I know we left off December; life’s too busy then.
I know we left off December; life’s too busy then.
Two summers ago, while we were on vacation in the Adirondacks, my tech-savvy friend Don sat me down with his latest gadget: an eReader. “As much as you read, I think you’d like this,” he said as he demonstrated the e-reader’s features and quick downloading capability. He nodded to the novel in my lap, Ken Follett’s The Pillars of the Earth, a three inch thick volume. “This is much lighter than THAT.”
“Yeah!” my son said, eagerly grabbing the eReader.
eReaders eliminate bulk.
eReaders make reading more cost effective.
But I still have reservations.
Sharing eBooks isn’t always easy. There are time limits (Kindle = two weeks) and financial restrictions (most cost at least $100 and an Amazon Prime membership costs $79 per year). According to the local librarian, a lot of the patrons she sees do not have the computer knowledge or equipment to borrow the eBooks available. I believe everyone should have access to literature, and I worry that eReaders exclude significant segments of our population.
And, I like to take my novels into the bathtub.
Do you agree? Have I missed something? Share your thoughts by clicking on “comments” below.
Where the Wild Things Are, by Maurice Sendak. This picture book earned my love years ago for its sparse , but moving/poetic language (Max “sails in and out of weeks…to where the wild things are”) and most importantly its ending: Max stands up to those wild monsters.
For budding, but hesitant readers:
The Invention of Hugo Cabret, by Brian Selznick. This VERY thick chapter book might cause alarm, but if you can get a child to flip through the pages and see that detailed drawings comprise half of the book, I’m sure he or she will immediately begin to pour over the fast paced story told with words and pictures. The movie based on the book comes out over the holidays, making this a timely gift.
The Ranger’s Apprentice series by John Flanagan. These books follow the adventures of Will and the rangers, a group of shadowy characters who secretively combat evil in a medieval / fantasy setting. My 40 year old husband enjoys these stories as much as my 11 year old son!
Matched by Ally Condie. This dystopian fantasy explores the underlying conflicts in a society where the government efficiently directs everything for the good of its citizens, right down to the food delivered each night for dinner. Word nerd alert: “dystopian” comes from ancient Greek words meaning “bad place;” it describes a society under repressive government control, usually in the guise of “utopia.”
The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, by Alan Bradley. Flavia, a precocious and headstrong young lady, finds a dying man on the grounds of her father’s estate and immediately launches an investigation. Suspense and humor color this classic “English countryside mystery.”
My oldest son is 11 and more than intellectually capable of reading The Hunger Games, but I don’t think he has the emotional maturity or life experience to fully understand Katniss’s predicament. Nor do I want him to take the loss of life described in this book too casually. One of my friends who read The Hunger Games with her 14 year old daughter said, “It’s not so bad, as long as you forget that the kids are actually dying.” Katniss herself makes a similar comment in her narrative. But, the fact remains, the kids do die.
I admit it; I’m a Twi-Mom. I’ve devoured all the books of Stephenie Meyer’s Saga multiple times, often staying up later than advisable to do so. I follow a fan site, Twilight Source, and it’s associated podcast, Imprint. I own and frequently listen to all of the movie soundtracks. (“Is that your vampire music again?” my husband groans.) And I’ve been counting down the days until the latest movie in the franchise opens- today!