Hmmmm interesting! On reviewing the books I read last month 9 were eBooks vs 4 paperbacks. Actually of the 219 books I read in 2015 (72 being picture books I reviewed), 106 were eBooks .... making my physical book total 41!!!! Wow, that's quite scary! I'll be interested to see what the breakdown is this month.
Electronic devices give instant access to reading material making them a handy tool for those of us keen to keep up our reading - especially when we finish a book in a series and just can't wait till the book shop or library opens again on Monday morning. I always thought that I'd read more physical books over eBooks - I love the tactility of a physical book (smell, feel, page turning.... Mmmmmm books!). I remember when eBooks & eReaders first became available I honestly thought they wouldn't ever really take over from 'real' books ... at least not in my own reading collection. Now my TBR pile numbers in the hundreds ... in eBooks alone!!!!
Electronic devices give instant access to reading material making them a handy tool for those of us keen to keep up our reading - especially when we finish a book in a series and just can't wait till the book shop or library opens again on Monday morning. I always thought that I'd read more physical books over eBooks - I love the tactility of a physical book (smell, feel, page turning.... Mmmmmm books!). I remember when eBooks & eReaders first became available I honestly thought they wouldn't ever really take over from 'real' books ... at least not in my own reading collection. Now my TBR pile numbers in the hundreds ... in eBooks alone!!!!
I read an interesting article recently re owning physical books vs leasing eBooks - yes it was aimed at Amazon, but in reality it is can relate to any provider of eBooks. I hadn't actually given any thought to all those eBooks I've been buying but it got me thinking about the amount of money I've been spending on books (both physical & eBook) and the longevity of the use of these books. Most of us assume that when we buy an eBook or app online we own it. In actuality we are only leasing or renting long-term the use of this item. We can't lend it out to anyone else. We can't on-sell it. And if the provider decides for some reason that they are no longer stocking that item it can be removed from our collection, or they may go out of business and cease to exist at all!!!
On the plus side, you don't have to worry about the binding falling apart after one or two readings (sometimes during the first reading). It doesn't get misplaced among your many bookcases or packing boxes. It can't be damaged by excess moisture or the family pet. And if you are a library you don't have to chase overdue items! At the end of the day we have to trust that the providers of our eBooks are going to be around for a very long time .... after all I honestly can't see our use of eBooks and the like reducing anytime soon (unless we all end up in a dystopian world where power and access to the Internet is no longer available - Nooooooooooo!). We have to decide at the time of purchasing wether a physical book or an eBook is going to be the best fit for our need.
On a different topic .... For our PD teacher only day at the start of the term we had the pleasure of Mark Treadwell's company. He has done a lot of research into how the brain works and he is a strong advocate of visual and oral language over the written and read. His presentation was highly interesting and extremely thought provoking. For more information about Mark and his research visit his website.
However at the end of the day it reiterated to me my belief that we need a variety of platforms to ensure our students (and actually anyone that wants to learn) are able to learn and gain knowledge in a way that best suits their needs. As part of this variety of platforms we should also be providing multiple formats of material enabling our learners to find the information they need in a way that continues to promote their lifelong learning.
Whilst I love reading books not everyone gets the same pleasure from it. It could be that the font is too small, the size of the book may be off-putting, there are too many words, not enough visual clues, it's just plain boring ..... there are just so many reasons. Providing multiple formats of 'reading' material ensures that our students can continue to grow their thirst for knowledge, gain a love of reading and set them firmly on their path as lifelong learners. Formats of reading material are as varied as the genres that are available. They can be physical books, eBooks, audio books, graphic novels, videos, oral retellings (either being read to, or like our traditional myths and legends, being handed down from generation to generation at social gatherings), magazines, Internet files ..... the list goes on.
