This is another of those books that I would have sworn I read years ago. As it turns out, I had never read the actual book. The characters and title are so widely used throughout our culture, it is hard to know what is the real deal and what is just borrowed.
A lot of what I thought I knew about Alice and Wonderland is made up. The actual Alice in Wonderland is both more and less than the added mythology. The plot is less than the myth, but the characters are deeper. Alice is much more like a real little girl. She is precocious and rude and impatient, but tries very hard to be nice. Her struggles to make sense of the craziness reminded me of how hard it can be to figure out real life.
The rest of Wonderland is just as well drawn as Alice. It is a masterful piece of literature and a masterful children's story.
Jun 23, 2010
Jun 6, 2010
iBooks
I've now read a book using iBooks on my iPad.
Overall, it was a positive experience. The text is crisp and I didn't find the backlit screen fatiguing. I liked that I could dim the backlighting when I was reading in bed or adjust the text size. The animations are fun. The landscape mode that splits into to pages is also neat.
I've read a number of reviews that find the lengths iBooks take to look a book distracting at best. I disagree. The two page look of the landscape view is not perfect, but I find it more natural than the wide page display of other e-readers. The neat page flip animation is slick and sort of refreshing. The biggest complaint I've read is that the number of pages in the margin does not change as you get further into the book. While I think that would be a neat trick, I don't find it bothersome. In fact, I like having that margin there. It makes it harder to accidentally change the page.
The controls for reading are also well done. It is easy to move through a book by swiping or touching the margins. The pop-over for the dictionary is excellent. I also like the fact that the controls are on the top of the page. It seems more natural than having them on the bottom of the page.
iBooks is not perfect by a long stretch. I'd like a way to annotate books. I'd like to be able to use library books. I'd like a white text on balk background theme.
Perhaps the most annoying thing I found was that the brightness setting isn't sticky. When you switch out of iBooks, or the iPad goes to sleep, the interface automatically switches back to full brightness. When reading in bed, this can be particularly bad. At full brightness, the screen is blinding.
Now that Stanza is available on the iPad, I have to see how iBooks stands up to my favorite e-reader on the iPhone. I don't think Stanza will do well. iBooks doesn't offer more in terms of functionality, but it does look more polished. I'll report back after a more extensive test drive.
Overall, it was a positive experience. The text is crisp and I didn't find the backlit screen fatiguing. I liked that I could dim the backlighting when I was reading in bed or adjust the text size. The animations are fun. The landscape mode that splits into to pages is also neat.
I've read a number of reviews that find the lengths iBooks take to look a book distracting at best. I disagree. The two page look of the landscape view is not perfect, but I find it more natural than the wide page display of other e-readers. The neat page flip animation is slick and sort of refreshing. The biggest complaint I've read is that the number of pages in the margin does not change as you get further into the book. While I think that would be a neat trick, I don't find it bothersome. In fact, I like having that margin there. It makes it harder to accidentally change the page.
The controls for reading are also well done. It is easy to move through a book by swiping or touching the margins. The pop-over for the dictionary is excellent. I also like the fact that the controls are on the top of the page. It seems more natural than having them on the bottom of the page.
iBooks is not perfect by a long stretch. I'd like a way to annotate books. I'd like to be able to use library books. I'd like a white text on balk background theme.
Perhaps the most annoying thing I found was that the brightness setting isn't sticky. When you switch out of iBooks, or the iPad goes to sleep, the interface automatically switches back to full brightness. When reading in bed, this can be particularly bad. At full brightness, the screen is blinding.
Now that Stanza is available on the iPad, I have to see how iBooks stands up to my favorite e-reader on the iPhone. I don't think Stanza will do well. iBooks doesn't offer more in terms of functionality, but it does look more polished. I'll report back after a more extensive test drive.
The Portrait of Dorian Gray
"The Portrait of Dorian Gray" is one of those books I would have sworn that I'd read in high school. I knew the outlines of the story so well that it was unthinkable that I hadn't read it. So when I wanted a book to test out iBooks, I decided to read it. It was free and I figured I could concentrate on the experience of reading on the iPad and not the book.
It turns out that I had never actually read the book. I had the outlines of the story down, but the specifics were strange to me. On the surface it is a pretty lame story. Not much actually happens. It is easy to see why movie makers often attempt to make it more fantastic and adventurous.
It is easy to see why they often fail to make it into a good movie. As with many books, the real value is in the text not the plot. I found the discussions of art, philosophy, and morals to be the meat of the book.
Dorian is not simply vain. He is a hedonist. He falls prey to Sir Henry's treatise that art and life is all about experience. Reflection and morality are for philistines. One shouldn't dwell on the outcomes.
The portrait, which was created out of a deep emotional connection between artist and subject, allows Dorian to lead a perfectly hedonistic life. He does not suffer the ill effects of experiencing life to it's fullest. He does not need to care about the effects he has on others. It just rolls off of him like a water off of a duck. The portrait absorbs the cost.
The author's position on hedonism is clearly negative. Dorian, while making the most of his fortune, is clearly disturbed by what he has become. He is both enthralled and repelled by hedonism. Sadly, he is trapped by it.
There is some truth to the philosophy that one should not dwell to much on what has passed and on what my be. One should focus on the present and he experience of the now. The Buddha is regarded as one of the wisest men. The difference is that hedonism also disavows being concerned with the plight of others. Dorian destroys people without regard as he lives his life in the present. The Buddha was careful to consider the suffering of others and worked to relieve it.
The path of living in the present must be tempered with concern for your effects on the world around you. Experience life without desire or regret, but also don't increase the suffering of others. Karma is a bitch.
It turns out that I had never actually read the book. I had the outlines of the story down, but the specifics were strange to me. On the surface it is a pretty lame story. Not much actually happens. It is easy to see why movie makers often attempt to make it more fantastic and adventurous.
It is easy to see why they often fail to make it into a good movie. As with many books, the real value is in the text not the plot. I found the discussions of art, philosophy, and morals to be the meat of the book.
Dorian is not simply vain. He is a hedonist. He falls prey to Sir Henry's treatise that art and life is all about experience. Reflection and morality are for philistines. One shouldn't dwell on the outcomes.
The portrait, which was created out of a deep emotional connection between artist and subject, allows Dorian to lead a perfectly hedonistic life. He does not suffer the ill effects of experiencing life to it's fullest. He does not need to care about the effects he has on others. It just rolls off of him like a water off of a duck. The portrait absorbs the cost.
The author's position on hedonism is clearly negative. Dorian, while making the most of his fortune, is clearly disturbed by what he has become. He is both enthralled and repelled by hedonism. Sadly, he is trapped by it.
There is some truth to the philosophy that one should not dwell to much on what has passed and on what my be. One should focus on the present and he experience of the now. The Buddha is regarded as one of the wisest men. The difference is that hedonism also disavows being concerned with the plight of others. Dorian destroys people without regard as he lives his life in the present. The Buddha was careful to consider the suffering of others and worked to relieve it.
The path of living in the present must be tempered with concern for your effects on the world around you. Experience life without desire or regret, but also don't increase the suffering of others. Karma is a bitch.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)