My appetite for reading books seems to be ever increasing. I don't recall being this excited about books when I was in school when they were required reading. My argument is that if I had a choice in books being read, I would have read every book on the list. The fact of the matter is that not every book is going to be a great book. Some are harder to read than others. Just because a book is consider an American Classic doesn't mean it is a good read.
I find comfort in being able to escape into a good book. The fact of having a Nook makes my reading experience worthwhile. Sure, It is not the same as buying the actual book and having it on display for no one to see in a library no one looks at, but I like the concept of reading an entire book in a small space. It has also shown me the importance of the e-book format. I think it is very important that moving forward, all books should be available in this format.
I think about how expensive text books are for college students. Imagine having them on an e-reader where students can read at their discretion. That would also avoid the whole book bag problem. I hated to carry books from class to class, it was a problem. The best part of having something like the nook is that it reads PDFs. So if I had to read something for work I can load it as a PDF and I would be straight. However, I tend to just use my e-reader for personal reading only.
I also tend to read books that now only come in the e-reader format. It saves paper for those who are environmentally friendly. One thing that I really try not to do when I did buy real books was bend the cover or break the spine. I paid for it and I did not want it to look horrible. Now, I do not have to worry about that.
Some people have asked me what books am I reading and what would I recommend. First and foremost, I recommend that people join the site Goodreads. This is where I have cataloged most of my read books. I can track what I read and what I want to read. I think that if you are into books then that is the place to start. I have read six books this year and I am currently on my seventh. My goal is to read 15 and I am behind on that mark. Goodreads allows me to track and know that type of information.
Out of the 6 books I have read I would recommend The Hunger Games, The Shack, Fish Out of Agua, The Girl Who Played with Fire, and The Fountainhead. I picked these books to share with you because they have all had an effect on me in some way. For example, I read the Hunger Games in less than 24 hours and The Fountainhead was an epic journey. The one book that really spoke to me was Fish Out of Aqua by Michele Carlo. I enjoyed that book so much that I am working on bringing her to speak at Syracuse University for Latino Heritage Month.
What has me bugging out is putting something that I wrote into the e-reader. It becomes a great place to store all my written information in case I need to show someone a poem or a short story that I have written. It makes what I am trying to do a little more tangible. This is a piece of technology is something that I am glad I got my hands on.
4 comments:
Thanks for the book suggestions. I'm starting a book club in September so this is great. I've heard awesome things about the Hunger games. :)
I'm in love with actual books though. I love the smell of a new book..I haven't been able to get into the whole e-reader thing.
Hunger Games was crazy. Make sure your read it before the movie comes out.
Goodreads helps manage book clubs as well. So you should look into that.
Funny, I had a Kindle and initially loved it. Then I received an iPad2 as a gift, decided to pay it forward and gifted my Kindle to my girlfriend. Anyway, as I was reading “Waiter Rant” on my iPad one day, I realized that I needed to stop fooling myself and accept the truth! I love the feel and smell of a real book in my hand. I love owning them. I have a small room in my home where I keep them. I love turning the pages, folding the pages because of a great passage, making hand written notes on them and/or highlighting great excerpts. I love being able to hand it over to someone when I’m done with it because I enjoyed it so much and therefore I’m dying to share it (will replace later) or because I didn’t care for it too much and therefore don’t really care to include it in my collection.
I’m the same way w/music. Owning a CD or LP to me isn’t the same as downloading an album off iTunes. I want the experience of unwrapping the CD, having the artwork and label copy in my hands. It excites me. ;-)
I regret purchasing Adele’s CDs on iTunes NOT because I don’t like them, I LOVE them both! She’s my current music addiction! But more so because those are two CDs I would love to own the physical copies of.
Yes, with certain things I’m just so old school and I can’t help it! :-)
Goodreads sounds like a really cool concept/website. I’ll check it out.
BTW: I also LOVED the Shack. :-)
Googling “Fish Out of Agua”….NOW!
Which reminds me, I hardly drank any agua today. No bueno. ;-)
Amanda
Amanda,
I feel you on the music cd though. My feelings on music is that if an artist actually makes a great CD then I may buy the actual product. The last CD i bought was Alicia Keys' 10 Anniversary.
I do have Adele's album and she is amazing.
I would suggest you do get that book too. We can discuss it when you are done.
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