Books and the beauty of technology.

So this weekend, not feeling overly ambitious, I finally read a book. I have felt horribly guilty not reading lately but I just couldn't bring myself to do it and I've no idea why. But I did it. And it wasn't that good. Highly disappointing. So what was this book...well, you know how I was telling you about Spanking Shakespeare earlier? Well I read Jake Wizner's second novel Castration Celebration. With a title like that I was giggling before I even read the book. However, it wasn't as fun to read as Spanking. He even pulled a few teacher moves-paralleling Shakespeare in the book. But the jokes are lame, the rhyming isn't that witty, the plot line is more predictable than my breakfast when there's only one box of cereal in the house. And for me, what seems like one of the most interesting side plots doesn't even get reconciled. That all being said if you're looking to read a book/play about Much Ado about Nothing set in a summer arts camp with semi funny modern teenage humor, it's worth the 4 hours that it takes to read it.


Now, my main reasons for writing today. I know I have a tendency to rant about technology and its ill effects on literature. But I want to say I'm not against it. I, for example, have learned about soooo many books I likely would never have heard of if it wasn't for the world of the internet. Harry Potter would never have got so big if it wasn't for the internet. I wouldn't have found out about this kids book called It's a Book by Lane Smith if it wasn't for the internet. And most importantly I wouldn't have witnessed one of the sweetest moments of my week last week if it wasn't for the internet.

You see, with Estevan booming the way it is in the oil patch we often take temporary boarders to help us pay the mortgage or save for a trip-whatever floats our boat. And right now we have a guy from BC with two little kids back home. The other night he came home with a brand new Dr. Seuss book in his hands and I questioned him. And he told me that it was almost bedtime for the kids and that his job is to read them their bedtime story. So, just like the cute computer commercials you see on TV that make you feel all warm and fuzzy, he actually uses SKYPE to visit with the kids every day and read them their bedtime story every night. These kids may grow up missing their Dad as he travels around the country working but what a precious connection they will forever have to books, bedtime stories and thier father. And without the internet or SKYPE that never could happen. Awwwww, I love you technology!

Spanking Cats and Pirates.

Hi everyone. Sorry for neglecting my bookish duties. There has been a lot going on in my world and I would like to believe it is starting to slow down.
Can you believe that in the last 2 weeks I haven't read a single book? That being said I have plenty of stuff to share.

For example. I have turned a few more middle school teachers and school staff onto the hilarity that is Spanking Shakespeare by Jake Wizner. This book is hilarious. It is about a boy named Shakespeare who is in Sr. year of high school and has to write his biography-that is what the book is. Turns out that Shakespeare is good at writing and hilarious at retelling his life, as well as biblical stories and more. So I definitely suggest checking that book out from your nearest library or putting it on your next Chapters/Amazon order. The fun part? Well, aside from the story, is that in 2012 this will become a Nickelodeon movie. The even funner part? In the book Shakespeare has to write his own obituary-and now he can write yours too! Go here.

In other fun news September 19th is International Talk Like A Pirate Day- look forward to my intended post in pirate-ese on fun pirate books.

Also, I love second hand book stores largely because of their uniqueness and charm. This can also be said of independent book stores too. So I loved this article on book stores by the San Francisco Chronicle that highlighted the different kitty mascots of the different book stores in the city!

The Ebook/Ereader Rant

If you haven't figured out yet, I am a list person. I like lists because they're insightful and they lead me to think about or look into things I may not have otherwise. This morning I came across a few fantastic lists. The first of which I will share, the others I will paste at the bottom. I got this from Shelf Awareness. Its a daily newsletter that I subscribe to that comes with all kinds of interesting news on books, the book industry, etc.

The Regulator Bookshop, Durham, N.C., featured "Five Things Jeff Bezos Doesn't Want You to Know About the Kindle" on its blog:

1. You read slower on a Kindle.
2. You almost certainly read stupider on a Kindle.
3. The Kindle flunked out of Princeton.
4. Amazon can play Big Brother with your books.
5. Governments can play Big Brother with your books.


