{"id":21541,"date":"2019-08-14T14:42:49","date_gmt":"2019-08-14T20:42:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.flovalleynews.com\/?p=21541"},"modified":"2019-08-14T14:42:49","modified_gmt":"2019-08-14T20:42:49","slug":"a-boomers-journal-in-a-digital-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/flovalleynews.com\/?p=21541","title":{"rendered":"A Boomer\u2019s Journal: In A Digital World, . . ."},"content":{"rendered":"

You Still Can\u2019t Beat A Book<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/h1>\n

By Tom Anselm<\/span><\/h3>\n
\"Tom<\/a>
Tom Anselm<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I am about to embark on an epic journey. The peculiar thing is that the parameters of this trip won\u2019t extend beyond the reach of my arms. Today I will begin an 858-page novel by the name of Lonesome Dove<\/em> by Larry McMurty. It may likely take me weeks, even months, to get to the end of this classic Western saga of love, cattle drives and friendships.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s all because about ten years ago, I stayed up late nights watching the movie starring Robert Duvall and Tommy Lee Jones, among others, and have never really forgotten the impact it made on my soul. So, as I saw the book on the shelf at the local library, I muscled up and grabbed it, and hoped I was up to the task.<\/p>\n

There is a problem here that must be stated up front. It is published in regular type size. I was hoping to find it in the Large Print version, which is what has become the go-to for The Lovely Jill and me. Not that we\u2019re old or any\u2026 okay, we\u2019re old, and the BIG LETTERS sure do help. I guess we could go to those page magnifiers, but that\u2019s just for reeeeally old people. At any rate, I will soldier on with the print that brung me. (Do those magnifier thingies really work? Hmmmm.)<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t like reading stuff on my phone, even the computer. Jill has a Nook, which she uses occasionally. However, we have come to value the public library as a community treasure. Log in at home, check the authors and titles, reserve what you want, click and, sure as shootin\u2019, your book is held, and free of charge to boot.<\/p>\n

A good thing is that if the book turns out to be a stinker, you\u2019re not out $29.99 or whatever Barnes and Noble charges. That\u2019s why I usually get two or three different novels per visit, which have become quite numerous since retirement. Sometimes I feel like Norm from \u201cCheers\u201d I\u2019m in there so much. Although no librarian has yet to yell out \u201cTom!\u201d as I push through the door.<\/p>\n

Back to books in particular. It\u2019s all about the tangible feel, the smell of the paper, the idea of having a tome to prop up on a pillow or spread on the table while eating my high-fiber oatmeal with assorted fruit and plain Greek yogurt and an occasional sprinkling of cinnamon\u2026 ahhh.<\/p>\n

The Good Life does come easy sometimes. Reading a compelling book can take you away from the everyday of mayhem and craziness, for a time at least. I particularly like novels that have some historical references, either real or close to it, that make me think I am actually learning something.<\/p>\n

Not so crazy about murder mysteries, especially since a lot of times, I\u2019m reading right before sleepy-time. No sense making my dreams any more bizarre than they already can get without additional prompting. Not crazy about love stories, and I can\u2019t usually get into a tale where the main protagonist is a female. Although some authors are so adept at spreading the story around amongst the various characters that it just doesn\u2019t matter.<\/p>\n

And first person narratives seem to be more my style. At least to the extent that I can put myself in the shoes of the story-teller. Thus my avoidance of heroine-driven exploits. Besides, their shoes would probably hurt too much.<\/p>\n

So as I start my 5-pound curls with the tree-killer that contains the ramblings of former Texas Rangers Augustus McCrae and Captain Woodrow Call and the boys from the Hat Creek Outfit on their trek north to wide-sky Montana, I will indeed soldier on with the print that brung me. Unless, of course, I break down and get me one of them there page enhancers. I am looking at 858 pages, after all. Git along, little doggies. Yee, Haw!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

You Still Can\u2019t Beat A Book By Tom Anselm I am about to embark on an epic journey. The peculiar thing is that the parameters of this trip won\u2019t extend beyond the reach of my arms. Today I will begin an 858-page novel by the name of Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurty. It may likely […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"ocean_post_layout":"","ocean_both_sidebars_style":"","ocean_both_sidebars_content_width":0,"ocean_both_sidebars_sidebars_width":0,"ocean_sidebar":"","ocean_second_sidebar":"","ocean_disable_margins":"enable","ocean_add_body_class":"","ocean_shortcode_before_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_after_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_before_header":"","ocean_shortcode_after_header":"","ocean_has_shortcode":"","ocean_shortcode_after_title":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_bottom":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_bottom":"","ocean_display_top_bar":"default","ocean_display_header":"default","ocean_header_style":"","ocean_center_header_left_menu":"","ocean_custom_header_template":"","ocean_custom_logo":0,"ocean_custom_retina_logo":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_height":0,"ocean_header_custom_menu":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_family":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_subset":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_size":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_unit":"px","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_line_height":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_unit":"","ocean_menu_typo_spacing":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_unit":"","ocean_menu_link_color":"","ocean_menu_link_color_hover":"","ocean_menu_link_color_active":"","ocean_menu_link_background":"","ocean_menu_link_hover_background":"","ocean_menu_link_active_background":"","ocean_menu_social_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_links_color":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_color":"","ocean_disable_title":"default","ocean_disable_heading":"default","ocean_post_title":"","ocean_post_subheading":"","ocean_post_title_style":"","ocean_post_title_background_color":"","ocean_post_title_background":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_image_position":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_attachment":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_repeat":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_size":"","ocean_post_title_height":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay":0.5,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay_color":"","ocean_disable_breadcrumbs":"default","ocean_breadcrumbs_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_separator_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_hover_color":"","ocean_display_footer_widgets":"default","ocean_display_footer_bottom":"default","ocean_custom_footer_template":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"ocean_post_oembed":"","ocean_post_self_hosted_media":"","ocean_post_video_embed":"","ocean_link_format":"","ocean_link_format_target":"self","ocean_quote_format":"","ocean_quote_format_link":"post","ocean_gallery_link_images":"on","ocean_gallery_id":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,13,21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21541","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-columnists","category-entertainment-travel","category-health-seniors","entry"],"yoast_head":"\nA Boomer\u2019s Journal: In A Digital World, . . . - flovalleynews.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/flovalleynews.com\/?p=21541\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A Boomer\u2019s Journal: In A Digital World, . . . - flovalleynews.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"You Still Can\u2019t Beat A Book By Tom Anselm I am about to embark on an epic journey. 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