The Phenomenon of Not Downloading Free Ebooks

Posted on February 9, 2012 by Camy Tang/Camille Elliot

Camy here!

So here’s a weird phenomenon. There were a bunch of free thriller books available on Kindle but I’m not a huge fan of secular thriller because many of them tend to get a little more gristly than I like. I looked at the book blurbs, but they were mostly serial killer type of thrillers, which do tend to get bloody.

So I actually chose NOT to download free ebooks! I can’t believe it!

But it also got me to thinking. These days there are so many free ebooks that people can start to pick and choose which free ebooks to download.

Isn’t that a strange thing? Before, I’d be snatching up almost any free ebook available because, well, it’s free.

Now, I’m like, “Thrillers, eh. I read them but not my favorite genre. I’ll pass.”

I probably should have had this mentality for some of the other free ebooks I downloaded in the past, because I wouldn’t have so many ebooks that I probably won’t ever read.

Then again, they don’t take up space in my house because the ebook files are stored on my Amazon digital bookshelf or my Barnes and Noble Nook shelf, not on my computer. So I suppose it doesn’t matter if I download books I’ll never read since I don’t have to store the files.

I wonder, does this glut of free ebooks defeat the marketing purpose of a free ebook? I’m sure it works sometimes–a reader will pick up a free ebook from an author he/she hasn’t read before, and suddenly the reader is a new fan of the author.

But with so many free ebooks these days, does it make it less likely that reader will get around to reading the author’s book since there are so many other free (and paid) ebooks the reader has gotten?

So would I utilize free ebooks as a marketing tool? I’m not sure. Maybe. I might offer a novella for free if it was the first of a series. Or I might offer a full-length ebook for a really cheap price, like $0.50. The reason is because I’m wondering if the people who would pay those few cents for my ebook would be more likely to read it than those who got it for free.

What do you think?

Camy Tang writes romance with a kick of wasabi. Out now is the first book in her new series, Protection for Hire, which is a cross between Stephanie Plum and The Joy Luck Club. She is a staff worker for her church youth group, and leads one of the worship teams for Sunday service. On her blog, she ponders frivolous things like knitting, running, dogs, and Asiana. Visit her website to sign up for her quarterly newsletter.

Click here to find out how you can join my Street Team—it’s free and there’s lots of chances to win prizes!

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Hotter than Legwarmers and Sixteen Candles in the 80’s: Pinterest

Posted on February 8, 2012 by juliearduini

I’m a Gen X’er who grew up with preppy collars and leg warmers. If you remember Sixteen Candles, the movie where all girls my age wanted Molly Ringwald’s pouty lips and the character Jake, you also recall how fast trends spread. Decades later if I hear someone screech “Jake”, it takes me back to high school where that was a key phrase. Samantha’s clothes were copied. The music group Spandau Ballet enjoyed extra celebrity thanks to their song highlighting a key scene. It wasn’t an Oscar winning movie but it was a trend setter.

These teen flashbacks occurred over the weekend when I returned from vacation. My husband and I enjoyed a few days to ourselves courtesy of Royal Caribbean. We weren’t gone that long, just  short of a week. Yet one word transitioned from a little whisper in the distance to a full roar I can’t escape. Whether online or with friends, this phenomenon is bigger than yes, Sixteen Candles.

What is it?
Follow Me on Pinterest

 

This newest form of social media propelled faster than Facebook and Twitter. Its potential for addiction just as rapid as the rumors Samantha liked Jake. Pinterest is by invite, but if you request free membership from the site you’ll receive one in a day or so.

Then what?

Pinterest is a virtual bulletin board. Where Twitter has Tweets and Re-Tweets, Pinterest has Pins and Re-Pins. I installed a bookmarklet for Firefox and pretty much anything on the web is available as a pin. Create your board, add your pins. Describe what your pins are about. It’s that easy.

Bulletin board ideas are endless. I’ve seen wish lists, home ideas, favorite movies, quotes, antiques, and so much more. You can follow boards similar to the way you accept Facebook friends. What I like about Pinterest is so far, it appears low maintenance. Authors are fond of this hottest new trend because they can pin their book covers and gain a new audience with little effort. Their pins can generate new boards for readers who re-pin those books for their wish list boards.

Steve Laube featured a link about Pinterest that I found interesting. If you’re thinking about trying the cyberspace cork board out, follow me.

