Tag: readers

Links Galore

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Lots of fun links for today:

Quote of the Day

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I am not interested in the ephemeral…I am interested in those things that repeat and repeat and repeat in the lives of the millions.–Thornton Wilder, The New York Times (6 November 1961)

As you may have gathered, Thornton Wilder is a new favorite writer. I recently saw a gorgeous production of Our Town (and spent the evening crying about how beautiful and fleeting life is). Walt gave me a copy of the play for Christmas and I finished reading it over the weekend–so good.

Like in the quote above, Our Town deals with the very ordinary daily activities that are deeply meaningful and connect humans across time. I feel like this is something I want to keep in mind in my own writing–what is lasting? What is eternal? What touches all of us at our most basic human level?

Friday Fifteen

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I’m feeling kind of like this, so thank goodness it’s Friday. Check out this week’s collection of fifteen-word book reviews:9780307277695

1. My Life in France by Julia Child and Alex Prud’Homme
Julia’s a favorite–fearless, funny, and an enthusiastic learner. She and Paul warm my heart.

2. Roller Coaster by Marla Frazee
Fun art captures a wild ride. (Although reading the book is ride enough for me.)

3. The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman
Probably my least favorite of the series, but some powerful moments–Pan! My heart!

4. The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway
You’re either a Faulkner or a Hemingway. I’m a Faulkner. Could not get into it.

5. Amy and Laura by Marilyn Sachs
Where I first heard the “golden arm” story. Another one I reread a lot.

Almost Time for the ALA Youth Media Awards

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The 2013 ALA Youth Media Awards (aka, the Newbery, the Printz, the Caldecott) will be announced on Monday, January 28. Like pretty much everyone else in the kidlit world, I’m psyched to see which books are honored:

I’ve always been interested to see who’s nominated for these awards, but now that I’m becoming part of the YA/children’s lit community, I’m also really excited about the possibility of actually knowing people whose books could be selected. Less likely for 2012, but I know a few 2013 authors and lots of great 2014 authors. Even though obviously the ALA awards can’t recognize every awesome book, I’m still psyched by the possibility of actually knowing an award-winner.

(via School Library Journal)

Links Galore

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Lots of great links for today:

In Favor of the E-book

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Yesterday I talked about why I like physical books and what advantages they for readers. Most readers I know feel the same–they love books, they love holding books, they love the smell. (Heck, Giles agrees. How can I argue with Giles?)

So what about e-books? So far, I haven’t heard a lot of readers talk about how much better the e-reading experience is. Some people, like Jonathan Franzen, don’t even think an e-book counts as real reading. Do we need to gather the villagers and our pitchforks and run e-books out of town?

I say no. E-books have their place in the book world, too. Here are a few things I like about the e-reading experience:

4182802481_62c616de2a_b1. Your Library in your Suitecase
I avoided e-readers for a while, but then my husband and I were getting married and going on our honeymoon–keeping us away from our home libraries for more than two weeks. A big part of my vacation time includes reading, so it was a choice between bringing eight hard copies or investing in an e-reader. I was able to have a dozen books with me in a convenient little device.

2. Size Doesn’t Matter
Even when I’m not traveling, sometimes it’s not convenient to carry around a giant book. (I’m looking at you, Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell.) I’d end up leaving heavier books at home because they wouldn’t fit in my purse or would be too heavy to lug around all day, and it would take me much longer to finish them. On an e-reader, you can carry around Moby-Dick and War and Peace and the entire Harry Potter series in your purse.

3. New Books Without Leaving Your Home
On a snowy, sleety day like today, I’m tempted to crawl under the covers and never leave. Thanks to e-readers, I’d still be able to get new books. As awesome as it is to go to a library or bookstore, it is pretty cool to have a new book while I’d curled up on the couch.

6965382718_f22a157325_b4. No Library Fines
Permissions for e-books and  libraries are still a big issue, but I hope we see an increase in libraries that can offer electronic options. With regular books, you have to run back to the library on your due date or risk being fined. (Or as I like to think of it, you risk a donation to the library, which makes me feel better about myself.) With e-books, you simply lose access to your checked-out book on the due date. Way less hassle for readers.

5. Free Books
No, not just library books–you can download electronic versions of anything in the public domain for free. You want to read Franekstein? Get it now. How about Persuasion? It’s yours forever. When I first got my e-reader, I downloaded a bunch of classic novels. Getting them for free was a great excuse to dive into content I always thought about but never pursued as much as I should have.

6. Cheap Books
Okay, so maybe they’re not free, but there are still a lot of daily deals for e-books. If I see something available for $3 (as opposed to $10), I’m way more likely to download a copy than I would be to search for a hard copy–even a discounted one. I think this helps me take more purchasing risks. If it’s cheap and won’t take up space on my bookshelves, why not spend a couple bucks? And even if it’s not providing the publisher/author with the same amount of royalties, these are probably books I would have waited to get at the library anyway.

