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Well, it would have been nice to have ended the month with another concert review; but alas, I hadn't the funds. Butch and I were moderately interested in a Candlebox concert at Bases Loaded, but neither of us had the available cash.

That's the nice thing about the internet, there's plenty of free stuff to keep you occupied for as long as you can stand to sit. I've been reading Book magazine online, and it was from an article in that magazine that I learned of a website called Online Originals. They offer original works by authors who choose to publish their work in a digital format rather than in traditional print. They don't give these electronic books away for free, but they do give one away as a free sample. I ordered a book called "Sudarshan's Gift" and received via email, in Portable Document Format (PDF), a file containing the new book by an Austria-based writer.

I couldn't read it initially, because PDF is a graphic representation which my screen reading software can't interpret. I used to simply pass over anything I came across that was in PDF, but now these files are easily converted to plain text. All I had to do was attach the PDF file to an email to pdf2txt@sun.trace.wisc.edu, and the converted text came back as an email.

The author, Aviott John, grew up in India, as did the central character in his just-released work. I found it interesting to get a glimpse into another culture, and I came away impressed more by the similarities than the differences between Sudarshan's and my own upbringing. I could easily identify with him and, though our lives are really quite different, wanted to see things work out for him. Since the book ended at a point where Sudarshan is still young, I wonder if there will be a sequel; if so, I may even pay for it.

At the top of the file, there is of course, a disclaimer:

Readers are welcome to view, save, file and print out single copies of this work for their personal use. No reproduction, display, performance, multiple copy, transmission or distribution of this work, or of any excerpt, adaptation, abridgement or translation of this work, may be made without written permission from Online Originals. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this work will be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

And there you have it. Because of the above paragraph, I can't provide you with a link to the book itself -- I'm not even sure if it's okay to link to the sample chapters.