New Font for Blog Book

I have been working on converting this blog to a book.  One of my concerns was the type face (font) I was going to use when the book goes to print.  My 95-year-old mother has trouble reading small print and I find more and more people gravitating toward large-print books.

I went to the public library yesterday looking for some audiobooks by Rick Riordan.  While looking for the audiobooks, I actually picked-up a print version and the librarian (Thanks, Amy) showed me the front page with the publication data that included the font used for the book.  The book was easy to read and I liked the font.  The font used for The Last Olympian was Centaur MT, 13 point.

I came home and looked for the font on my computer.  Unfortunately I didn't have it and I immediately went to Adobe.com.  I have used Adobe Type Manager for years and thought that Adobe would have the font.

While Adobe Type Manager is largely outmoded--built-in to such programs as Windows Vista--the font was available from Adobe.  I don't know if anyone remembers the "typeballs" used by the IBM Selectric typewriters.  Each ball was for a font and you had to purchase and to change the balls when you wanted to change type face in your typed documents.  The fonts for the computer work in a similar way.  I had to purchase and download three different fonts--Centaur Std, Centaur Std Italic, and Centaur Std Bold--in order to have the three types of fonts I need for the book.  The good news is that they were available and I was able to purchase, download, and install (after using Adobe help menus) the fonts on my computer (in Windows Vista) and in two Adobe programs, PageMaker 7.0 and Adobe Acrobat 9.0 Pro Extended.

You won't see that type face on this blog except in a picture I will include here.  It will work for the book and for the onscreen version of the book.  I need to contact my print-on-demand printer tomorrow to make sure everything will work when I present the finished book in Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) format for publishing.

Investing in Learning and Education

Post for March 9, 2010
Recent news reporting in Illinois shows that Governor Pat Quinn is planning to make cuts in education spending to cover some of the budget imbalance for the state.  This response is an echo of other cuts in investment in learning and education on the part of individuals, corporations, and state and federal government--in the USA and beyond.

At the same time, politicians talk about the future in glowing terms--"Green energy jobs," much faster telecommunications capabilities, etc. 

We need to remember that each of us needs to be a lifelong learner and to find ways to invest in our education--even if it is with time more than money at any particular moment.  Public libraries (also suffering from cuts in funding) offer great resources for learning.

Basic skills of reading and understanding are important to be able to use the resources available to us for learning.  We need to keep an energy level up for exploring and learning more about our world and how we can make positive contributions to our world and our universe.

(Reading) Resources for Parents

In a conversation with a parent today in the therapy pool at the Delnor Wellness Center, we spoke about ways to provide enriching experiences for her two children in terms of reading and building skills useful both in school and beyond.  I have written about many of these ideas in earlier posts to this blog and wanted to revisit the topic--and to provide some new posts.

A very good way for students to build reading and writing skills is to listen to unabridged audiobooks of interest to them and to read along with an unabridged companion (printed) book.  The best source of these books is the local public library--in my area the St. Charles Public Library probably has the best collection.  If you do not have access to a public library (which I heartily encourage for everyone), you can go online to the World Public Library and access many downloadable digital books (for visual reading) and digital audio books.  An individual annual membership to the World Public Library is only $8.95 per year.

Downloadable books can be saved on iPods and MP3 players.   This gives the students access to books where they keep their music and gives them that much more opportunity to read or to listen to the books.

Amazon has the Kindle digital book readerKindle Wireless Reading Device (6" Display, U.S. Wireless)--that also supports audio.  Sony has a book reader and a European company makes a third reader (at, perhaps, a more affordable price).  While downloaded books can be read on computers--I read several textbooks that way while taking online courses from the University of Phoenix--portable book readers seem to be a much preferred way to go for digital books.  (You may want to explore "tablet PCs"--including a new one that may be coming out from Apple soon--to see if that will give you the most value from your investment.)  Follow this link for a review of the book readers.

I have been working with an extension of the audiobook and companion book concept to review my Spanish language skills.  I listen to an unabridged audiobook in English while reading its unabridged companion book in Spanish, then I listen to the unabridged audiobook in Spanish after I have read the companion book.  A modification that would also work is to do what I just said, then listen to the unabridged audiobook in Spanish and read the unabridged companion book in Spanish again.  This would reinforce Spanish pronunciation of the words in the book.

To improve writing skills, adults and children need to read more.  Research indicates that the best writers were first very good readers. (Visit the "Using Audiobooks" link on the page.).  An easy and mostly painless way to start is to find a series of books by a favorite author.  (For example, the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling.  Visit http://drm-booklists.wikispaces.com/ and look at the tabs on the left for some suggestions.)  Once the adults or children have listened to and read a few of the books in the series, they should be encouraged to create a sequel or another story using the same characters and language of their favorite author of the series.  This way they have good role models for their writing and a good way to measure the quality of their writing against the work of they author they were inspired by.

These approaches can improve reading and comprehension by both children and adults and are especially valuable for second language learners.  By involving multiple senses, these approaches can also help people overcome minor learning challenges that impact how they read or listen.

For those who are physically or visually challenged, the Library of Congress offers the National Library Service free for those who qualify.  Qualification is a matter of certification by a doctor and then patrons receive free digital audiobooks and braile books in the mail.  Visit my blog post about BARD for more details.

If you would like to see a presentation about using audiobooks to improve reading and academic performance, please follow this link to my website. (Go to the 2009 Presentation on "Using Audiobooks," then click on the link you want to use.)

If you are interested in working with me to help your children (or adults) to learn to read more, please visit my website contact page at http://www.joelmonty.net/contact/contact.htm.

Public Libraries--Resources for All Ages--Free

I have been working with public libraries for years and today began to reflect on how they provide resources for all ages--free. I had been working with K-12 students and have been working with unabridged audiobooks and companion print books from the library to help students improve their reading and academic performance.

Recently I had to prepare to take a battery of Spanish tests for the Department of Justice and found multiple resources to help me prepare for the exam.

My 95-year-old mother has age-related macular degeneration and has loved the "Cat Who" books by Lilian Jackson Braun. The library had copies of almost all of the books in the series in large-print editions. The Library of Congress, through its National Library Service, is providing the blind and physical handicapped of all ages with talking books--a free service.

Reviewing Spanish--Some New Twists with Favorite Authors

For the last few days I have been reviewing my Spanish and preparing to do some translation from English to Spanish as part of a battery of tests I will be taking.  I visited the St Charles Public Library and picked-up a lot of good material to use in my review.

What I have experienced very good results with are two novels,  The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown and Zorro, a Novel by Isabel Allende.  I have been listening to the unabridged audiobook on CD in English and reading the unabridged companion book in Spanish as I listen to English.  In addition, for The Da Vinci Code, I have been listening to the unabridged audiobook on CD in Spanish in my car.

The combination is easy to follow though I'm not sure if my approach by listening to the English and reading the Spanish may be to passive.  I know that the key to working any language is to use it--a lot.  I also know that the best writers in English read--a lot.  By reading Spanish I hope to improve my Spanish writing.  By listening to English and reading the translation into Spanish (or, in the case of Isabel Allende, the original was in Spanish and it has been translated into English), I am becoming more familiar with how to use phrases and idioms in Spanish to replace those in English.

This is certainly a challenging way to review.  I am also watching DVD movies in Spanish (often with Spanish subtitles).  This, too, keeps me involved and engaged in my participation in my review of Spanish.  I am delighted I have had several days to prepare before I have to face any Spanish-language tests.