Thursday Thirteen--Nook Color

Quick Note: Over at Three Wicked Writers Plus Two, I'm giving away a copy of an ebook. Read Elizabeth Black's post about Cyber Playmates and leave a comment and you're entered to win!

Now, onto my Thursday Thirteen. I'm going to share the 13 most wonderful things about my new Nook Color!

1. Ease of buying. I click the 'shop' button, browse the B&N site, find what I want and click the 'buy now' button. That's it. The book is downloaded and I can start reading. No syncing anything. And it sure beats driving half an hour (at least) to the store or paying for shipping and handling, then having to wait a good 7-10 days.

2. Bookmarking. Last night I went to bed, turned on my Nook and up popped the book I'd been reading, and right where I left off too. Awesome feature!

3. Page numbers. Seems like a silly thing to some, but I love that the Nook has page numbers. I like knowing the page I'm on, not just the percentage I have left. 

4. Screen resolution. Like all things, this is totally subjective. Everyone has their own preferences. For me, I find the screen easier on the eyes than the E-Ink screens.

5. All color. Obviously one of the big selling points with this device is that it's all in color. So, you can read magazines and they're in color, children's books, color. But, I also love that when I browse online sites I can view everything in color. 

6. Internet access. It's just so much fun to pop onto my Facebook or Twitter and see what everyone is up to, leave a status update, or skip over to my gmail and read/respond to email.

7. Touch screen. My Sony had a touch screen too, so this isn't new for me. But one of the first things I noticed that's different with the two devices is that the Nook seems to flip the pages faster. It's minor, but even my daughter noticed the difference right off.

8. Battery. It came with an AC charger. My Sony didn't. You have to buy it seperate, which has always bugged me. It should come with the device! Just my 2 cents.

9. Battery life. I don't know if I'm still just starry-eyed with this thing or what, but it seems to hold a charge longer than my Sony. We'll see how that holds up over time.

10. Other stores. I love that I can easily buy from other sites, NOT just B & N. This is a biggie for me!

11. Archiving/Deleting. It's great that I can log into my account on the B & N site and go to my library there, then easily archive or delete books I've already read. You don't have to sync anything. Once you archive or delete on the site itself, your Nook is automatically updated to reflect the changes. This is handy if you're an avid reader like me and plan to purchase a million books in the next six months. LOL

12. Videos and music. I'm not big on YouTube, but my daughter was having fun the other day playing music on Pandora and watching YouTube videos.

13. Books. Of course the best part about any ereader is having all my books in one handy place. No storing them in boxes in the basement, no piles next to the couch and bed. Going on vacation is going to be so much fun!  

A few pitfalls:

Bluetooth. It'd be nice if it had bluetooth so you could connect to the internet even if you're in the car.

Hulu. I can't watch shows because Hulu requires Adobe Flash Player. Unless someone knows a way around that? Or something I can dowload to my Nook to make that happen...?

Online catalogue. B & N doesn't have as many books as Amazon Kindle. So, that's a bummer. However, you can go to places like All Romance Ebooks and Fictionwise, etc. to find them. So, it's not really an issue.

Price. It is a bit expensive. However, I wouldn't be terribly surprised if Amazon came out with their own version. At that point I suspect the prices will drop and become much more affordable.

So, that's my take on the new Nook Color...so far. I haven't even had the thing a month! Give me time and I'll share more thoughts on this handy device.

A Little Bit Naughty--out now!

http://annerainey.com

Thursday Thirteen--Anne

So, for today's Thursday Thirteen I've decided to tell you all 13 things about ME. Hope it's not too boring, lol.

1. I have naturally dark hair, but when I was younger I went all blonde. My family was shocked. And out came the dumb blonde jokes. lol

2.  I always remove at least half the meat when I get a deli sandwhich, otherwise it's just gross.

3.  For some reason I tend to leave at least one bite of food on my plate. Not sure why, but there it is.

4.  My husband tells me that I always have to be right in an argument. I disagree, clearly. lol

5.  I always have to try and guess who the killer is when I watch a suspense movie, drives my daughters crazy.

6.  I can't start a manuscript until I have a title. Title first!

7.  Most days I eat my breakfast/lunch at around 8am. I'm a morning eater.

8.  I hate movies with bad endings. It's annoying!

9.  I need background noise when I write. The T.V. usually.

10.  I once worked at a hotel. I was the person who stocked all the little refrigerators in the hotel rooms.

11.  When I write I tend to be a plotter and a pantser both.

12.  I write poetry and I've also done some sketching, nature scenes mostly.

and finally...