As a library our responsibility to our members (yep read an article recently that called library visitors members rather than users - sounds so much better) is to provide a space they feel comfortable in with a variety of 'areas' to cater to their different requirements; approachable staff that are willing and able to help with the many and varied needs of our members; a willingness of the library and staff to adapt to the constantly changing information landscape keeping them at the forefront of Information & Library Services; and above all else, a variety of appropriate resources to assist and tempt their curiosity. 'Appropriate' being that different libraries serve different communities and whilst we don't (or shouldn't) censor our resources we certainly need to be mindful of the special circumstances of each library community.
So here is WIBR this month ....... Sorry it's a bit of a 'paranormal' joy ride! Trying it in alphabetical order this time rather than the order in which I read them. Next month I'll try sorting them in alpha order AND by age category. Gotta try thinking outside the square and come up with the process that works best. Definitely typing my notes up as I read/finish a book is the easiest tho :) #cleverthinking
NOTE: ** Denotes sexual content (school librarians use your discretion)
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3013 Bk 11 Genisis** / Laurie Roma [eBook]
4 stars
Adult. Paranormal. Erotica
If you like your romance of the Sci Fi / Alien variety then this is a really good series to get hooked on. The erotica component comes mostly from the fact that this series is about multiple partner relationships ... hence things get a bit 'racey' in the bedroom scenes. In saying that there is really only one scene that is rather descriptive.
The storylines are well written and are easy to follow if you are reading one of the series as a standalone. However following the series in order gives you a better understanding of the whole concept of inter-alien race relations and how they are all trying to rebuild from a war that wiped out so many of them.
A nice bit of escapism!
Crow / Leo Timmers [Paperback]
4 stars
Picture Book 0-6
Poor Crow! He's all alone and really wants some friends. But all the other birds are afraid of him because he's scary-black! What's a poor crow to do? ...... How about give himself a makeover!
A gorgeously simple story about trying to fit in. Lots of bright illustrations.
My favourite line (purely for the adults) is .... "Now Crow looked like a tit!" (A bird of course .... what did you think I meant???)
Crow / Leo Timmers [Paperback]
4 stars
Picture Book 0-6
A gorgeously simple story about trying to fit in. Lots of bright illustrations.
My favourite line (purely for the adults) is .... "Now Crow looked like a tit!" (A bird of course .... what did you think I meant???)
Entwined Realms Bk 1 Stone Guardian** / Danielle Monsch [eBook]
4 Stars
Adult. Paranormal.
You don't see many paranormal books with Gargoyles as the main characters. Whilst this is a romance at heart, it has a really decent storyline (and not much at all in the way of sex scenes).
Larissa is a human woman, born on the day that Earth and a magical realm collided. She has lived her entire life in a human city protected by he father & brothers, with no contact with magic. That is until one night she is attacked by a group of Zombies. Watch out normal ... Hello world full of all sorts of magical creatures and beings wanting her for some unknown reason.
A really enjoyable series starter.
Entwined Realms Bk 2 Stone Embrace** : A a stone Guardian after-scene / Danielle Monsch [eBook]
4 Stars
Adult. Paranormal.
Tying up the end of book one with meeting Larissa's overprotective family. A nice quick read.
4 stars
Adult. Paranormal.
I do love Christine Feehan's work and especially enjoy the concept of the GhostWalker series. I did however find there was a tad too much sex in this one - it nearly overrode the storyline :( Almost verging on 'erotica'.
Even though you can read these books as stand-alone stories it is much better to read them in order. Especially as Trap and Ceyenne's story actually starts during the previous book, which gives you a bit more insight into much of this story.
Making It Up As I Go Along / Marian Keys [eBook]
4 stars
Adult. Non-Fiction. Memoirs.
OK, this book is completely 'left field' from my normal reading - which is quite eclectic already!
The blurb sounded interesting so I downloaded a sample to see if it stood up to the hype. Oh Boy! Did it ever! Keys had me hooked from the start with her 'Cast of Characters' and her 'Lexicon' of Irish words. I was having visions of 'Mrs Browns Boys' in my head as I was reading it. I got to the end of the sample and there was no way in heck that I wasn't going to download and read the rest of it. I seriously considered buying a paperback copy so I could share it but I wasn't willing to wait for a trip to the shops or to find out they didn't have it yet as its only just been released!
