5 links with patterns to make kickass covers for electronic gadgets

Did you wake up this morning with a new gadget of some sort? Maybe an eReader, a phone, a tablet, a netbook, a laptop. If you're at all like me, the first thing you did was download every app ever made - even the ones you know you'll never use. No! ESPECIALLY the ones you know you'll never use. And then you probably spent time looking at THINGS and STUFF of all kinds (Reddit, Goodreads, Tumblr, Facebook, Twitter, io9.com, and every other site you can think of) until the words blurred together. And then, very possibly, or maybe this is just me, you contemplated how you could pimp your gadget. (I often look at Redbubble.com for ideas for cases and things I'd like printed on them because I am a terrible fangirl who ships all of the Sterek she can (and then some)). But maybe you're not into wearing your fandom on your sleeve, so to speak. Maybe you're more the type who would prefer to knit or sew or crochet the most kickass cover that ever did kickass. And if that's the case I am, as ever, your enabler because in today's post I offer up 5 links that provide some great cover/sleeve ideas for electronic gadgets. I'm helpful like that. Now I have to find some sucker to make ME one of these.

Merry Christmas, everyone!

1. Laptop, iPad, mp3 player, eReader bag patterns - Pinterest board
2. 37 gadget cases and Kindle cover sewing patterns - website
3. 50+ iPad and Kindle covers, cases to make - website
4. Free knitting patterns: Phone, tablet and laptop covers - website
5. Kindle covers - Pinterest board

5 reasons to give eBooks/eAudiobooks a go

Not everyone's a fan of eBooks or eAudiobooks, and that's okay. I'm not here to tell you to give up the printed word altogether. (That'd make a great, big, fat liar out of me because I will forever have an emotional attachment to the printed word, and the comfort that a physical book gives me). When we expanded our eBook collection earlier this year (we now offer more than 43,000 titles across four different platforms for you to borrow), it wasn't about trying to replace the printed word. That's not - and never has been - our intent. What we hope to do - and I think we've done that quite well - is allow people to have more choice when it comes to reading however, whenever, and wherever they choose to. I've never been much of a one for living in denial, so I absolutely believe we can have our cake and eat it, too. After all, what else is the point of cake if not to be eaten? So if you're not yet convinced about eBooks or eAudiobooks, here are 5 very quick reasons to give them a try AS WELL AS physical books. (See? I'm not about to push you into something you're not ready for).

1. All eBooks and eAudiobooks are FREE to borrow
You simply need a library card to get started.

2. There are no late fees
Titles are automatically returned when they expire. Some of our platforms even let you return the item yourself before the due date.

3. You don't need to visit the library to borrow or return books
This means you have 24/7 access.

4. You can download eBooks and eAudiobooks from anywhere in the world
You simply need an internet connection. When I was on holiday in New Orleans last year for Mardi Gras, I found it a little hard to adjust to the change in time zones, and raided our eBook collection for something to keep me entertained until my bodyclock was in sync with Louisiana.

5. Text size, style, line spacing and page margins can be adjusted to suit your needs OR eAudiobook speeds can be adjusted to suit your needs

Our top 5 most downloaded eBooks

List by Tosca

We have eBooks! You might know this already from an earlier October post in which I wrote about being a bloodless nerd and highlighted some fabulous arts and crafts eBooks. In that same post I mentioned that it was a relatively simple 4 step check out process to get you started and a few people scoffed. Scoffed, I tell you! And so, below the jump you'll find a quick rundown of the instructions you'll need. And remember - you can email me if you get stuck! On with today's list which is, simply, a roundup of our top 5 most downloaded eBooks :)

Honourable mention, i.e. Next 5 on the list:

After the kiss by Karen Ranney - historical romance, fiction

Brazen virtue by Nora Roberts - contemporary romance, fiction

Blink : the power of thinking without thinking - education, history, nonfiction by Malcolm Gladwell

Bedding the heiress by Cathy Maxwell - historical romance, fiction

Artemis Fowl and the Atlantis complex - junior fiction, science fiction and fantasy. by Eoin Colfer

5 arts and crafts eBooks you may not know we have

List by Tosca

"It seems to me that anyone whose library consists of a Kindle lying on a table is some sort of bloodless nerd."
― Penelope Lively

If you've not yet explored our downloadable eBooks and have been considering it, then how well-timed is this post? It's a relatively simple 4 step check out process that we can talk you through if you get a little bit stuck. You can send me an email if you need help and we'll get it sorted.

I realised this morning that I've never really had an eBook top 5 list here which surprised me because I read ebooks. Lots of ebooks. I buy them from online sites such as Books on Board and Mobipocket. I also use our library's free downloadable media service, too. I've been on a bit of a crafts reading kick because I have such fun reading the titles. I like to imagine that I can make things, too, when really I'm quite hopeless. (I have a rich inner life, i.e. I live inside my head a little too much). As I was looking for a post quote I came across the one above by Penelope Lively (you can find the article here) that startled me a little. (You'll note, though, that I still used it). I don't own a Kindle. I do own ebooks. I also own physical books. I suspect that may not stop me from being one of the 'bloodless nerds.' And, truly, that's okay by me because I look at it like this: I live to read. So much so that you can, and will, pretty much find me reading anything (graphic novels, nonfiction, fiction, kids, teens, physical books, ebooks), anywhere (in queue, on buses, trains and planes, at weddings and in doctor's waiting rooms, etc.), at any time. How I'm reading isn't an issue for me. The fact that I'm reading at all - the fact that anyone is reading at all - is always cause for celebration in my book. I'm not at all precious about how people come to a love of books - be they in e-format or physical - so long as they do. I don't believe that ebooks are the death of the physical book. I never have done. I don't think it's meant to be a case of 'either/or.' I think it's about having more choices. If you're an ebook newbie I'm not going to push you into it and be all, 'OOH! OOH! OOH! You should *so* do it! You *should*!' I expect you'll do it when/if you're ready. And if this tempts you to do so, well, I'm not going to complain.

So here's a post from one bloodless nerd to another: 5 arts and crafts eBooks you may not know we have :)