I discovered there is a Catch-22 in reading a book and taking notes from it.
On one instance, when I read a book, I may hope to sell it, and keep my notes as a remnant. On the other hand, I may want to keep the book, as a reference, which may have some details that weren’t recorded in the notes, for they may have not been important at the time. But sooner or later, from a reference standpoint, those very facts may gain relevance.
So the best resolution to this dilemma, fortunately, is simple. My invertebrate textbook works equally well as a reference as well as an actual college “textbook.”
As a result, I therefore will keep it indefinitely, and always available right on the shelf. Since the first 4 chapters, pun intended, are the backbone of the rest of the book, they are the only chapters needed to be read in order. The rest can be read whenever wanted or needed. Best of all, as discrete units depending universally (for the most part) on the first four “master” chapters, the other chapters can be read individually, without regard to sequence!
There are a number of other textbooks on the subject, which indeed may be better suited to actual semester college courses (which may, or may not, be in my future; I might as well take it if offered and ace it!). But this one is quite a leader in the subject.
So, from sea to shining sea, and everywhere in between, invertebrates are “in!”
Invertebrates may not have a backbone, but this self-study (using this textbook) will need one from me!
A few months ago I obtained the above textbook from Amazon. As someone who enjoys biology, especially as one of the natural sciences that explains (to the best degree possible) God’s wonderful creation, I think this will be a great summer to explore it.
This will probably the last text I will buy; in the future, I will use Amazon’s rental function. You can read it, and summarize the information in a note-taking program (whether it’s the old-school Windows Notepad, or slicker ones like MS Office OneNote or the Mac Notes). By the end of the period, you can return a textbook to its source, and move on to the next! And do the same over and over again with future rentals.
Since not many people read true collegiate textbooks (due to their “heavy” nature and thus demanding deep concentration), my job is to summarize the info and trim out such details such as the actual jargon (often mere Greek compound words which may be well, Greek to many people), taxonomic boundaries. Also, I will burn a CD-R (or DVD-R) whenever I finish covering a text, so you have the main notes just in case you need them. And it is a good way to share facts with people whenever appropriate. Using a banking metaphor, the notes allow you to deposit and withdraw information when needed or wanted. I might also be able to add some other details from more sources, e.g., Britannica.
Rentals generally span the fall and spring semesters and summers. While this follows the rule that college students primarily use them, me as well as some other heavy readers, are a key exception.
Maybe I can even market them someday. I may need a lawyer’s advice on that, though, concerning copyrights, but I’ll worry about that then. If I ever learn to code, that is also a way of making an “encyclopedia” of sorts. Again, a lawyer may be helpful.
Well, when this study is over, hopefully around Labor Day, there will be another book to choose. Something to pray about, as well as previewing the next book (in Amazon) for the fall. Whether I go to college or not, this can be beneficial. In the former case, you’ll have an ahead-of-the-pack edge in a relevant class (if, the is, your school offers it). Otherwise, often with the help of preparatory materials, you can learn it on your own. If I do compile notes, of course, you would even need the original text (LOL).
A relevant Biblical relationship is Philippians 2:3, 4, where it is written that we should be humble and prioritize the needs of other above ourselves. Making summaries from complicated sources can potentially help the world, little by little, appreciate the wonder and awe they are missing due to the knowledge they miss out on, for it may be too technical for them. Therefore, I would be a “middleman” of sorts in this transmission of knowledge.
You think you know this planet has an amazing substance that we can’t live without. But you might think you can’t imagine what it is. Well, I’ll give you 10 clues.
10) It needs a lot of incoming heat to substantially change its temperature. (Especially in the oceans)
9) It easily holds its own surface, can hold to molecules of the same substance, and can even hold to certain walls.
8) It is neither an acid nor a base
7) Your kidneys control the balance of this in your blood in relation to the cells of throughout the body.
6) It falls, rises, makes clouds, and does this in a constant cycle.
5) It is quick to dissolve substances, making it a (somewhat) universal solvent
4) It can be a solid, liquid, or gas.
3) In ice (solid) form, we put it in our drinks and store it in cubes or in a crushed form.
2) When it is frozen and transitions from a liquid to solid, it will expand (not contract), protecting life under a thin layer of such.
1) We are supposed to drink 8 glasses of it per day.
So, what is it? You guessed it: it’s water! Good old H2O! Sure was a no brainer!
The Adventures of a Christian Bookworm 