While listening to a book, I noticed a strange series of syllables that I simply could not comprehend. I took the phone from my pocket, stared at the text, and replayed it. Turns out the word “environments” is mispronounced as enviRONments, with an odd stress pattern and an “i” sound kinda like the “ea” in “ear.” I got curious about repro steps so I wrote “environment” and “environments” in a note and played it with VoiceOver....
For the past few months, I’ve been using iOS VoiceOver and Speak Screen as a sighted user to avoid carsickness while reading during bus commutes. I wanted to use my transit time to read articles and make progress on books, so this was my way of dealing with the motion sickness. I’m also an auditory learner, so hearing the content is generally appealing to me. I’ve enjoyed using both of these features so much, that I now use them habitually while walking around, doing chores, etc....
Writing notes on borrowed library books has always resulted in a disjointed mess of paper slips and smartphone scribbles. Once the library loan ends, then POOF, all of your notes and highlights disappear into the aether! How can you stop this? Well, Bookcision helps a lot if you’re using the Kindle app. My history with note-taking I love borrowing paper books from friends and the library. But this gets problematic because I also LOVE scribbling notes in books....
Most people know Chuck Palahniuk because of Fight Club, the novel that was adapted into a movie starring Brad Pitt and Edward Norton. On October 20, my sister and I attended Chuck Palahniuk’s Beautiful You book launch and got to hear some of his short stories. We’ve been long-time fans of his work, and it was thrilling to see him in person. Here are some photos that capture just a teensy fraction of the cacophony....
Are you a fan of antiheroes and morally ambiguous magic users? Gregory Maguire does a wonderful job of illustrating complex and undefinable characters. Here are some gems I’ve come across: Book One: Wicked “She used to say she saw the unknown city of anger in her dreams.” “She wore long, frayed grey gloves that she boasted buying second hand from a local undertaker, cheap for being used in funeral services.”...