Julie and Julia

Packing light was a high priority this trip, as I did not want to check a bag. One of my packing downfalls is *books* - they are heavy but necessary on a vacation. I decided to try my new ipod touch and bring along an e-book.

Yes, yes, I know. That screen is small. But I thought I should give it a try...

I downloaded Barnes & Noble's free e reader, which came with a few free books and a dictionary. There are a lot of screen settings, so I set the font to very large and it seemed doable. I have great eyes, but did not want to work hard at pleasure reading...

Next I downloaded Julie and Julia for $9.95. Not as economical as the library, but not as pricey as the brand new paperback in the store...

And once on the plane...I powered up and...read. Verdict? I LOVE it. Truly. It's tiny and compact, easily portable, and while I have to touch the screen often to turn the page, it was not annoying at all. You can highlight a word to mark, you can bookmark pages, and you can tap a word to look it up in the dictionary. (Except that the words that I did not know were beyond the scope of this particular abbreviated free dictionary...)

My brother and I went to "Chapters" last night, (Canada's Borders or B & N) and I was not tempted to buy the next read because I will download one if necessary. (all I need is a wireless hotspot) This is sort of freeing. I don't know about you, but sometimes (always) I can have a backlog of books that I don't quite get to...but looked so good...

Another reading application is called "Stanza," and I downloaded that app for free as well. It has a "library" function. Haven't checked it out, but maybe you can rent a title for a shorter amount of time for a small (or no) fee? I'll need to spend some time there.

The book is FUN, written in a chatty casual style. I found myself chortling out loud on the plane, but thankfully the guy next to me was a sound sleeper... Can't we all relate to cooking disasters?

Yesterday Jon and I went to the movie - second day it was out - two thumbs up - way up. Fun food adventure and poignant love story. We cried at the same parts... an emotional movie for sure.

Today's paper features JULIA, of course, and Jonnie and I are going to rummage through some used book stores to try and find an old copy of the cook book that will soon be all the rage. (Chapters was OUT of it last night, but we were assured that A LOT more are on order) One funny line from this editorial is, as the editor was testing the beef bourguignon recipe, " ...when all is said and done, it is a glorified beef stew. It is very good. But it takes all day to make. By the time my guests arrived, I hated them..." Ha.

This trip will go down in my memory as the Julie and Julia vacation. Jon and I might even try to make Boeuf bourguignon at his place one day... (although there are a million steps to that recipe...)

Au Revoir, and Bon Appetit!