13.  My biggest pet peeve is people who are two-faced. It gets under my skin!

   

A Little Bit Naughty--out now!
http://annerainey.com

Thursday Thirteen--Fall Faves

Before I get to my Thursday Thirteen, I wanted to remind everyone about the poll I'm doing. If you haven't voted yet, please do! It's at the top of the sidebar and takes all of two seconds. Thanks! :)

The things I love most about fall.

1. Bonfires. We always end up having at least one bonfire this time of year.

 2. Who doesn't love th changing colors? The trees are so gorgeous this time of year!

3. College football! I LOVE college football. Of course, I wasn't so happy this past Saturday when the Bucks got their butts beat. Come on, guys, step it up! 

 4. My husband's gumbo. Yum! I love when he gets out the big pot. Just the smell of it cooking can have my stomach rumbling.

5. Halloween, of course. Candy, costumes, and scary movies!

6. Warm cider. Is there really a person alive who doesn't just love this stuff?

7. Slipper socks. Okay, I confess, my youngest daughter and I have a thing about slipper socks. We don't just wear them in the fall either. And no, those aren't our feet. LOL

8. Thanksgiving dinner. Family, good home cooked food, and lots of laughter. Last year was the best Thanksgiving we've had in years. Hoping this year will be just as wonderful.

9. Cozy Pjs. I love my Pjs. That's actually my old desk, but M & Ms are pretty much a regular part of my diet. lol

10. Pumpkin spice candles. I love walking into a house and smelling it. It's so warm and inviting. Although, I admit, it makes me a little hungry too. ;)

 11. What would this time of year be without the Charlie Brown classic? It's always been a favorite of mine.

 12. The only thing better than hot cider, is hot chocolate. God, doesn't that look delicious? I want some right now, darn it!

 13. Last but not least, camping. We always seem to go camping in the fall. Getting out the sleeping bags and warm sweatshirts and just leaving the hectic world behind. It's such a great way to unwind and get back to what's really important, family time. (an older picture, couldn't find a more recent one)

What do you love about fall? Any particular thing you look forward to this time of year? 

Thursday Thirteen--gadgets!

What would we do without our gadgets, right? That's the focus of my Thursday Thirteen.

First up, Amazon Kindle. I don't have one of these beauties, but I will soon. I'm about done drooling over them, dang it!

The handy dandy GPS. We went to Maine for vacation this year and what do you think was the single most useful item during the trip? My GPS. My car has a built in GPS. That thing is amazing. Didn't even need to take a map with us!

My daughter would be LOST without her XBox 360. She loves war games, Call of Duty, Soldier of Fortune, etc.

The Bissell Perfect Sweep Turbo Sweeper. Long name, but worth every penny. I bought this off Amazon. I was skeptical, but I wanted something that I didn't need to plug in. Something that I could use btwn vaccuming. We have a puppy and she's forever tearing things to shreds. This little baby works great for that. It's not terrific at picking up very tiny particles, but otherwise I love it!

An electric wine bottle opener. Seems like a silly thing to have, right? Well, I got one for Christmas from my brother and his wife. First time I used it I was in love. I hate trying to use a corkscrew. I'm just no good at getting the cork out without somehow cutting myself.

Sirius XM. I LOVE LOVE this thing! My car came with this and it's the best darn thing. Especially on long trips. Love the lack of commercials!

Ah, the handy Portable DVD Player. We don't have one of these, but my sister-in-law does and she loves hers. It keeps her boys from fighting. Well, for short bursts anyway. LOL

The Blackberry Playbook. I blogged about this already, I know, but the more I see it the more I want it.

The 56 inch flat screen T.V. Yes, I do have one. Yes, I love it. It's my most prized posession, other than my family and my books. hehe!

iPod Nano. Both my girls have iPods. They'd pretty much shrivel up and die without them, too. LOL

My personal favorite. The Dell Laptop in shiny red. I have one like it and oh boy, what did I ever do without it? I never realized how chained to that desktop I was before. I'll never go back to a desktop now!

The gorgeous iPad. My friend, Regina Carlysle, just won this sucker and boy is she going to have fun with it. I had the chance to play around with one for about a week and it's so freaking addicting!

Last, but not least, the iPhone. Again, I want one. Again, it's not going to happen anytime soon. LOL It's funny when I think back to my childhood when there were only landlines with cords. Once upon a time, phones were for, well, talking. Now we use it to update our Twitter/Facebook status, send text messages, check email, shop, and even read ebooks. Isn't about time we come up with a new name? Phone just seems so yesterday. lol

So, what gadgets do you own and would kill to keep?

Thursday Thirteen--books

These are the 13 BEST books I've read this year!

In no particular order...

So, do you have a favorite or two? Give me more to read, I dare ya! :)