David Copperfield and the Magic of Amazon WhisperSync
I’m currently reading the classic David Copperfield by Charles Dickens 📚 for the first time. I’m reading it on my Kindle with an add-on $3 splurge of the Audible audiobook. I experimented with WhisperSync many years ago when it was first released and found it buggy. For such a low fee, I thought I would give it another try.
I went from reading last night on my Kindle to listening this morning in the car, to reading again in a waiting room, to listening once more as I did chores. Never once did I lose my place.
I have a love-hate relationship with ebooks and Amazon, but wow — what an immersive, magical reading/listening experience. How did I not know this worked as well as it does?
Currently reading: David Copperfield by Charles Dickens 📚
Finished reading: The Death of Grass by John Christopher 📚
A short 1950s SciFi novel about a virus that kills grasses. Starvation and violence breaks out. Governments fall. Civilization crumbles. Except for the very dated portrayal of women, the story felt current. ★★★★☆
Finished reading: The Reformation by Will Durant 📚
Currently reading: The Death of Grass by John Christopher 📚
How A Hidden Feature in Bear Changed the Way I Review Notes
The Bear app has continued to impress me as a Mac/iPad/iPhone note-taking and writing platform. I switched to Bear from Craft at the beginning of this year and continue to be impressed. Since then, I’ve moved my Day One journal and writing in Ulysses to Bear.
Fellow Micro.blogger @dgreene196 pointed me to Bear’s random widget functionality back in February. Thanks to Devin, I now use these widgets as a kind of ReadWise-style review of my reading and knowledge. It’s been a game-changer. If you’re a Bear user (or Bear-curious!), check out my latest blog post: How A Hidden Feature in Bear Changed the Way I Review Notes.
Finished reading: To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf 📚
An absolute masterpiece. Totally gutted by the end. I can’t believe it took me this long to read it. ★★★★★
Finished reading: Sibley’s Birding Basics by David Allen Sibley 📚
Ah, the inevitable slide into birdwatching. Great introductory guide to help me get started. ★★★★☆
Finished reading: The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin 📚
Characters who love books and reading, lots of fun literary references, a bookstore set on an island … this one could have been written just for me. ★★★★☆
Finished reading: Desperation by Stephen King 📚
Maybe not one of Mr. King’s best efforts, but it was entertaining, and the ending came together better than I expected. ★★★☆☆
Currently reading: Desperation by Stephen King 📚
Tackling the remaining Stephen King books I haven’t read. I usually read fiction on my Kindle, but I have the hardback of this one. I forgot how heavy and unwieldy some of Stephen King books can be!
Finished reading: Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan 📚
I loved this short, spare novella. In 109 pages, Keegan puts you squarely in the mind and body of its protagonist, Furlong. You feel the pangs of long-ago childhood angst, the chill of an Irish cold spell, the ugliness of small town bigotry, the warmth of a coal stove, the despair over the human cruelty. The Irish dialogue felt more like music or birdsong, making me wish my own language wasn’t so ordinary and flat. I felt sad to leave Furlong’s side after so short a visit, but the tale and ending was told in just the right way, with just the right words. ★★★★★
Currently reading: Slow Horses by Mick Herron 📚
Lamb’s laugh wasn’t a genuine surrender to amusement; more of a temporary derangement. Not a laugh you’d want to hear from anyone holding a stick.
I enjoyed the TV series, but the book is even better.
There is no better teacher than history in determining the future. There are answers worth billions of dollars in a $30 history book.📚
Charlie Munger
Finished reading: I Let You Go by Clare Mackintosh 📚 ★★★☆☆
A lifetime of buying books leads to an uncomfortable realization. Blog post: The End of Private Libraries.
Currently reading: I Let You Go by Clare Mackintosh 📚
Finished reading: Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin 📚
This was a good book. I liked the characters and the storyline. The reasons Sam and Sadie found to be mad at the other were a little frustrating, but I think that’s ultimately the lesson they each needed to learn. The portrayal of grief and loss was really well done. ★★★★☆
Thank you @Annie for the recommendation!
Finished reading: The Master & Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov 📚
Currently reading: The Reformation by Will Durant 📚