vivdunstan

Very recently I replaced my rapidly dying old Kindle Paperwhite 4 with the latest model. And a few days on I thought I'd post some quick thoughts.

On plus the new one (Kindle Paperwhite 6) is much much more responsive for page turns. This makes a huge difference to me since I read with a gigantic font for disability/neurological illness reasons. So have to turn pages much more than most folk for the same amount of text. In the old model there was a noticeable delay each time. Now it feels almost instant. Which I'm very happy with.

It was also remarkably easy to set up, using my iPod touch (like an iPhone, but without any phoning) to send by Bluetooth my Kindle login details and wifi network. Which sounds a bit risky as I write this, but worked ... And then I just had to tweak the font size, screen layout and brightness to my preferences, and I was done.

On the downside the new Kindle Paperwhite uses a different transfer protocol (MTP) which is not Mac friendly. So if connecting it up via USB there are extra hurdles to get eg a screenshot off. Which I do rarely. But still. It also affects side loading ebooks onto it by cable, though you can also upload them via web and email.

Also the Kindle Paperwhite 6 is a little bit bigger than my previous Kindle Paperwhite 4. It's not too big for me to handle, but felt a little unfamiliar at first.

I really like the plant-based cover I got, the official Amazon version. It's not fully plant-based, but much more so than the standard cover. I picked it partly for that reason, but also because it got better reviews for softness and no sharp edges than the main alternatives.

Big relief I don't have a yellow band at the bottom of my screen. This has been a problem for many latest Paperwhite owners as well as the new Kindle Colorsoft model. I am mightily relieved.

Finished the Val McDermid Lady Macbeth retelling, and still reading "A Darker Shade of Magic". But for a second fiction book on the go I'm having another bash at "Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell". Last time I tried reading this, in 2004/5, I was already having huge problems managing print due to my progressive neurological disease. And battled with this recently published hardback. Not least with all the teeny footnotes! And bailed out. But going to have another go, this time on my Kindle with an utterly gargantuan font. Because it really is the sort of book that I should adore. Fingers crossed!

Although I struggle hugely with print now I can still generally read plays in that format. And rarely read them in ebook. But I did this time, to reread Macbeth, which I probably last read 35 or so years ago in school. I've also more recently seen other televised or movie versions. So do remember much of the plot.

Reading a play script book is often rather strange. This time I decided to ignore the lengthy analytical introduction, which to be honest was better read after I'd finished. And dived straight in. Much of the play has a very minimal cast, but there's backstory and wider things early on that can get confusing. The scenes focusing on Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are best. And why does Banquo talk in such a flowery long-winded way?!

Reading an ebook version of a play text had the advantage that it allowed lots of useful jumping about easily to footnotes. And this Penguin edition was well footnoted. Usually to explain specific words rather than lengthy academic history paper type digressions! For example I was thrown by the word "sewer", thinking it literally meant that place. But no, it was a servant. Thank goodness for footnotes.

I am amazed just how many key quotes there are in this particular Shakespeare play. Many of which I remembered from long ago, but others surprised me by popping up here. It's remarkably packed full of stuff.

And action packed. Oh yes, action packed. Staging it must also involve a lot of fake blood ...

As a Scottish historian it's also fascinating to see this depiction of Scottish history, through a 17th century English lens, with the complex situation of James VI and I not long on the throne in London.

I plan to watch the Ian McKellen and Judi Dench 1970s stage version soon. Meanwhile yes, that was a good read.

Last year I finished 60 books. In some previous years I've finished more, sometimes less. For 2024 I'm setting myself a reading target of 25 books, though will probably smash it. But I want to focus on more longer books, albeit interspersed with and alongside shorter ones.

Long books that I plan to read include rereads of Lord of the Rings and Our Mutual Friend. But I also intend to read a couple more Wheel of Time books, which are pretty chunky, and can take some time.

I'm also intending to read more books in translation, including some long ones. Will be drawing up a list of those soon. It depends which ones I can get in Kindle format, so I can read them with an utterly gargantuan font. Due to my progressive neurological illness audiobooks haven't been a good option for me since the 1990s, but gigantic font ebooks work well for recreational reads.

And of course there will be lots of non fiction books read alongside the fiction. That is already underway, and I expect to keep that more flexible.

But yup, a year of quality reading over quantity this time.

I’ve two fiction books well on the go that I’m hugely enjoying - The House in the Cerulean Sea and the first Redwall book - but I’ve been unable to read them for a couple of weeks now. Just totally exhausted at bed time. And during the day I’m generally asleep too. And a 3 month long neurological illness flare likely starting in a week. So I’m not sure if I’ll finish any more books by the end of this calendar year. Fortunately I reached my 50 books reading challenge goal a month ago (and haven’t finished a book since). It’s amazing I can still read at all for fun, given how much I struggle with print now, and how much I sleep. Thank goodness for eBooks with gargantuan font options! But even that’s not helping enough right now.

Wow! Just learned about 1967 book "The Technicolor Time Machine" by Harry Harrison. As one bibliographer writes: ''Movie producers get hold of a time machine, and decide to shoot a Viking epic on location - in the 11th century AD. A thoroughly madcap romp in its author's best vein''. Crikey! Found it through my usual pulp books supplier. But I'd need to read it in ebook for disability reasons. And it is on the Kindle for £3.99 from the Gateway Essentials range. Buying!

I mention from time to time my reading problems with print, despite being a book historian with a PhD on reading habits. Here’s an illustration of how I read with eBooks, with my Kindle on top of a print copy, same section in both. The Library book by ‪Andrew Pettegree‬ and ‪Arthur der Weduwen‬. This is quite extreme, but means that despite the brain damage from my progressive neurological disease I can continue to read enthusiastically and in huge quantities, both fiction and non fiction. But print is an enormous problem for me to manage now, and increasingly so.