Not lost, just undiscovered.

After months of deliberation, I finally went out and purchased a Kobo.  It took me a long time to decide to get an ereader in the first place and then I had to decide which one to get.  I’ve explained my rationale many times offline and thought I’d share it here.

Most people know that I have a weakness for stationary and I love collecting printed books. I love holding them, turning the pages, and even love the smell of them.  I’m also a really big reader – I read often and I read everywhere.  I read daily during my commute to and from work, but have a hard time when the book is heavy. I already take a lot to work and carrying a heavy book in my purse wasn’t doing my shoulders any favours.

That’s when I started thinking about getting a light-weight e-reader that I could use while commuting and on-the-go. It would ideally fit in my purse and could carry as many books on it as I want.

I knew I needed an ereader that was both affordable and could read library books. I’ve been trying to spend less money on books this year and my personal rule is to borrow from the library first. Then, if I love a book enough, I can put it on the list to purchase.  I wanted to stick to this rule with my ereader (even more so as I’d rather buy printed books than digital ones) and soon found out that the library offers ebooks in epub format.

The solution ended up being the Kobo. As much as I really like the Kindle and the features it offers, it doesn’t handle epubs and that was most important to me. I would have loved an iPad but it’s above my price range and is too big for what I needed.

So I waited until the new wirelesss version of the Kobo was out and happily picked one up. Now I can read library books on my Kobo and if I love a book enough, I can still put it on the list of printed books to purchase.

I’ve had it for a few weeks now and it’s been great! There wasn’t much of an adjustment period and I’m still zooming through books like I was before. I’ll share my thoughts on reading on a Kobo in my next post.

Do you have an ereader? Why or why not?

In just over two months I will be returning to London, England for a short but fun trip.

I was debating over my travel options a few months ago, but I finally made a decision when I realized how to knock another item off my to-do-in-life list. More on that later.

Picture taken during my last trip - on the eve of New Year's Eve 2008

As I mentioned a few weeks ago, I’ve been taking sewing lessons and it’s actually going pretty well.

I love my classes. The studio space is nice and the instructor is great. I only wish that we had more time to practice and learn – maybe two classes a week would have been better.

So far we’ve learned all about fabrics, how to thread a sewing machine, how to do basic stitches and seams, how to read patterns, and more.  As well, I’m starting to get used to the fabric store and how to navigate it (it can be overwhelming), and I finally know what a serger is and what it’s for. 

I’ve already picked out the skirt pattern and fabric that I’ll be using for my final project. It’s amazing to think we’ll be attempting to make a skirt in just a few weeks when we’ve only just made our first item.

That’s right. This week we completed our first project: a drawstring bag!

It was pretty easy and by the end of it I was impressed and excited.  I know, I know, it’s simple but each little step matters!

Next up? A zippered pouch!

I can’t get enough of this History of Rap performance by Jimmy Fallon and Justin Timberlake from this week. I’ve posted it on Facebook and on Twitter and I think it’s only appropriate to put it here as well.

It’s just so well done and both hilarious and awesome at the same time.

Speaking of dancing and how it makes me smile, this scene from (500) Days of Summer made me laugh out loud in surprise and amusement when I first saw the movie. It’s a scene that I can watch over and over again and it always makes me happy:

If you haven’t seen the movie yet, you really should. I didn’t know what to expect and was pleasantly surprised by its charm.  I definitely recommend it because it’s not your average love story and it really is worth the 87% it received on Rotten Tomatoes.