Okay..

Sometimes one needs to look further into things before going off to tilt at windmills by one's self. There is a place on the web dedicated to doing something good about epublishing. If you go to the link below or if you click on the title to this post, you will find a number of books that you can read online or with an ebook reader. You can also request that particular books be made available online. You can also get involved or participate in the world of online books and epublishing in other ways as well. Go there, you will not regret it.

http://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu

Advertising

At first glance, it seems as if there is some sort of a sense of irony in the "blogger" world or, one might find some strange synchronicity in the fact that there is an advertisement for the Kindle on this blog. Don't get me wrong, I would love a Kindle (are you out there Jeff?). I am not married to Sony or its E Reader. I do, however, want to see E Reader succeed in a very big way. If it does, the chances that the publishing industry, booksellers, and the electronics industry will agree on one, open format for ebooks are much larger than if Amazon is left with the lion's share of the market. It is essential that an open format be adopted. Epublishing is the future and the adoption of one, open standard is essential for open, free (or at least relatively so) publishing. Imagine what could happen if the only viable ebook reader were one controlled by one bookseller. Or, imagine if one needed 2, 3, or more ebook readers just to be able to have a reasonable chance of reading what one wants to read. As there are/were VHS, DVD, and Blueray, there must be one ebook format. Please!

Alchemy - no, not the New Age kind

A book all should read is The Alchemy Key by Stuart Nettleton as it effectively demonstrates why all literate people should know as much about alchemy as they do about literature, mathematics, philosophy, physics, etc. Nettleton's mastery over the subject (as well as his mastery over many, many other things) is beyond reproach as is his ability to present it in an amazingly enjoyable and thouroughly understandable way. I am still somewhat dizzy from the pace at which I read the book as well as from the amount of knowledge which was transmitted. My only negative experience came from the continued realization of the extent to which society and its institutions are subject to entropy and that realization is mine - it is not one of Nettleton's themes. If you want to read any extremely entertaining, literate, educating, and worthwhile book - pick up The Alchmey Key. You can review the book online by clicking the title of this post. If you want to know what this whole entropy thing is about (and see another great photograph taken by my son), see my other blog at http://notnirvana.blogger.com.