171 Books, Real Books

Books, Real Books!

I had a conversation with a used book dealer the other day. He dealt in military books and said that people are buying fewer books than they used to. He said that only older people buy physical books because the younger generation buys only ebooks.

As someone who once loved ebooks and now only uses them occasionally when traveling, I wondered about that. So I googled the whole question. Interesting results!

A study in 2016 found that ebooks sales were dropping while books sales were rising. However, ebooks are great for public transportation commuters, low vision readers, and are usually cheaper than their printed counterparts. Worldwide, ebook sales are expected to be one quarter of all books sales in 2018.

Students prefer books they can mark in and remember more from printed reading, according to research studies. They also have trouble avoiding checking social media or playing games while reading an ebook on the same device. Light-emitting ebook readers also can harm sleep while reading a book does not. I saved my college philosophy book for many years because it could put me to sleep so quickly. 

For picture books, to me, nothing beats paper illustrations. Not just because they are so much larger but the colors are much more vivid! Happy 50th birthday to Eric Carle and the Very Hungry Caterpillar! Which brings me to another point. Many of us still have this book on our shelves. A good physical book is a good memory that you see and have to read again!

Many readers who prefer books cite the tactile sensations of smelling the book, feeling the physical weight of the book, turning the pages and seeing their progress as they turn them. I remember a special passage being on a certain part of the page such as the top of the right page. Can you picture a book club all turning to the same page on their ebook readers? 

Physical books encourage serendipitous discovery whether in a library or a bookstore. Certainly, when doing research, I have discovered great resources one shelf down or over in the library stacks!

And a throw-away paperback on the beach is much better than sand and an e-reader!

So I will use the occasional ebook but certainly not one quarter of my reading time--more like one tenth!

What about you? What and when are your reading preferences?

Physical book savvy Trish                     

170 Nostalgic September

FALL: Nostalgic September

Dear Readers, I am curious to know when your “new year” starts. It’s now Fall! My new year, as far back as I can remember, started in September. Maybe it was going back to school? The idea of having a clean slate was a new box of crayons–-untouched, unsullied, unbroken. 

The feeling of remembering is a little bit bittersweet. I think this is a good definition of nostalgia. Yes, I could still go buy a new box of crayons but the need and yen for them are gone except in my memory. And new shoes for school, mom’s choice, not mine.

And I just found this cartoon appropriate and funny: 












The granddaughter has just started school this past Monday. Wonder what she will remember? I hope school provides her with wonderful memories.

Over the years, others must have agreed that September is the beginning of a new year. I recall the old poem we all memorized to know how many days are in each month. Our learning the months--just look--it starts with September! 

Add to these memories, the smell of newly baled hay, the crunch of kicking fallen leaves, and, oh, the parents putting us all in the car on Sunday afternoons for a ride to see the fall foliage or pick some apples along the way. 

Well, maybe that goes on the negative nostalgia list as I was wedged in the backseat between two toddlers! And I was in elementary school. Humpf! Too grown up for this, I am sure! And likely not very nice about it!!





Just thought of something else in the nostalgia area of riding in cars: I wish we still had this control in the car! I think of running into deep water, being submerged, and the car’s electrical system won’t work. Wouldn’t it be nice to have this--just roll down the window to swim to survival!

I get nostalgic not only about the smells of September but football games, playing field hockey (I was a mean left wing), brisk nights, and things we just are not able to do anymore--riding bikes without helmets, playing flashlight tag with no supervision, and watching starry skies.

I think it was 1954 when we got our first television. Watching was limited, but I Love Lucy, Gunsmoke, and many news broadcasts were the staples! As a kid, I was the “remote.” Daddy saying: “change to channel 4.” Maybe the remote control ended family togetherness on Sunday afternoons? 

Then there was Blockbuster, (found my card in a desk drawer not long ago), now we have email, texting, tweeting, streaming, Hulu, and Netflix. [Research topic, maybe?]

And, of course, the personal computer has helped erode our need for family interaction. Right now, for example, the dear husband is upstairs in his man cave half-watching something on TV with a newspaper on his lap and I am downstairs on the computer.

So, September has one more week to go. I am feeling nostalgic for the “good old days” when I think life might have been simpler with fewer responsibilities. Maybe the rains are gone for a while and we can enjoy the new fall days.

Wishing you crisp apples and winning football! 

