Category Archives: Opinion

Loudmouth

I thought this to be no better time to recommend a website called Loudmouth, which will soon be up and running. Currently, you can view its blog which will keep you up to date on all its actions before the big launch.

Loudmouth is a new institution which shall publish and publicize young people’s work on the web. It is sure to host many talented writers, photographers and, somewhere down the bottom, me. I’m sure it has got the potential to gain a great following, and it’s sure to have an array of extremely interesting pieces, ranging the whole spectrum of fashion, culture, politics, opinion, photos, creative and literature. Here’s hoping it will be  a success!

Here’s the blog: http://loudmouthofficialblog.blogspot.com/

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New Year

As the 2012 trickles ever close by the minute in a quite literal sense (I am referring to my case, as many others in different timezones will no doubt already have entered the next new year), I’d like to take this space to wish all a very good new year, especially if the current one has been unsatisfactory.

I mean, it certainly has been eventful: enter rebels, exit Gaddafi; other Arab Spring chaos; Bin Laden’s death; Eurozone crisis; English riots; the death of Steve Jobs; and, of course, the tragic disaster of the Japanese earthquake. I have a feeling that 2012 shall also be exciting, and wish everyone the very best for it.

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Discoveries Through iPad

English: The logo for Apple Computer, now Appl...

Image via Wikipedia

After much swiping, fiddling and general tinkering, I am starting to get to grips with my new iPad. Thus, I am now reading, typing and even listening to words with a certain type of joy. Though the iPad is not half as good as my Kindle for reading alone, as the latter device is lighter, smaller and has, of course, that iconic ink–like screen, there has been a few apps for consuming books which have taken my fancy, namely:
iBooks: the official Apple way to explore literature. Very nice.
Kindle: probably my favourite reading app, purely because I have my entire Amazon e–book library waiting in my archive.
British Library 19th Century Books: a brilliant collection of Victorian literature from the British Library, as mentioned in my “Merry Christmas” post. 100 books for free, and more if you subscribe.
Audible: audiobook merchant flying Amazon’s flag.

Also, for writing:
iWriter: a minimalist platform which lets you type with ease (as I am doing now). A function for italics would be appreciated, but it is a distraction free way of writing.
Pages: Apple’s official offering, which it claims to be the most advanced in the mobile industry. Good for more complex word–processing issues.

And, of course, who could forget the one and only…
WordPress: an app to keep this blog going. Bit primitive, and more features are wanted, but, nonetheless, a fast way to blog.

In short, the iPad’s literary potential, though not its primary function, are well above–average. Some may be faulty, some limited, but all suffice to my meagre needs.

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Merry Christmas

I’d just like to say Merry Christmas everyone and I hope you get a good, festive variety of books! I suppose I should say that I’m writing this from my brand new iPad while reading a nineteenth century edition of Frankenstein by Mary Shelly on an a British Library app! Now that’s what Christmas is all about…

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BBC Two’s Sherlock Holmes

Chinatown, London. Benedict Cumberbatch during...

Image via Wikipedia

I know it has been ranted, raved and reviewed in its thousands over the last few days, but I just had to take this place to declare my truly giddy anticipation for the 2nd series of BBC Two’s Sherlock Holmes. Benedict Cumberbatch will retake his role as Holmes while Martin Freeman shall trod along a few steps behind. It is bound to be a wonderfully well-crafted piece.

One of the few reasons I am so excited was on the sheer amazingness (Lord, there goes my vocabulary as a red zig-zagged line proclaims my inaccuracy) of the last three part series. Not only was it a good introduction to newbies to Holmes, but also rather enjoyable for Sir Artur Conan Doyle nerds, obsessing over each and every point of deduction. It deconstructed the aspects of the cases intricately, and its modern re-telling was witty and enjoyable (especially the detective’s love of nicotine patches in place of the classic pipe).

And this is not even to mention the cast, in which my respect for the skills is immense. Martin Freeman resumes his role with grace which I have become more than familiar with, and Cumberbatch is second to none as far as the character of Sherlock Holmes is concerned in my view (sorry Robert Downey Jr.), and I am sure they will both, alongside the rest of the actors, actresses and all those working behind the scenes, will continue with another great series from the greatest detective stories of all time. LONG LIVE HOLMES!!!

 

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Kindle Bashing

The Amazon Kindle 2

The dreaded but much appreciated Kindle... Image via Wikipedia

I have been bashing my Kindle bit lately. Not on purpose, of course, but by accident, repeatedly. I’ve dropped it on countless occasions, each time drawing in my breath, silently praying that it will survive and thanking the cover which protects my device in the hope of the Kindle’s survival, and, perhaps more importantly, the continuing of my reading.

The Kindle is not my primary format for reading, but it does play a vital role in my literary cycles. This is mainly due to the vast array of free extracts and, more importantly, classics which I know I can both browse and own without paying so much as a penny. That much is key.

However, the pure, physical and quite possibly tea-stained book still holds place in my heart. After all, I still use a fully functioning library and have a small family collection which I like to dip into, not to mention the insecurity I feel every time I carry my Kindle in my bag (“Is it still in my rucksack? Perhaps I left it back there. I’ll just check my bag for the seventeenth time this hour…”), and the aforementioned tension when I drop it. These problems will, of course, wear away with time, but, having had it for over half a year now, I can only wonder how long that will take.

For, as we should all know, reading and, indeed, any form of recreation should be consumed without responsibilities. You should not be worrying about this or that or what if or maybe… It is, after all, the book that really matters. Until then, I suppose the Kindle will never really take over my reading habits completely, books free or not. But, man, am I glad to use it still.

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