Reading

24/24

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Back in December of last year, I set a reading goal of 24 books in 2024. Today I just wrapped that goal up with plenty of time to spare for the remainder of the year.

It was a fitting choice to complete the original classic of Dracula, by Bram Stoker in mid-October and Halloween coming up. I had intended to read other classic monster novels, but for now, I don’t know if my heart is into that.

It happened again, where I reserve multiple titles from the library and they are all 8-24 weeks out. And yet, they all, somehow, become available all at once.

For now, I have decided to read Stephen King’s book, On Writing. A non-fiction book that gives insights into his prolific style.

If interested, you can check out my Reading page to see what was on my digital nightstand.

Hell, you can even take a look at the screenshot too.

Technicolor Kindle

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Do I need a colored e-ink reader? No.

Do I want the colored e-ink reader. Yes!

Amazon is quite stingy with their Kindle trade-in offers though. $25 for a year-old Paperwhite and $5 for an old Fire tablet? $30? Hmm.

I like the option to include Kindle Unlimited reading with the upgrade.

Not now but soon I suppose.

From The Library Of CJD

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I love used bookstores, has it been mentioned? While in Oklahoma I decided to swing by the buy/sell/trade store and pick up some desired reference books such as a dictionary, thesaurus and an encyclopedia. Even the History of the National Geographic Society was grabbed.

Now I am on the look out for an atlas and a globe. These have all been on my list to add for the new study in the new home.

Self-Publishing: Angkor

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Since the early 1990’s I have had a fascination with the ancient Khmer Empire in modern day Cambodia. There is a story there waiting to be told. Over the years, I have researched and tried to keep up with the archeological news. Four years ago I offered a hypothesis regarding the Angkor Wat temple complex and another temple in the mountains to the north. I haven’t read or heard anything related to it so I still make my claim here.

In the meantime, I have decided to do a re-write on a story I started years ago regarding this area and its hidden secrets. The original ideas were too grandiose in my head and it was a challenge to sort it all out. I’ve kept some main ideas but simplified it somewhat. Also made it more relatable and relevant.

When wrapping up a chapter in my writing software (Ulysses), I noticed a feature that allows me to publish in various formats. “What the hell” I thought, so I exported my draft (NOT a final release) in the e.Pub format and figured why not, and sent it to my Kindle.

Moments later I was reading my own writing on an e-book reader!

This was a fun discovery and encourages me to keep going, press publish and read in its entirety. Someday.

25 Books In 2025

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It is never too early to begin mapping out your reading list for the upcoming year, right?

Well, who asked you?

Next year, I’d like to incorporate more Classics and non-fiction titles into the rotation. I’ve come up with fourteen and need a few more.

What would you add to the list? Suggestions welcomed.

Okay, now I am asking you.

As always, the option to add/remove/delete titles are based on availability, new releases, new discoveries and anything else that tickles my fancy.

The “2025 To Read” list so far…

The PDF

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Want to find obscure articles and even unabridged books online? Type your book in the search bar and add .pdf to end of that.

23/24

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I just finished my 23rd out of 24 books to hit my reading goal for the year 2024.

You can catch up with what I’ve been reading on the Bookshelf page of this website.

I’ve mentioned it previously, but shelved the book called “S.” by J.J. Abrams and Doug Dorst until now. It’s a doozy and requires a lot of time to read/process. Now is the time and I can’t think of a better book to hit my end goal.

I’ll not stop after this one of course.

A Look Back

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Once again, I find myself working behind the scenes of this website. This time, I am organizing the backend, the stuff that no one else sees. I am also wrapping up the migration of writings from my previous sites into here for posterity. Such as it is.

It’s been fun to look back and see the previous designs of this site in all of its iterations. I’ve learned a lot, experimented quite a bit, and still have a ways to go. Nowadays, I care more about substance than style and will make an effort to keep the experiments to a minimum. Until then, here are a few screenshots of this site through the years. I wish I could have done the same during the early years.

March 2011
May 2012

18/24

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I just wrapped up a sobering re-read of Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451. A cautionary tale of what happens when books are outlawed and burned upon discovery by firemen. This novel carried more weight for me today, then when I first read it back in junior high.

“A book is a loaded gun in the house next door…Who knows who might be the target of the well-read man?”
― Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451

This completed book takes me to 18 out of my goal of 24 novels read in 2024. Only 6 more to go for the next four months. Hell, I’m sure I can beat 24 and go to 30 by then. But then my desire is more than a goal because there is too much out there I want to consume. None of these include all of reading I have done from the RSS feeds, Substack or magazines offered in the Apple News app!

On the last day of 2023, I mapped out which books I wanted to read this year and it fun to see how it is flexible. The titles changed based on whimsy, discovery, availability and finally, how one book’s theme can affect the next pick. Example- I’ve read mostly fiction this year but have a desire to switch to non-fiction for the next one.

My issue with non-fiction books are that the recent offerings are lacking. I don’t care to read someone’s opinion on a war, politics, historical biographies with “new” information to sway my bias. Self-help books are en vogue for a few months but cannot stand tall over time due to another new craze on the topic.

Under the Library page of this website is a list of the previous readings for the past few years. At the top it will say “Currently Reading.” This is blank for now, purposely.

18 down, 6 to go this year

Unlimited- For Three Months

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Amazon was kind enough to offer a three month trial of Kindle Unlimited. So I installed a few books to the Kindle for reading, because, I.Don’t.Have.Enough.To.Read.As.It.Is.

There are a few titles on the waiting list from my libraries but those will take weeks to deliver and borrow. Thankfully Kindle had them so immediately all of this paid off. Time to speed read the previous two books I borrowed. Zoom Zoom.

Also, how great is it that if there is a word I am not sure about, I can long press the screen and a dictionary will pop up with a definition. Love that feature. With a paper book has a word that needs defining, I’ll have to break out the paper dictionary, you know, like our ancestors did.

Another feature that doesn’t get enough credit is the Highlights and Notes options. When I highlight a word or passage, Kindle sends the meta data to my personal database for later reference. Don’t ask me how because I don’t want to explain all of the heavy scripting and API codes I needed to script to make all of that magic happen.

Above: Highlighted text on Kindle. Below: The same highlighted text sent to my personal database