Turn your ereader into a composition notebook!

So in this post I will be sharing the Nook screensavers and one wallpaper I made by resizing composition notebook images from Vernacular Typography. I'll start by showing pictures of my Nook with the wallpaper and screensaver I use.
So here is the screensaver in action. I like that I decided to keep the black on the side. First didn't start like that but it just didn't feel right without the binding area. I went with this cover only even though I made a folder with all of them on there and have my screensaver switch from one composition notebook cover to the other. That covers just seems to stick out to me the most since that is the same companies comp books I buy. *shrug* Have many others to choose from for people with their own preference. Some I saved since they were quite unique and I liked them.
I don't know what it is about composition notebooks that I like so much. I know I'm not the only one. I guess I like them a lot since I use composition notebooks to write out story/book ideas, put together my plot lines, and even write stories in (even though I go back and just type it up on my computer later).

And the wallpaper I use for the composition notebook screensavers.

Now come the photos. Click on the photo for it to zoom in, and just copy and drop to your screen, save as, whatever if you'd like them. If the classic Nook size of 600 x 760 for wallpapers and 600 x 800 for screensavers doesn't fit your ereader, just resize and enjoy.

So here is the wallpaper I got from a Google search.

If you don't like that and just want the paper lines only without the partition bit then here's that, also from Google image search. Thought I'd add that on here just in case.

Composition notebook screensavers. Yay! Another thing I realized is that can be done with some image editor is that you can put something in the composition box and not have it just plain like it is now. Thinking of putting something on my own. Guess I could share that when I do it later.

So that's it. I may share them on Nook-Look and whatever other sites I find doing a Google search. Hope you like them.

Nook screensavers and wallpapers

I was very busy trying to find the perfect screensavers and wallpapers for my Nook.
So I will be sharing the ones that I found from other websites and some others that I used the pictures and altered the sizes to fit my Nook screen. Hope you like them. I'm making the images small, but click on them for full size. If the nook size of 600 (width) by (800 height) for screensavers and 600 by 760 for wallpapers does not work for your ereader, just resize to correct measurements.
I first went with a Franz Kafka photo as my screensaver since he is one of my favorite writers. Found that image with a quick Google search.

For the wallpaper I wanted to go with another Kafka related picture and so I went with this illustration I found on Google as well.

After using that for a day or two I came across Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy related ones and just had to get some that had "Don't Panic." Didn't even think of that at first and it is seriously one of the best things ever to have as an ereader screensaver/wallpaper.
I can't remember where I got the first one unfortunately. The second one I got from Kindle Wallpapers and just resized the image. The last two were from Nook-Look. I actually don't even use the last two since I thought the other ones were better, but I'll share them anyways.

A really great wallpaper for these is another one I found on Nook-Look

I'm a huge Wes Anderson fan. Love his films and when I saw the drawing of Bill Murray as Steve Zissou I had to have it. Got this one from Kindle Wallpapers as well.

The wallpaper I went with for when using the Steve Zissou one is the Team Zissou emblem or whatever. Can't remember where I got it, but it was thanks to Google.

Proof that it looks good (doesn't appear like it due to my crappy phone camera, but the lettering still has the unfilled area in the middle of it, that has not changed when put on the Nook).

I was going to put up some more, but I don't want this post to get too long since I have a layout that centers each image. I have about 18 other screensavers and 1 wallpaper to share that I made and really love (I didn't make the images, just used someone else's picture and resized and what not).
May look into another template for this blog tonight. Thinking of just using one of the simple ones on here with the book case background. *shrugs* See what else I find I suppose.

Got a Nook :)

So I finally got an ereader! (Have for about a week now)

I was quite resistant the past year due to my video gaming addiction and lack of reading. Another thing was that I hated the idea of reading off an ereader and not from an actual book. I worked at Best Buy for a short period during the hectic Thanksgiving period and while there I had to learn about all the different ereaders since they are selling them. The Nook Color sounded best back then, but I did more research since Kelci and I planned on getting some as our anniversary gifts this summer for each other.

So knowing that we were going to buy two, I went and did a ton of research. My desire for a Nook Color was up there due to the apps you can get on it thanks to Android but a BIG let-down was seeing the battery life only being 8 hours. Since I'm going to be doing a TON of reading once I transfer and focus on my english major, I felt that 8 hour battery life was crap.
So I looked into the classic Nook and I liked it, except the fact that I can't read digital comics on it.

I was quite torn but thanks to eBay and Barnes & Noble we bought the Nook (classic) early with our credit card. Barnes & Noble was selling refurbished Nooks (with wi-fi, no 3g) for $79. Usual price for a refurbished Nook with wi-fi was $119 and new they are $150. We ended up saving quite a bit of money and we are both very happy with them.
I was quite surprised when opening up the box and seeing the screen. It looked like paper was covering the screen so I reached down to grab it and found out that it was the actual screen. I heard and read that it looked like actual paper but I was still shocked.

