Ebook news digest: overhyped screen time concerns, Trivago rip-off, book piracy in Italy

finger of old woman pointing at tablet screen. photo by timothy muza

News on ebooks, writing and travel

Screen time: Conclusions about the apocalyptic effects of digital media are often incomplete, overstated

A voice of reason about concerns of regularly accessing media on a mobile device or PC: “a recent review of over 200 studies about social media concluded there was almost … Read >

Spaghetti and Sauna is a survival guide to Europe’s vastly different cultures: Italy and Finland

Finns are from Neptune and Italians from Mercury – that is what someone moving from Italy to Finland (or vice versa) might think. The differences in culture, behavior and socializing – not to mention weather and food are so great that it can drive a normal, healthy person to believe … Read >

Top 20 tourist regions in Europe: Spain, France, Italy have the most popular destinations

Europe is the world’s number one tourist destination, but anyone who has traveled in the culturally rich continent knows how different the countries are. Which countries and which regions exactly are the most visited destinations in Europe? The European Union has vast databases of information on tourism that reveals interesting … Read >

Sure, states have capitals, but in Europe there are also culture, smart, and green capitals

torino (turin) flower market in italy. photo by arihak.
Torino city center in northern Italy.

Yes, we know that the capital of Latvia is Riga and the capital of Slovakia is Bratislava, but what on earth is the Green, Smart, Innovation, or Culture Capital of Europe? Well, they are capitals of European countries that have been awarded an extra … Read >

Nitpicker’s travel journal: travel lessons learned in 2024

krakow main square in poland, photo by arihak.
Krakow, Poland.

Nothing in the world is perfect. Nitpicker can always find something he believes could be made a tiny fraction better. Not to mention travel – when real life experiences in a destination don’t match the expectations and everything that can go wrong, goes wrong. Well, that’s the beauty … Read >

Nitpicker’s travel journal: do travelers really need an AI assistant for surviving road toll complexity in EU?

highway traffic moving slowly on a highway in Italian Riviera

A long, but exciting and entertaining road trip took us across Europe from Estonia to southern France in October. All eight countries that were along our route are members of European Union. Thanks to EU, we didn’t have to worry about phenomenal roaming charges for our mobile phone communications, or … Read >