Seth Godin Comments on Amazon's Kindle

So, you know a few weeks ago I talked about the new Amazon Kindle that came out? You do remember, right? No? Argh . . . here it is.

Anyway, I was checking out Seth Godin's blog this morning and he provided several of his random thoughts on this new device. So let me sum up his thoughts.

If you are a woman who has thousands of books you never use and feel bad not finishing a book that is no good, but want to save money on purchasing books from a smaller pool of writers, then the Kindle is perfect for you.

Okay, that doesn't sound as good as his post. Maybe you should just read Godin's thoughts.

Dust Jackets

Whenever I buy a hardcover book, I always struggle between whether to keep the dust jacket on or off. Most of the time it annoys me. It slips off, it gets torn, it accidentally gets put on upside down, and it mostly just frustrates me. However, I do like the look of some dust jackets. They really do get my attention and cause me to want to read more with a few exceptions.

Right now I am in the middle of reading Love is the Killer App by Tim Sanders, and last night as I was reading I came across the following tip.

"Tip: Hardbacks come covered with dust jackets. Don't take that jacket off. Let the design keep you interested in the book. More important, the colors, the images, and the words will help elicit feedback from others. If you carry around a plain cloth book, few people will ask you what you're reading. If you're holding a book with a flashy jacket, someone will probably wonder about it, giving you the opportunity to share your thoughts and helping you learn to express the book's kernel. You own the theory best when you can fully communicate it to others."

So, I now have the answer to my dilemma. However, I do think it is interesting that Sanders tells his readers to always buy hardbacks yet, Love is the Killer App is a paperback. Oh well.

What do you do with dust jackets? Do you leave them on or take them off?

The Singing Salesman, Part II

Do you remember the singing salesman that performed on Britain's Got Talent last year? His name was Paul Potts and he was phenomenal. I posted about it last year. Why am I telling you this?

Well, it appears that American television has done it again and placed themselves as second in line while playing follow the leader to Britain television. Last night America's Got Talent had Neal Boyd (a professional singer), another overweight salesman, singing the same song Nessum Dorma. Not only have they copied the show, they even copied the acts. Unbelievable, I say. The only thing that was different is the fact that Jerry Springer's commentary made me laugh. Here's the clip.



Now, I have nothing against Neal. He is a great singer but there just seems to be something wrong with this picture. Nonetheless, here is Paul Potts again. It's fun to try and sync them.

Old McDonald wasn't a dancer

My son loves music. He loves to dance. To bad he got my dancing genes. Below is a video his aunt Julie took. Enjoy.

Carnton Plantation

This past Saturday morning my wife and I took some time to go and tour Carnton Plantation in Franklin, TN. We have lived in Franklin for several years now but we've yet to visit this historical site. My wife had a project for school that required her to visit a historical place, and since I was in the process of reading The Widow of The South which was set at Carnton it was perfect timing for our visit.

Carnton Plantation became a field hospital during the U.S. Civil War at The Battle of Franklin. The battle was one of the deadliest and bloodiest battles of the entire war. It even carried the nickname, "Gettysburg of the West". The battle was fought at night and in a period of 5 hours. There were over 9,000 casualties. More men fell on this day than on the invasion of Normandy in WWII. The plantation was packed with wounded and dying men and boys. Every room was filled with wounded. It got to the point where even men were laid out in the yard. Keep in mind the battle took place on November 30, 1864. It was cold.

There were a lot of things about the tour that I learned but there are two things I want to share in particular. First, we made our way upstairs to the guest room as our tour guide told us all about the room. She then looked over at my feet and said, "you can even see the blood stains left by the wounded where you are standing." I looked down and sure enough - there it was. Then as we walked around the house it became eerie as we saw stain after stain.

Second, a good friend of mine who is a part of the Franklin Civil War Round Table, went with us and recommended that we take the tour with Michelle. Now, I can't say anything about the other tour guides but Michelle was incredible. It didn't take long to see her passion for history. Her love for the story played out in her tone and energy. It was one of the best tours that I can remember taking in a long time. She ended the tour with showing us the book that Carrie McGavock kept. It contained all of the names of those who died at Carnton and where they were buried in in the cemetery next to the home. Michelle shared a few stories about Carrie and how she became known as the "Widow of the South". The stories Michelle shared and the way she shared them brought tears to everyone in the group. It was simply inspiring.

I recommend that you take the tour of Carnton. It is well worth the trip. In fact, if you'll plan to go in the next several days, you can see the pistol and kepi of General Patrick Cleburne (Stonewall of the West) on display. Cleburne was one of the four generals of the Confederacy that were killed in the battle - something that was rare. This is the first time the pistol and kepi have been together since the battle. The story of the pistol's travels in the last 100 plus years is fascinating. You can read about the story here.

Widow of the South

This weekend I was able to finally finish The Widow of the South by Robert Hicks. For some reason (well several actually) I've not had the opportunity to read as much over the last 2 weeks. This book is a historical fiction book based on real people during the time of the U.S. Civil War. So, whenever I tried to pick up where I left off it took me awhile to get back into it.

Anyway, the story is set in Franklin, TN, and begins just prior to Confederate solders attacking the Union lines. The story is told from the perspective of several characters. The main character of the book is Carrie McGavock, who lived at the Carnton Plantation. The story follows her service to the soldiers as the Confederacy took over her home as one of the field hospitals for what was the deadliest and bloodiest battle of the entire war.

I have a really hard time with this kind of fiction. I am a stickler for details, so I didn't like not knowing where poetic license was used. However, had I never read anything about the Battle of Franklin this story would have peaked my interest to learn more. It really does do a good job of describing life during that time, especially life that took place post-war.

If you prefer fiction over history and you don't know much about the Battle of Franklin, I think you should read this story.