Round up #138: an easier way to KU, hearing voices
The ILMK Round ups are short pieces which may or may not be expanded later.
Presidential frontrunner respects Jeff Bezos, but “…they’re gonna have such problems”
re/code post by Dawn Chmielewski (with 27 second video clip)
Hearing voices when you read
“But a man’s mind is so alone, shut up inside the bones of the skull.”
–Lew Alton
The Sword of Aldones
written by Marion Zimmer Bradley
collected in The Mind Boggles: A Unique Book of Quotations (at AmazonSmile: benefit a non-profit of your choice by shopping*)
This
Mysterious Universe post by Paul Seaburn
referenced (and linked) a study by Ruvanee Vilhauer, published in Psychosis: Psychological, Social and Integrative Approaches.
The study (although I would consider it more of an analysis) looked at online conversation about hearing voices when you read.
I think I’ve told this story before, but it’s specifically relevant, so it probably bears repeating.
I was reading a book which my Significant Other had already read. My SO mentioned having a problem with the book, because when reading it, my SO heard a character in the voice of the actor Darren McGavin.
I said something like, “What do you mean?”
My SO said that was the voice that they heard.
Me: “You hear voices when you read?”
My SO: “You DON’T hear voices when you read?”
😉
We both thought the other one was…um…unusual.
I had no idea people actually heard voices when they read.
In my work as a trainer, I was able to ask a lot of people…and it was about 15% of the people who were like me.
Well, that was unscientific…and honestly, so is this “study”, but it’s very interesting anecdotally.
I assumed that people heard character voices, based on my SO, but apparently, some people hear their own voices (and others hear other things).
I should be clear that, despite the nature of the publication, it is not suggested that hearing (or not hearing) voices is pathological. 🙂
Fascinating stuff! I recommend it.
HuffPo: “When a Publishing Expert Opens a Bookstore”
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to run a bookstore?
I’ve done it myself (as a manager, but not an owner, of a brick-and-mortar).
As you can probably guess, it was fun. 🙂
However, there is a lot more to it than just the fun part of helping connect people to books.
Before I was a manager, I (perhaps not surprisingly) worked for managers. 🙂
I liked my first one, but I wouldn’t say that person was extraordinarily good. We did fine, I just don’t think that was the ultimate role for that person. I will say, though, I liked my job interview:
Manager: “Hi, I’ve looked at your resumé. Do you like The Three Stooges?”
Me: “Yes.”
Manager: “You’re hired.”
🙂
That’s paraphrased, but pretty much the way it went…just that one question.
I assume what I’d written showed that I had the minimum level of competency, and that there wasn’t much more of a concern (except perhaps team culture, which might have been connected to the Stooges question).
I think my second boss, though, was one of the best bosses I have ever had (still).
One of my favorite things was when another employee complained about having to straighten up an “end cap”.
The end cap goes, logically enough, on the end of the bookshelves which form an aisle. They are usually carefully “merchandised” (displayed), with a lot of books “faced” (with their covers showing, rather than their spines).
They get messed up easily…some people are not at all careful about how they put books back on the shelf in a store, sometimes even just laying them down horizontally.
My co-worker said something about not liking doing the end caps.
Our boss said (approximately), “That’s why we call it ‘work’. If you liked doing everything, we’d call it ‘fun’, and I wouldn’t have to pay you to be here.” 🙂
Merchandising does take some time…so does inventory, receiving, returning, balancing the drawer, and so on. The most challenging thing, perhaps, is the high amount of shoplifting in book (since it is so easy to sell a stolen book). That can discourage people.
This
Huffington Post interview by Fauzia Burke with Lynn Rosen
shows that even someone very familiar with the publishing industry can be surprised by the actual frontline experience.
“Can you use ‘Kindle’ in a sentence?”
I was listening to Len Edgerly’s
on our
Amazon Echo (at AmazonSmile: benefit a non-profit of your choice by shopping*)
“Alexa, play The Kindle Chronicles on TuneIn.”
and heard the host talk about Amazon’s Kindle sponsoring this year’s Scripps Spelling Bee (thanks for the heads-up, Len!).
Here’s the
I think this is a big deal, so I was surprised that Amazon didn’t send me a press release, and that they don’t have one yet on Amazon.com (this PR is from Scripps).
This spelling bee gets national media coverage…so tying in the Kindle to that is prestigious.
It also gives, perhaps, an imprimatur from the literati. 😉
According to the press release, it won’t be like just slapping your name on a stadium…the Kindle will be an active part of the contest. They say:
“Kindle offers technology that will be used by the Scripps National Spelling Bee in building its word lists for school-level study materials. Vocabulary Builder compiles an easy-to-access list from words readers explore through the dictionary option. Readers can use these lists to quiz themselves with flashcards and instantly see words in context until they have mastered them. With Word Wise, short and simple definitions automatically appear above difficult words to help readers take on more challenging books. These enhancements provide for an improved reading experience that leads to greater comprehension, a stronger vocabulary and a better, uninterrupted reading experience for young readers.”
“View My Kindle Unlimited Books”
This was super nice when I was recently in the Kindle store on my now discontinued Kindle Fire HDX 7!
When I went to the
Kindle Unlimited (at AmazonSmile: benefit a non-profit of your choice by shopping*)
part of the store, there was a banner at the top that said, “View My Kindle Unlimited Books”
Tapping on that, it explained the system (that we can have ten out at a time), told me how many we had (9), and listed them…with a “Return this book” link.
That’s a lot simpler than how it was before, where we didn’t see them until we went to borrow one, and there were a couple of steps to it.
I haven’t seen that on the website on my laptop yet (that’s how I usually look for KU books), but it’s a nice improvement on the tablet.
What do you think? Do you watch the Scripps Spelling Bee? What do you think of Amazon sponsoring it? Do you hear a voice when you read? The character’s, yours, or someone else’s? Have you ever wondered about running a bookstore? Have any questions about that? Feel free to tell me and my readers what you think by commenting on this post.
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* I am linking to the same thing at the regular Amazon site, and at AmazonSmile. When you shop at AmazonSmile, half a percent of your purchase price on eligible items goes to a non-profit you choose. It will feel just like shopping at Amazon: you’ll be using your same account. The one thing for you that is different is that you pick a non-profit the first time you go (which you can change whenever you want)…and the good feeling you’ll get. 
Shop ’til you help!
This post by Bufo Calvin originally appeared in the I Love My Kindle blog. To support this or other blogs/organizations, buy Amazon Gift Cards from a link on the site, then use those to buy your items. There will be no cost to you, and a benefit to them.
I Love My Kindle 