Savvy Glenne                          

169 Charlotteville

Return to Charlottesville

In 1968, my husband and I moved to the Shenandoah Valley and began our teaching careers. We were soon introduced to graduate school at the University of Virginia and began our pursuit of advanced work during the summer on the lovely campus in Charlottesville.

After graduate school, we added to our family and got very busy, but we never forgot our early days at UVA. We often did return for basketball and football games.

Last summer, Charlottesville made the national news when a white nationalist group held a march and counter-protests were organized. We could not believe this was happening. The news revealed the events as tempers flared and a peaceful resolution was not in the cards. One young lady lost her life as well as two state troopers during the tumultuous events.

The removal of a statue of Robert E. Lee was the impetus of the protest. We had no idea the statue even existed. What terrible times had fallen on Charlottesville.

This summer, since we hadn’t visited the campus in years, we wanted to see friends who still live there. We needed to find out for ourselves how things had changed and what effect this terrible event had on the community.

We set a date in July and met on the Corner across from the campus. We could see the Rotunda from the street. Nothing appeared to have changed as far as the campus and the hustle and bustle of the street. When talking to our friends about last year’s events, they related how they had attended gatherings that addressed what had happened and felt the meetings were helping.

After lunch, we headed to the downtown walking mall near where the violent events of the march had taken place. We had visited there many times in past years.

One block off the mall, we came face to face with the statue of Robert E. Lee on a horse. It was far bigger than we thought and was perched on a very small plot of land. We had no idea it had been there all these years. We had lived, studied, and visited in Charlottesville for decades without any idea this relic from the past existed.

The silence of the small park was overwhelming. I could not bring myself to take a photo, and if you talked to my family that is most uncharacteristic of me. I never miss a chance for a photo so I am not sure why I did not have the urge to do so.

What a contrast this small area was from the vibrancy and vitality of the walking mall, filled with a variety of ethnicities embracing the sights, sounds, and tastes of a diverse population of visitors and residents.

Nothing seemed to have changed visibly in Charlottesville, but there have to be scars underneath the surface for those who attended the protest and survived. 

This August did not bring a repeat of last year’s disastrous event, thank goodness, so we can hope that it will not happen again. This definitely proves we must resolve

 differences in ways that do not result in violence, whether this close to our home or across the country or world. Please join me in keeping peaceful dialogue circulating through blogs, letters, social media, or any other way you communicate. It can only help to talk about our differences!

Savvy Frances                    

168 Planning your own funeral

Planning your own funeral

I have noticed recently that there are many obituaries in the newspaper with what looks like high-school photographs of people who were 70 or 80 years old when they died.

I am not sure anyone would recognize this photo as Trish Ridgeway if it were attached to an obituary. It is somewhat different for me since I moved around as a Navy brat and changed locations every two years. I must say, however, that I have trouble picking my husband Harry out of a group picture from high school!

Of course, I googled obituary photographs and found plenty of advice about how to choose one. Plus one article noted that it is a recent trend to use much younger photos in obituaries.

The Cleveland Plain Dealer did a study of the use of obituary photos over time. “Obituaries and their photographs are one reflection of our society at a particular moment in time,” said Keith Anderson, co-author of the study and assistant professor of social work at Ohio State University. “In this case, we can get hints about our views on aging and appearance from the photographs chosen for obituaries. Our findings suggest that we were less accepting of aging in the 1990s than we were back in the 60s.”

I bet that few people have formal portraits made in old age. You see many blurry photos in obituaries that seem to be enlarged from a group candid shot.

In this Google search, I also found many websites that told you how to plan your own funeral. Many are purely mercenary, wanting to hook you up with lawyers or funeral homes, but I also discovered sites on the topic from the New York Times and Kiplinger's.

Everyone offers a checklist of what to do--writing down what type of burial or cremation, what type of service, eulogists, pallbearers, music, readings. 

And, of course, the advice tells you to write your own obituary. I saw an ad for a four-week course on writing your own obituary. That seems a bit much to me! Do you want "just the facts, mam," a literary masterpiece, or something that reflects your humor and point of view? 

Being an obsessive-compulsive type, I immediately started answering the questions in the checklists and writing my own obituary. When I discussed what I was doing with my husband Harry, we discovered that although we had generally discussed what we want, each of us had preferences the other did not know.