4506273004_ebde74350e_b7. Dictionaries at Your Fingertips
I admit–sometimes when I come across a new word in a paper book, I gloss over it and assume I’ll understand from the context. (Sorry, English teachers!) Usually it’s because I don’t have a dictionary with me. My e-reader, on the other hand, came with several dictionaries, so I there’s really no excuse to skip over unrecognizable words.

8. Organization
I always have great ideas about how I’ll organize my bookshelves, and inevitably they fall to disarray. But on my e-reader, I can create categories (like Classics or YA or Non-Fiction) and immediately sort books. That way, I always know where Jane Eyre is. On my bookshelves, it’s probably somewhere on the tall one? Maybe on the one by the kitchen?

So where does that leave us? Is one option better than the other? My opinion is no–they both have benefits and flaws, and they both have their place in my life as a reader. I’m not afraid that e-books will totally kill paper books, and even if they do eventually, that’s a long time coming.

At the end of the day, delivery method doesn’t concern me as much as story. Reading A Tale of Two Cities or Because of Winn-Dixie on an e-reader or as paper books still provides me the same story. As long as publishers keep giving me that, I’ll keep reading.

Are you on one side of the physical book vs. e-book debate? Share your thoughts in the comments!

(image 1: Gene Wilburn)(image 2: smohundro)(image 3: albertizeme)

In Favor of the Physical Book

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One of the big discussions in publishing over the last few years has been about e-books and how they’re going to destroy paper books, or how paper books are naturally better and more readerly than e-books. I love a good argument, and I also love playing the devil’s advocate. So today starts a two-part series in which I look at the pros and cons of hard copies and their e-book counterparts.

33440_774475567606_5957005_nFirst up: the physical book.

These are what I think of when I think of books–bound pages, that nice papery-ink smell, arranged in rows on bookshelves. In fact, I’m always tempted to say “a real book” when comparing hard copies to e-books. Somehow having something to touch and smell makes it seem more real.

Of course, that could just be my own bias from growing up with physical books as the only option. (Note: I also don’t listen to audio books very often.) A few more reasons why I prefer hard copies:

1. Cover Art
Okay, they say never to judge a book by its cover. But cover design can be truly unique and beautiful. It’s an introduction to the book even before you read the first word. And it can connect you to a particular edition of that book. For example, when I was in eighth grade, I read my classroom library’s version of The Outsiders. It was the movie tie-in edition, but somehow the cover, with its sunset and the fading faces of actors, felt right. I asked for my own copy for Christmas and got a version with a different cover. I still read the book about a hundred times, but I never got used to this different cover image. This might be different for some of the more impressive e-readers, but mine only includes a hazy black-and-white image of a book’s cover–not nearly as appealing or as evocative of a book’s content.

2. The Ease of Turning Pages
I tend to be a fast reader, especially when I’m in the middle of a book I’m really invested in and I can’t wait to see what happens at the end. But sometimes that means I need to flip back to check on a particular detail. That’s way easier to do with a physical book than an e-book. It’s also easier to immediately see where you are in a book–“more than halfway there!”–and track your reading progress. And there’s something satisfying in physically turning that last page–not quite the same as clicking a button.

71906_774483481746_7191186_n3. Bookshelves
If I go to a friend’s house and they have bookshelves in full view, you can bet that’s where I’ll be. And similarly, bookshelves have a prominent place in my home. A personal library in full view can tell you so much about the person who has read the books, and can spark all sorts of conversations. Having books in plain sight can also be a good reminder of what you’ve read and inspire you to reread a particular book.

4. Sharing and Giving
Sometimes you finish a book and don’t necessarily need to have it on your bookshelves forever–but maybe your friend wants to read it. Although I’m sure there are ways to do it for e-readers, I find it much easier to share physical books. (Granted, I also hoard my books a lot; I’ve been burned by borrowers who become keepers.) Books also make the perfect gift–they’re easy to buy and (bonus) easy to wrap. This year, Walt gave me a copy of Our Town (because I need to cry some more) and inscribed a quote from Thornton Wilder in the front. That’s certainly not something you can do with a e-book.

5. Book Spying
One of my greatest complains about e-readers is that they don’t allow you to see what someone else is reading. I love seeing what people are reading on public transportation/at the doctor’s office/in line at the grocery store/etc. Once I was on the T and I saw someone reading Tuck Everlasting. I didn’t say anything, but it felt like I had an instant connection to my fellow T-rider. If that reader had gotten the e-book version, I would never have felt that readerly bond.