A great book to dip in and out of at will!
A great book to dip in and out of at will!
The Marvels / Brian Selznick [Hardback]
4 stars
YA. Adventure. Visual narrative. Text Free (approx 2/3 of book)
Breathtaking! The first 380'ish pages are the visual story of Billy Marvel and his family over 5 generations. There is so much depth to the black & white images. Take the time to 'read' each page and tell yourself the story as it unfolds. Be prepared for surprises that take you back a number of scenes to reacquaint yourself with the 'new' storyline. There is terror, heartbreak, joy, love, anger and sadness imparted in the images. So awesome!
A truly awesome read. Be prepared to let your imagination take off! Oooh .... and the page edges are GOLD!
This is more of a Tween / YA read than his previous two books. I would be happy giving it to our more sophisticated year 6 students, however there is so much depth to the book that I don't know how much of the story they will 'get'.
A Max Starr Novel Bk 1 Dead to the Max** / Jasmine Haynes [eBook]
4 stars
Adult. Paranormal. Crime. Romance.
Thirty'ish year old Max Starr is a down-on-her-luck accountant. Two years previously she witnessed her husbands murder and ever since she has been psychic - but don't let her hear anyone call her that ... she is quite happy to be crazy, not psychic!
This first book introduces us to Max who is very emotionally scarred, her ghost of a husband, the yummy Detective DeWitt Long and the first of the murder victims whose spirit is now inside Max. To help her exorcise this spirit Max must try and solve the case.
Quite an interesting series although I found it rather uncomfortable at times - mostly with the detailed recall of Max & the victims abusive childhood memories. It has a good storyline and really good character depth. Be prepared for quite a few explicit sex scenes though - both of the ghostly and real type.
A Max Start Novel Bk 2 Evil to the Max** / Jasmine Haynes [eBook]
4 stars
Adult. Paranormal. Crime. Romance.
OK, if you are wanting a 'nice' crime novel where the details of the crime are glossed over, the process of solving it moves along logically and there is a 'happy' ending .... you're not going to get it by reading the Max Starr series. After all, life's not all about what we see through our rose-coloured glasses!
This series is messy, violent, full of explicit sex scenes, twists and turns within the crime and although the victims 'killer' is apprehended, the really bad guy is still out there.
I read this book because I wanted to see where the series was going. I must admit I was a bit dubious about it and unsure if I would finish. It starts off with a quite graphic sex/murder scene. Whilst there are less sex scenes than the first book they seem to be more explicit. (I'm no prude, but I did find them a bit too much!). However the storyline moves along really well and it is a really intreaguing crime novel. The character depth and the scene building has been very well written.
Muddle & Mo / Nikki Slade Robinson [Paperback]
4 stars
Picture Book 0-6. New Zealand author
This is one of those really simple stories where the images DO make a difference.Muddle (the duck) and Mo (the goat) are friends. Unfortunately Muddle is a bit confused about the fact Mo doesn't look or act like him.
I absolutely love the look on Mo's face when Muddle informs him he is a "funny colour for a duck!". And the look of horror on Muddle's face when he thinks that HE is a goat! Brilliant!!!!
A great read for fans of 'Baa Baa Smart Sheep'.
Preposterous Rhinoceros / Tracey Gunaratnam [Paperback]
4 stars
Picture Book 0-6
I loved, loved, loved, loved, loved this book. It's silly, it's colourful, and it's about reading books.All the animals in the jungle love story time. And the best person to read books to them is King Lion. But oh the disaster ..... King Lion has lost his voice. Who can the animals pick to read their favourite book? Luckily Rhinoceros offers. Unfortunately he doesn't actually know how to read.
The animals all offer suggestions of how Rhinoceros can learn to read, with much hilarity ensuing as he takes their ideas quite literally.
A fantastic read-aloud. Great to use for prediction as well.
Wild Operatives Bk 1 The Right to Bear Arms** / Vivienne Savage [eBook]
3 stars
Adult. Paranormal. Romance.
A light romantic read.