While I was thinking about all this, Senator John McCain's funeral was going on. I don't think there is anyone I would not want at my funeral although President Trump and Sarah Palin would not be welcome--not that they know me! 

Sen. McCain had time to think about and plan his funeral even though I imagined they hoped it would be later than it was. If we die suddenly, imagine the stress of the grieving survivors trying to plan a funeral in usually less than a week after the death. We usually spend a year or more planning a wedding or other special event!

So it makes sense to plan ahead and make sure your wishes are available immediately to loved ones. That means don't put the plans in a lockbox!

A morbid subject to be sure but one to think about. Now I have to go back and add more humor to my obituary!

Trish                     

167 Computer addict

Confessions of a Computer Addict

Looking back over some of the THREE SAVVY BROADS blogs, I saw how often I make reference to what I have “Googled.” 

OH, YEAH, Google and I have a relationship going. A long, deep, serious relationship! Not only do I check the news and weather every morning on several sites, I much prefer to read the news and weather and see the photos rather than have some chirpy, smiley person telling stuff in which I have no interest! 

No Bing for me, that pernicious site, that wants to help me with my web decisions. Leave me and my Google alone!

So after I find out what Trump has done overnight, and how hot, humid, and rainy it may be, I feel the need to look at a few favorites like Boredom Therapy for fun and unusual information. Then to get my day really started, along with my diet Coke. 

I play a few games. Yes, I have succumbed. I actually pay to play on Bridgebase.com. It is really worth it--play with real people or play with robots or watch and learn new conventions of duplicate bridge. 

Also, it only takes a few minutes to do the Daily Difference puzzle as well or chose from many other free games from Shockwave--or free online games from POGO or BIG FISH. Mindless fun as I have actually turned on NPR to catch the “just the facts” BBC news.

My brain is processing whether I am getting older and lazier or if it is that the convenience is so wonderful. I like having my computer do my most of my regular shopping.

No more lugging cases of dog food cans and 25-pound bags of dog food. I love. Within 24 to 48 hours, your order is at your door. Chewy is owned by PetSmart which is also where we get out Schnauzers groomed and is the home of Banfield vet clinics which is where our dogs have their doctors!

Grocery shopping is SO NOT FUN! Make a list, drive to the store, make selections, load cart, take everything out of the cart, put it on the conveyor belt, pay, put plastic/paper bags in cart, wheel it to the car, unload everything into the car, drive home, unload the car--you get it. I do not like to grocery shop. I get claustrophobic at big grocery stores with high shelves especially since I don’t know where everything is. 

Walmart now does my grocery shopping. It is not perfect, but I am a lot less stressed. Try it. A friend literally gave me hell for supporting Walmart grocery shopping. Sorry, I don’t get it. When I was very young, the Mom & Pop grocery store we used did the very same thing. I would hop out of the car as Mom sat in the idling car at the pull-in curb, I’d run our weekly list inside, hand it to the clerk, and we’d go on to the next errand. The next day, the groceries were delivered to our kitchen counter and we got a monthly bill. Hmm--who said the more things change, the more they stay the same? (YES, I just googled it: Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr, 1849. You’ve likely seen it as “plus ca change, c’est la meme chose.” Thanks, Google!)

Then, I dare you! Raise your hand if you have not shopped on Amazon. Let me think: I just bought weird-sized light bulbs for over the kitchen sink that I could NOT find at either of two different hardware stores in town. I also got a new wet/dry mop to get the debris and mildew off the front steps, a best seller just out in paperback, a pair of toddler red cowboy boots, and a couple of baby gifts. One Click, used AMEX points, and it all totaled a whopping $7.87--with two-day delivery. And my best friends often give me Amazon gift cards. And how much easier can it get.

I do have friends who swear by eBay purchases. I am still not into that. I want to know that I am dealing with a company and that the item is unsullied by some human hands. Okay, that may seem crazy, as some poor underpaid employee filled my online shopping orders. For some quirky reason, it seems different to me. If you have any thoughts on this, I would love to hear them!

That’s it for this week.

Stay cool. Have a safe Labor Day weekend. 

Savvy Glenne                    

                                        

P.S. For grandparent shopping, there is a marvelous site called Childrensalon.com. It’s British (and very classy!) and it has everything the indulgent grandparent might want. And each order has a mini bag of Haribo gummy candy in it as a thank you.