The reason I am sharing this my friends- Kindle sucks. I am not a big supporter of ebooks and ereaders in general, but the Kindle I am particularly not a fan of-and I love Amazon!

Why? Reasons 4 & 5 on this list play a large part in it. If I am going to spend my hard earned money on books I don't want them taken away from me. And it has happened already and will continue to happen with ereaders. You do not own ebooks like you own real books. You own the right to have a copy of the digital file on your ereader/computer. And those rights may be revoked for any number of reasons- a change in trade laws with the US, a change in copyright law, a change of heart by the author about digital editions...anything. And they don't have to reimburse your money. And based on the horror stories I have heard-they don't even let you know they're taking them back. You just hook up your ereader and bam, the book disappears.

Now this has primarily only happened with the works of long dead authors and modern classics, but it is annoying none the less. In addition to this, with the constant battle of copyright laws with Google and the changes happening over there I am just too uncertain to buy into it yet.

Another reason not to like the Kindle- you can only buy from Amazon! So if they don't have it digitally, you're S O L. Their newer editions are compatible to read other formats, but that is after a conversion process. But I can't go to say- Sony's ewebsite, or Kobo and download. Its not compatible with my library's ebooks program either. And I'm not sure its compatibility with Google Books either.

I have 2 other reasons for not liking ereaders outright, never mind the Kindle. 1. Is reason one on the above list-you read slower. And you do. Because the screen is smaller, because you're having to scroll, and because you're staring at a computer screen! All the adjustments your brain and eyes need to process add fractions of a second. and while I know that this isn't a huge deal it feels more difficult reading on an ereader than from a book. And in a world that sometimes has problems attracting readers anything that makes it more difficult frustrates me.

Not to mention what staring at a computer all day either at work or school and then coming home to read on an ereader screen-can we imagine what this is going to do to the long term effect of our eyes? I can only imagine.

Second reason...the end of book sharing. Its one of my favorite parts of being a book lover. If I liked the book so much I loan it to half a dozen people to read. You can't do that with an ebook. The best you've got is being able to tweet or share a quote or two on Facebook (which, while admittedly cool doesn't fulfill my purpose). And through being unable to share ebooks it will also lead to the end of used book stores. I heart used book stores. If I could go on vacation by myself that is what I would do-wander from used book store to used book store in England. I love their uniqueness, I love their charm, their variety, their "home-i-ness". I don't want these places to die.

And this belief sort of leads into the last two lists- again, I received these through the Shelf Awareness newsletter:

ReadWriteWeb suggested Five Ways That E-Books Are Better Than Paper Books:

1. Social Highlighting
2. Notes
3. Look-up of words
4. Ability to Tweet & Facebook quotes
5. Search

Giving equal time to the loyal opposition, ReadWriteWeb followed up a day later with Five Ways That Paper Books Are Better Than eBooks:

1. Feel
2. Packaging
3. Sharing
4. Keeping
5. Second-hand books


Lastly to conclude this rant, there is a new children's book out by Lane Smith called It's A Book. Please watch the trailer. It's fantastic and may become essential reading in my house for any future children.

Jane Austen's Fight Club

I know it has already gone viral, but its still great!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2PM0om2El8&feature=player_embedded

Books into Film

I have decided that the movie industry must be entirely out of movie ideas. I realize that turning a good novel into a good movie has been attempted since the beginning of movies but the last few years seems to be the only thing happening. And they seem to be converted from books into movies quicker than ever.

Lets look at 2009/2010. We had Lovely Bones, The Fantastic Mr. Fox, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, My Sister's Keeper, Harry Potter & The Half Blood Prince (of course), New Moon, Dear John, Alice in Wonderland, Inkheart, Angels & Demons, The Lightening Thief, Eat Pray Love, The Informant... and those are just the ones off the top of my head!