I like how I can have all these books in one device rather than having to carry a bunch with me if going anywhere. I got my bike in Iowa City now and I plan on using that as my main means of transportation. That means my bag will be just a little bit lighter when it comes to books.
Oh happy day!

I have been on a download craze the past few days thanks to Project Gutenberg. I first started with Google Books free selection but found Project Gutenberg to be better. Just a lot easier to find book on in my opinion, especially for book series and collections. I am up to 258 books/stories from that site alone, all of which fit on my Nook.

Besides getting ebooks I was busy getting different screensavers and wallpapers for my new toy. I first went with some I got from Nook-Look but I then went around different sources on the internet and got my own images. Wasn't too difficult to make my own screensavers and wallpapers since Nook-Look gave me the correct dimensions that images needed to be. I will share those tomorrow I think. Don't want to make this post too large.

So see ya then with some awesome screensavers/wallpapers you can use for your own reading device.

Oh how I love the library!

I have never actually lived anywhere with an outstanding library and I wish I had growing up. At least I get to enjoy having great libraries around me now. Will be quite beneficial when I transfer and focus on my English major and probably become a second home for me.

So the wife and I decided to go to the Coralville library first which I thought was very nice. I really like how there's the trees sticking up from the bottom floor up to the main floor and a fountain down there, was quite nifty. The DVD selection was pretty awesome and I was really surprised that you could check out movies, audiobooks, and cd's for free. The more I think back on it, I do remember checking out VHS from the small library in Dallas Center, IA when I was in 5th grade (very small selection). I went there wanting to find some graphic novels to read. I've been on this comic book kick lately and was really wanting to see if they had any. Sadly, they didn't so we got a few DVDs to watch and saw a sign on their door on the way out about them giving away free books and movies. Kelci and I ended up skipping one of our classes that Friday morning so that we could go when they started and get a bunch of stuff. Kelci really focused on the VHS. She has really been wanting Disney movies lately so she got all of them she could. I stuck to mostly picking out books. Since there were quite a few people and little space I really didn't have the time to look at each and every book to see if I wanted it or not. So I ended up really just grabbing books from authors I knew that I liked or ones that I wanted to check out. I also grabbed some really old looking ones just to have. It was really awesome seeing one with a person's name written in it and the year of 1908. Kelci has been talking about collecting old books and I am totally down with that. The fight for the best movies and books was a grueling one. Old people see a deal and they flock like a murder of crows. Kelci had more of a rough time than I did. One lady just kept bumping into her with her bag and Kelci finally started bumping back. I found it quite humorous in the car on the way home. So here is the pile of books and movies we grabbed piled onto our bed.

Was a great morning and definitely look forward to arranging our bookshelves once our roommate James moves out at the end of July. Waiting until then since we really don't have the space and we're moving our shelves again (we have so many books that when we rearranged our room we didn't arrange our bookshelves... It hurts looking at them at times due to how out of place the books are).

So a few days after our first trip to the Coralville Library we finally went to the Iowa City Public Library. I really didn't know where it was and often don't go downtown due to parking not being the greatest during the day. We decided to park in a parking ramp since using a meter only gives you so much time. This library is fantastic! I thought the Coralville Library was great (it still is) but this one just had so much more due to its size being a lot larger. The selection of books and movies is quite large and I had a tough time making up my mind. After much thinking I went with Neil Gaiman's The Sandman graphic novels and one Green Lantern graphic novel I needed to read since no where sells it (couldn't even get it online!). So I walked out of that library with one of those reusable tote bags full of 13 graphic novels.

Seeing all the different graphic novels and manga I could check out really shocked me. Didn't see a selection like that at any other library I've been to. Probably do have a selection like that due to all the different students that are around there. Makes sense and definitely smart to cater to everyone that they can.

Lastly a quote from one of The Sandman graphic novels I enjoyed that somewhat have to do with what I wrote about.

"Most people don't realize how important librarians are. I ran across a book recently which suggested that the peace and prosperity of a culture was solely related to how many librarians it contained. Possibly a slight overstatement. But a culture that doesn't value its librarians doesn't value ideas and without ideas, well, where are we?"
~Neil Gaiman (The Sandman. Line spoken by Lucien, Librarian of the Dreaming.)

Oh and here's a photo of our cat Tavi (named after Tavi from Jim Butcher's Codex Alera book series) while I was reading. I'm sure there will be many other photo's of him on here. And yes, he likes sleeping in an empty 24 pack of pop/soda.