Free-Range Chicken by Simon Rich on the iTouch

Several weeks ago I bought an iTouch with several things in mind, including reading books. I had read that I could put books onto the Apple device using free Stanza software. The software was easy to download from the iTunes store, and once loaded, it helped me find the websites from which to load books.

I was a little surprised to find some new books, including Free-Range Chicken by comic Simon Rich. The short book is a collection of jokes and humorous skits. I thought reading something light and quick might be the best way to learn how to read from the device. The strategy worked well, and I enjoyed a funny book. My favorite section was the first, Growing Up, which contained funny stories about Rich as a child, including "A Conversation Between the People Who Hid in My Closet Every Night When I Was Seven." I also greatly enjoyed "I Think My Teenaged Daughter Knows I Read Her Diary." It was broad and somewhat obvious humor but well delivered.

Now I will try something a bit more challenging. I have The Warden by Anthony Trollop, The Federalist Papers, The Time Machine by H. G. Wells, and Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray. I may read several of these on a trip that I am taking in March. I won't have my usual four to six heavy books.