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Reading with Rooster


The link below is to an article that looks at the reading experience with the Rooster ebook subscription service.

http://bookriot.com/2014/07/25/revisiting-reading-rooster-app/

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The news about reader attention and the evolution of media isn’t all bad — there’s the “hill of Wow”


Mathew Ingram's avatarGigaom

Sometimes it seems as though the future of online media is a fairly bleak one: an ocean of clickbait and shallow pageview-driven articles, all of them chasing the dwindling juice that social-network algorithms provide, with scattered chunks of longform journalism drifting aimlessly, unable to get the attention they deserve. But is that a realistic picture of where we are? Betaworks CEO John Borthwick says it isn’t — and says he has the data from services like Chartbeat and Instapaper to prove that things aren’t as bad as they seem.

As Borthwick notes in a post on Medium, the most recent debate on this topic flared up a couple of months ago, sparked by a post from Facebook product manager Mike Hudack that lamented the state of online media, and how much of the content that was being produced even by “serious” media outlets was shallow clickbait:

[blockquote person=”Mike…

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Reading Better Online


The link below is to an article that looks at being a better reader online.

For more visit:
http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/mariakonnikova/2014/07/being-a-better-online-reader.html

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From My Armchair: 07 July 2014


It has been a long time since I uploaded a post of this nature. In fact, one of the reasons I have probably not done so for a while was the amount of time that went into preparing such a post. It actually took quite a bit of time to put one together. This is time that I found better use for – time for reading was just one better way to use that time. So I needed to streamline the process somewhat and not to be so exhaustive. So hopefully that is something I have now achieved – or will achieve with this post and all future ones. I’m sure that it will continue to be a process of discovery, evaluation and refinement.

Over at Goodreads (which I will mention again later) I have set my annual reading challenge at 100 books/ebooks – which is up from 25 last year. Currently I have read 44 books/ebooks, which puts me 7 behind schedule. That might sound like a major descrepancy, but about 6 weeks ago I was well ahead of schedule and didn’t read anything for a little while – hence the backlog. I still think I can make up the current shortfall before the end of the year. Indeed, I hope to have several books/ebooks read over the next week or so.

I have been busy (if that’s the right way to put it) gathering more books/ebooks, with my traditional/digital libraries growing by some 50 works over the last couple of weeks – thankfully most have been ebooks, so accomodating them hasn’t been too difficult. Physically it is very near to impossible for me to house many more traditional books.

 

Social Networks, Web Applications & Other Tools

I continue to be active on the Internet, with various updates being made from time to time at Goodreads, as well as very regular posts to both my book/reading Blogs. The various links are listed below.

Visit My Goodreads Profile at:
http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/4675745-kevin

Visit My Blogs at:
https://atthebookshelf.wordpress.com/
http://bookstand.tumblr.com/

 

Currently Reading:

I have a number of books that I am currently reading. I post progress updates to Goodreads, so that will provide a way to see my current progress at any particular time.

So what am I currently reading:

  • Foundations of the Christian Faith, by James Montgomery Boice
  • Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine, by Wayne Grudem
  • A New Systematic Theology of the Christian Faith, by Robert L. Reymond
  • The Attraction of the Cross, by Gardiner Spring
  • A Memoir of the Life and Writings of Andrew Fuller, by Thomas Ekins Fuller
  • The Next Story – Life and Faith after the Digital Explosion, by Tim Challies
  • The Message of the New Testament – Promises Kept, by Mark Dever
  • The Bourne Supremacy (Book 2), by Robert Ludlum
  • Welcome to the Funny Farm – The All-True Misadventures of a Woman on the Edge, by Karen Scalf Linamen
  • Evangelical Theology – A Biblical and Systematic Introduction, by Michael F. Bird
  • Evernote for Dummies (2nd Edition), by David E. Y. Sarna

 

Finished Reading:

I haven’t finished anything in the last week or so. Clearly I need to read more.

 

Ebook Wish Lists

I have several ebook wish lists and over the next little while I’ll be working at getting these organised a little. Currently I have three ebook wish lists with Amazon, one simply labelled ‘Kevin’s Wish List,’ which was where I was simply placing every ebook I was interested in for quite some time. I am now working to break that list into ‘Christian Ebooks’ and ‘Other Ebooks.’ I also have my ‘Top Ten Wish List’ as well. If you would like to buy me an ebook copy of any of these books, you can visit the lists below (and I offer thanks in advance).

These lists can currently be viewed at:

Top Ten Wish List
http://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/wishlist/R27WLEUD3G4H/ref=cm_wl_rlist_create

Christian Ebooks
http://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/wishlist/25M26YDWLLXCP/ref=topnav_lists_2

Other Ebooks
http://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/wishlist/11FSOPP1LJ62U/ref=cm_wl_rlist_go_o?

Kevin’s Wish List
http://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/wishlist/3ON8HODACGGQ3/ref=cm_wl_rlist_go_o

 

The Book Stand

I have all manner of Blogs and websites at different places on the web. I have three Blogs at tumblr and one of those is a site for ebooks that are currently available for free or are on special. Most of the ebooks highlighted on the Blog are for the Kindle, but there are other selections from time to time. The site is simply called ‘The Book Stand.’

Visit The Book Stand at:
http://bookstand.tumblr.com/

 

Particular Baptist Reading Group

I have a reading group over at Goodreads called the ‘Particular Baptist Reading Group.’ The group is for Particular and Reformed Baptists in particular, though other Christians are still welcome and will find the reading material of great value. Anyone can join and all are welcome – just keep in mind that it is a moderated, Christian reading group.

The idea is that a chapter/portion of a book will be posted once a week, with discussions concerning the chapter/portion taking place within the group at Goodreads. A number of books have been read by the group and currently we are working our way through ‘A Memoir of the Life and Writings of Andrew Fuller,’ by Thomas Ekins Fuller.

Visit and Sign up at:
http://www.goodreads.com/group/show/101137-particular-baptist-reading-group

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Early Reading Apps for Kids


The link below is to an article that takes a look at early reading apps for children.

For more visit:
http://www.mediabistro.com/galleycat/early-reading-apps-for-kids_b87488

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Guidelines For Readers


The link below is to an article that contains some guidelines for readers.

For more visit:
http://bookriot.com/2014/06/24/new-guidelines-readers/

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Reading Books on the Amazon Fire


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Reading ebooks on a phone – 5 ways to make the most of it


The link below is to an article that looks at reading ebooks on smartphones.

For more visit:
http://ebookfriendly.com/reading-ebooks-phone-tips/

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Why Reading Isn’t Enough These Days


The link below is to an article that asks ‘why isn’t just reading enough anymore?’

For more visit:
http://bookriot.com/2014/06/10/isnt-just-reading-enough-anymore/

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Reasons Why You Should Start Reading Today


The link below is to an article that lists 35 reasons to start reading today.

For more visit:
http://www.getfreeebooks.com/?p=10684