Tag Archive for: #reading

The Dealer in Your Neighborhood

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by Bethany Maines

I was talking to a librarian the other day and she laughed
when I said I thought librarians were like drug dealers.  But they really are! They even target
the little kids! Get them hooked on the picture books, next thing you know the kids are
applying for library cards and mainlining Harry Potter, Divergent and TheTesting.  Give it a few years and
YA just won’t give the same buzz and the kids have to move on to bigger and
bigger fiction.  And that’s when
the librarians start pushing the hardcore stuff – Faulkner, Atwood, Joyce. If
you’re not careful your kid could end up reading the entire Lord of the Rings
even though there’s a perfectly good director’s extended cut blue ray back
home.
And just like pushers, librarians are extremely
open-minded.  They don’t care where
you’ve come from.  Rich, poor, or
in between – all library cards are the same to them.  (Unless it’s an out of state card, in which case you will
have to pay the buck and get a local card.)  They don’t even judge when all you want to read is Romance
novels; they just point you toward the romance section and recommend new
authors who also write in the kilt and dragon milieu.  It’s a slippery slope, my friends. You go into the library
for the videos and the free internet access and the next thing you know you’re
reading and using words like “milieu.” 

So, if that kind of blatant pushing of mind-expanding
education is acceptable to you, then you should probably hug the next librarian
you see.  Just remember that the
VIG on those late library books is due next week…
  
Bethany Maines
is the author of the Carrie Mae Mystery series and Tales
from the City of Destiny. You can also view the Carrie Mae youtube video or catch up with her on Twitter and Facebook.

Just The Facts

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76% of American adults 18 and older read at least one book in 2013

  • 69% read a book in print
  • 28% read an e-book
  • 14% listened to an audio book

The average number of books read or listened to in 2013 is 12; median is five.

52% of readers only read a print book; 4% only read an e-book, and 2% only listened to an audiobook. Nine percent of readers said they read books in all three formats.

  • 35% of print book readers also read an e-book and 17% listened to an audiobook
  • 87% of e-book readers also read a print book in the past 12 months and 29% listened to an audiobook
  • 84% of audiobook listeners also read a print book in the past year and 56% read an e-book.

42% of adults own a tablet

  • Among tablet owners who read an e-book in 2013, 78% read e-books on their tablet

32% of adults own an e-reader

  • Among e-reader owners who read an e-book in 2013, 87% read it on their e-reader

Source: “A Snapshot of Reading in America in 2013” Pew Research Center

What group do you fall into?

I consider myself an e-book reader since 90% of books I read are on my e-reader.

–Dru Ann

Does Writing Sour Reading? – by Debra H. Goldstein

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I can’t remember when I couldn’t read.  Picking out letters from the newspaper, storybooks, or off milk cartons made my day. My mother introduced me to the library at an early age and I still can recall how excited I was the day I printed my name and received my very own library card.  

Young Girl Sitting & ReadingMy reading speed also made reading rewarding for me.  I would race through the summer reading program award minimum in a few days and then quickly read enough books to guarantee winning whatever prize I desired.  Reading also made it possible for me to endure boring junior high and high school classes – it wasn’t unusual for me to check out a book before school, read it during the day, and take a different one home to read at night.  A good book always helped me relax during college exam days, when traveling for work, on vacation, or for a few minutes before bed.
PuppiesMy joy in reading changed when I opted to make writing a career.  The pressure of deadlines and wanting to write meant my reading time became more limited.  It also became less enjoyable.

The more I learned about writing, the more critical a reader I became.  I had always analyzed a mystery to figure out whodunit in advance of the writer revealing the culprit, but now I found myself examining each page for the technical way the author hid clues. Weaknesses in voice, plot, or character became so much more pronounced that there were times I feared I couldn’t force myself to finish a book.  When a book dragged, I wanted to take a green pen and cross out the offensive paragraphs.  The few times I found a book that read like the old days, I savored my time with it and usually grabbed more books by the same author.

I have talked to other authors and discovered that some rarely read for fear of stealing an idea while others read books in genres different than they write for the same reason.  Other writers believe that the more they read of any type of book, the better a writer they become.  Think about your reading habits – has writing or wanting to write changed them?

Readers Review!

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By Bethany Maines

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT: Help
a starving author – leave reviews for the books you read today!
There’s a lot of talk these days
about shopping local with the goal of supporting actual people instead of
massive corporations.  Well, you
can’t get much more small, local, and actual than author.  Reviews really do help authors. It’s
through reviews that their books percolate through the great Google and Amazon
algorithms and get recommended to other readers.  And new readers means new buyers, which translates directly
to an author’s pocket book.
That being said, I don’t often
leave reviews for books. An author, I know that harsh reviews can be
devastating to writers.  I also
think that after working on the craft of writing for more than a few years,
that I’m pickier than the average reader and that can make for some rather
negative reviews.  But since I
truly value an honest review I have adopted a “If I can’t say anything nice,
then I don’t say anything at all” policy when it comes to reviews.  Which means that my reviews on Goodreads are further
a part as my life becomes busier with less time for reading, and I find it
harder to find a book that I love with the same passion I did when I was
younger.  Hopefully, that means
that if you see a review from me, you’ll know that I truly enjoyed the
book. 
So keep on leaving reviews, try
not to be too mean, and definitely, definitely keep on reading. 
Bethany Maines is the author of
the Carrie Mae Mystery series and Tales from the City of Destiny. You can also view the Carrie Mae youtube
video or catch up with her on Twitter and
Facebook.

