the bandwagon and placed the ability to generate READ mini-posters online.

If you'd like to try it out for yourself, you can do it here.

More Thing 8

Despite dreading yet another login and password to remember I signed up for PictureTrail, quickly and easily uploaded a small collection of photos, and created a slideshow. It took hardly any time at all (once I had the pictures selected!) Then it was so easy to send the slideshow right to my blog. Only problem was that the first size I sent was a hair too big for my post area so it was cut off. So I went back and edited the size, copied the new info and replaced it in the edit html window of my post. It now fit nicely into the space. But rats! As I watched it, I realized that the picture that should have been last was #7. So back again to Picturetrail to edit my creation. And even that was easy..just drag the pictures where you want them and save the thing. The changes automatically show up in your post. It couldn't have been any easier. Wow, am I glad I tried it. I know I'll be back with some other projects I want to share.

I'd highly recommend this to even novice users as it is so easy to use.

My subject of choice was my grandson engrossed in his book. He didn't even know I was taking the pictures of him as he was so taken with the pictures in his storybook. (I think it was Flotsam by David Wiesner, but I could be mistaken.)

Reading Fun

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