255093_953799341326_1075905_n6. Browsing
When I was young, my family took trips to the library and the bookstore. Most of the books I read were books I stumbled across. Maybe I’d heard about them beforehand, but a lot of times I’d find an interesting title, flip through the first few pages, and give it a whirl. Maybe they didn’t all end up as my favorite books ever, but the sense of discovery was exciting. I don’t tend to browse through Amazon or other online booksellers that much, even with lists of recommended or similar titles.

7. No On/Off Switch
E-readers are great if you’re traveling (more on that tomorrow) but hard copies don’t require you to charge them or turn them off while your plane takes off (an essential time to have a book, in case your seat partner feels chatty).

8. Signings
A couple times I’ve gotten an e-book and later seen that the author would be at a local bookstore or library for a signing. Bringing a Kindle and asking an author to sign that? Not as cool.

If you’re not convinced, check out these posts about the awesomeness of the printed book:

Other reasons you love physical books? Share in the comments!

Write Posthumously, Edit Currently

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Adapted from a speech given to the 2012 Whiting Award winners, Jeffrey Eugenides implores writers to “write posthumously”–to take a step back from the writing world and deadlines and money and fame and critics, and to write according to a deeper and more lasting truth. Forget about what your readers expect, what your critics want–just write.

I like a lot of that advice. No matter what stage of the writing game you’re at, there’s a lot of pressure. How can you get an agent? What do editors want to read? How can I make this book more marketable? How can I win an award, and write a second novel that will win an award? That kind of thinking doesn’t necessarily get you award-winning novels. At the end of the day, I want to write books that touch people or make them laugh or explore what it’s like to be alive. It’s hard to do that when you’re trying to think “But I hear that vampires/dystopias/mermaids are really popular!”

Eugenides says: “When you started writing, in high school or college, it wasn’t out of a wish to be published, or to be successful, or even to win a lovely award like the one you’re receiving tonight. It was in response to the wondrousness and humiliation of being alive.”

For me, writing felt like the most natural thing you can do with some paper. The world has so many stories! Why wouldn’t you want to tell them all? So when I’m feeling stuck or under pressure, I try to remember what it was like when writing was about fun. It was about having a blank sheet of paper one minute and a full one the next. It was about getting to that place inside your head where the world retreats somehow and the characters start to move and talk. That’s a good place to be.

Of course, that’s the ideal writing life. In real life, you have editors and agents and readers and critics and, heck, a rent to pay and you can’t always write exactly what you want to write exactly when you want to write it. At the Millions, Todd Hasak-Lowy suggests writers take Eugenides’s advice with a grain of salt. Sure, we should write without the demands of the publishing industry in mind. But writers also have to deal with these issues. Your agent may say that your latest project isn’t going to sell. Your editor may not be into the minor character you love. Maybe no one shows up to your reading. Maybe you get a bad review. From talking to working writers, this stuff happens way more often than we’d like to think. Writers need to be prepared for the realities of the business side of writing, not just the creative side. I like Hasak-Lowy’s suggestion for what authors should do:

“[The] so-called writer has to wear all sorts of hats: writer, reader, editor, negotiator, businessman, self-promoter, etc. And only the first of these hats should never be worn outside one’s private necropolis. The next two have the odd responsibility of communing — patiently, cautiously, and courageously — with the dead self. The rest must find of way of coming to terms with life among the living.”

When you have your writing hat on, forget the rest of the world. You’ve got a story in front of you–focus on that. But you need to understand how to deal with the rest of the world, too, and part of that means putting on new hats. Over the last few months, I’ve talked to several writer friends about the “follow up book” and developing a solid reader base. And that doesn’t always include writing your secret favorite idea first. No matter what stage of your career, you need to recognize the realities of being a professional writer.
Still, that doesn’t mean Eugenides is wrong. The writing is what matters. We’re here for the writing, not for the money (ha) or fame (ha) or cool book swag (bookmarks!). Even if your writing career doesn’t bring you all the success you hope for, you’re still craft characters and finding the right words to express those deep longings we all feel. And that’s pretty awesome.

Friday Fifteen

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After the holidays and vacation time, I have a hard time figuring out what day it is. But I’m glad it’s somehow Friday again! Onto the fifteen-word reviews.

1. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
Read this in high school and loved it. Curious to see if it stands up.

2. Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume
My  mom gave me this book to help me learn about puberty.

3. Moses Goes to a Concert by Isaac Millman
Great intro to ASL, and nice focus on what Deaf children can do, not limitations.

4. Flour: A Baker’s Collection of Spectacular Recipes by Joanne Chang and Christie Matheson
Got this for Christmas. Makes me want to stay home and bake all the things.

5. Stacey’s Book (The Baby-Sitters Club Portrait Collection #1) by Ann M. Martin
I thought this was how all NYC kids grew up. Let’s all skip ballroom class!