Fall

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By Dru Ann Love

One of the things I love about living on the East Coast is we get to celebrate all four seasons. My favorite are Spring and Fall. It’s not too hot like Summer and it’s not too cold like Winter. Spring and Fall seasons give you the nice in between.

What I like most about Fall is the changing of the leaves. A walk in the part will have you staring at the lovely colorful leaves as they fall to the ground. When I was younger, I loved when they were all gathered in a pile and we got to jump smack dab in the middle of it. Did you do that as a youngster? Could I do that now, no way, first I couldn’t jump in in and second I would not be able to get up. But I do remember the freedom it gave me.

Fall is also good weather to sit in a chair, wrapped in a blanket and read the next scintillating mystery that have you in goose bumps, especially if it’s the latest thriller set at Halloween.

Speaking of Fall, there’s the two holidays: Halloween where there is no excuse for eating that Snicker bar, that Hershey kiss, that Dove bar, that jawbreaker (yeah, like that’s going to happen), that tootsie roll pop and especially Brach’s candy corn (accept no substitution, because Brach’s is the best). Best of all, you can also dress anyway you want and not be criticize…a mummy, sure; a superhero, sure; a Agatha Christie, solve that puzzle; a zombie, go for it; you can be anybody and have you fill of it.

Then there is Thanksgiving where you are given permission to eat all the food that the dieticians and/or nutritionist say you shouldn’t eat during the rest of the year. Want that turkey leg? Have at it. Want a thick slab of baked ham? Go for it. Want some dressing with gravy? Pour it over your food. Some macaroni salad? Put that scoop on your plate. Rice? Yep. Collard Greens? Put it right next to the white rice. Cranberry Sauce? Put it in that spot, right there. Candied Yams? Make sure to give me a slice of that pineapple. Baked macaroni and cheese? You betcha.

Then there’s dessert. Apple pie? Slice it up, please. Yellow cake with chocolate frosting? A thin slice, please. I don’t know where I have the room to eat it. Ice Cream? Right between my pie and cake. And don’t forget the pumpkin pie to go with my cup of hot beverage. And then Thanksgiving is over and now I can sleep for a week.

What’s your favorite thing about Fall?

Ramblings From Dru

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The hardest thing about writing a monthly post is coming up with a topic that the audience will find interesting.

So here I sit, trying to think of a post to write.

Should it be related to writing? Well, since I’m not a writer, I don’t have to worry about that.

I am a reader, but how many times can I write about the number of books I’ve read since January (for the record it is 78 books).

My friends tell me that besides being a reader, I’m also a blogger/reviewer. I don’t consider myself a reviewer because my musings are short and not standardized. However on my blog I do offer a feature to authors about the day in the life of their protagonist or a recurring character from their stories.

I recently attended my fourth Malice Domestic Convention. I always have a good time and it’s a chance to attend panels; catch up with friends who I haven’t seen in a year, meet new-to-authors and reconnect with the authors I’ve already met. The one for reader fans are fun to attend and so far this year I’ll be going to four events. I’ll be at BookExpo America (BEA) where I’ll be attending the Power Reader event. Then it’s the Fan Fest at Thrillerfest this summer and last but not least I’ll be at Bouchercon in Albany. Is anyone attending any of these events?

Well, it looks like I thought of something to write.

What’s the hardest thing that you have to do?

What to read next?

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By Dru Ann L Love

I spent 48 hours in their world, standing next to the protagonist as they gather clue, while trying to nab a killer. The threats don’t deter us from our chosen path of being an amateur sleuth. Victory is ours when justice is achieved. But when it’s all done, I feel elated yet sad because I have to leave this world that I felt comfortable in. But then the evitable happens. What do I read next?

Unless I’m reading the books that I need to read for my monthly post over at the Cozy Chicks or books directly from authors and/or publishers, this is what I do most of the time.

I open up my Excel file and see what books I have on my list which will includes this month’s release and any leftover books from the previous month. Usually I’ll have anywhere between 20 to 30 books on my list. When I can’t make a decision, I go to Amazon and read the synopsis of the books and I’ll have an idea or two of which book I plan to read next. Sometimes I’ll even look at how many pages are in a book, anything to help me narrow down my choices. If I had all the time in the world to read all the books in a given month, I would but after 30 days, a new set of books are released.

But after all is said and done, it will come down to if my favorite author has a book out, or if I’m hearing buzz about a book that I already own or I the old standby of “eenie, meenie, miney, moe.”

How do you pick out the next book you plan to read?