Now it seems that every best seller book I read is being turned into a movie. The Help by Kathryn Stockett is one of my favorite reads of 2010 so far. It is already being filmed. I just discovered today that Water for Elephants is being filmed starring Rob Pattison of Twilight Saga fame and Reese Witherspoon. I love Reese, but I hate Rob. I am now torn because it was such a great book! I have also previously mentioned that Never Let Me Go is going to be coming out starring Keira Knightley. And The Book Thief is also going to be released as a movie in 2011, as is Half a Yellow Sun and those are the ones I already know of, in addition to the continuing Twiglight Saga and...sniff sniff, the final in Harry Potter.

In some ways I am very OK with all of the books into movies. It draws people in to read the books and it supports the movie industry as readers go to see the movie version. This is a big bonus. The only thing I can wish for is that movie theatres would have "films that were Books" displays in the same way many libraries/bookstores and their websites have "books into films" displays.

It does irritate me how inaccurate the movies are compared to the books, but compared to the benefits I will suck it up.

So in summary my friends- be sure to take a closer look at the movies you are watching, if you enjoyed it there is probably a book that preceded it. Check it out and enjoy it too!

Shanghai Girls

Lisa See is an American author who looks like she could never understand the hardships she writes about in Shanghai Girls, her newest novel released in May 2009. In fact, after reading Girls I was surprised to look at the back cover and see someone who looked as Caucasian as I; but Ms. See is of Chinese decent, and her family has very much lived many of the events discussed in this book. I felt awful making such assumptions that just because she didn't look Chinese, doesn't mean she wasn't or that she didn't truly understand what she was writing about. That lesson is taught in the book and you think I would've caught it then, if not before. So shame on me for my assumptions, and thank you Lisa for this great book and all of your knowledge!

Shanghai girls is about the life of a pair of sisters as they make their way through wars, immigration, working, stereotypes, fear, death, trauma, happiness and every other possible event or emotion one could feel. It’s a quick read, its an easy to follow read but it is an engaging read and you just can’t put it down.

I had originally checked it out as an audio book. Thinking it sounded good but not something I would get around to reading soon, so I put it in the truck. Well, it was so engaging I checked out the book because I can read faster than it is read to me. I was so engrossed in it that I still kept the audio book in the truck, skipping to where I’d finished reading and then when I got home I could skip forward the pages I had listened to.

What I admired about the book was that there were inconsistencies-and when thinking about them, I realize they were intentional. They were used to make the reader think and realize the struggle these “beautiful girls” went through and the decisions made.

I had a few moments where I, yet again, realized how much a person can learn from reading fiction. As an example, there were moments in the book involving Chinese gods and traditions that I was really to appreciate for the moments they were instead of being curious as to their roles in the culture and what these gods represented, etc. I knew this because only a few months ago I had read Amy Tan’s The Kitchen God’s Wife where I had read about the gods who were a large part of the novel.

I didn’t like the ending at all. It felt like the beginning of a series. I understand why it ended that way-the story isn’t about the daughter, its about the sisters. But I still didn’t have finality. There is still so much they are about to experience as sisters which is just as important as the other stories and struggles and messages we experience in the book.

In addition to this book I have discovered Lisa See is amazingly informative on the Chinese culture in California and specifically Los Angeles and Hollywood. In addition, her Facebook page includes a lot of two way communication on the topic. I have gathered that this is where part of her family settled when they came to North America and that they were a large part of "China Town" in Los Angeles. I was very surprised at the wealth of knowledge evident on both her website and her Facebook page. I wish more authors were like that.

Computers with Legs & Spiffy Personalities...

I promised myself that I wouldn't relate my blog to work often. However, even before working in a library I believed in libraries. I believed in their place in culture, the community and doing it for free. I believe in their ability to provide access to everyone.

The NPR blog wrote this and I like it. They claim Libraries are the next cool thing because we're green, local, librarians are fighters and everyone likes a fighter-and because librarians aren't geeks anymore. Library personnel are apparently your computers-with legs and a spiffy personality. So says NPR. So have a look at the blog post!