I’ll be the one with a turned up collar and leg warmers screaming for Jake.


http://www.juliearduini.com

Surrendering the good, the bad, and—maybe one day—the chocolate

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You Haven’t Seen This?

Posted on February 7, 2012 by James L. Rubart

You haven’t seen this video yet? Then I’m glad I posted it. Enjoy.

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Used Book Sales, Gotta Love ‘Em

Posted on February 3, 2012 by lynettesowell
Twice a year, our town library has a used book sale to benefit the library. They cover all the tables of the alternative school’s cafeteria with every kind of book imaginable (except the ones fit to be covered with discreet brown paper wrappers, I was told). And most of the time I try to remember to show up and support them. Now that I’m an author, I realize that all these books were once sold brand-new and the author received royalties on that sale. But what about now? They don’t.
I also realized as I look at those rows and rows of books that I don’t mind. Of course I’d like to sell a ton of books, but I also realize the value of free (or inexpensive) samples. There’s a population of readers who aren’t “cheap” people, but for whom buying books at full price is a luxury. Part of me can’t begrudge them the experience of getting lost in a story.
And truly, what place did we get most of our reading done as kids–and then try to escape from? The library, where we can read for free.
Those free or cheap sample books can lead to future sales for those authors whose books covered the tables. I’ve got a stack of books I’ll probably still be working on when the sale comes in April.
The town library invited me to be their guest speaker one February for their volunteer appreciation dinner. Let me tell you, the library people make authors feel like rock stars. And I owe a lot of my writer’s journey to them.
Anyone been to some good book sales lately?
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One Thousand Gifts by Elizabeth Goddard

Posted on February 2, 2012 by bethrachg

Today I’m heading over to visit with my grandmother in hospice.  Right now she has one foot in this world and one foot in the next.

That news coupled with other devastating news today has me reeling. But that’s how life is, right? So I’m left with these words from scripture:

My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from Him. Psalm 62:1

And in each moment He gives me.  In each moment I have one thousand gifts—from God, that is. Not to leave you with a depressing blog post, but sometimes there are no words. Instead, you can watch this video. If you’ve already seen this before, watch it again for a reminder.

 

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Book Clubs Revisited

Posted on February 1, 2012 by Maureen Lang

As much as I’ve always loved reading, and as many books as I’ve read over the years, I’ve only been a member of an official book club for a little over 3 years. I cannot tell you how much I’ve enjoyed it!

This is how our book club works: each month, one member (whose name is chosen on a rotational basis and/or had her name picked out of a hat) gets to suggest three books for that month’s choice. It’s so fun to have someone else sort through the titles they’d like to read – most I’ve never heard of! Then within a few days after our meeting, our members vote for one of the three, easily done via a poll on Goodreads, which offers a description of each book as well as access to all the reviews we care to read. Simple and effective.

One of the best things I’ve discovered about being in a book club is that I’m reading books I never would have heard about otherwise. Well, perhaps I would have eventually heard of some. We’ve read many books that have been (or become) really popular, like The Help, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society and The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. When we heard The Help was going to be made into a movie we planned a “field trip” and met at the theater to watch it together.

And we’ve chosen other books that were the basis of movies, too, like a couple of old titles Practical Magic and Chocolat. We rented the movie and watched it at a subsequent meeting. Usually I prefer the book to the movie, but with Chocolat all of us preferred the movie, believe it or not. And the sequel to this book, written by the same author, was a sequel to the more popular movie than the book. So sometimes the visual media really can do a better job than print. Who knew? Certainly not me.

Belonging to a book club is a bit like having homework sometimes. Because I don’t want to let the group down by not participating, I always try to read the book that’s chosen. I admit I’ve slogged through some. One that went a bit slow for me was a classic by Wilkie Collins, Lady In White. I guess my tastes have just become to modernly impatient. But most often I’ve been surprised at how much I’ve liked others, like a Young Adult novel called Delirium and another brutal but compelling read like The True Story of Hansel and Gretel. The list is wide and varied, and I’ve found it really helpful to be “assigned” the books so I have a deadline to finish them, and then look forward to hearing how the others felt about it.

So how about you? Do you belong to a book club? Have you ever thought about starting one? I’m almost always reading something, but this book club has definitely widened my considerations and broadened my taste!

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The Tenderness of Loving the Helpless Ones

Posted on January 31, 2012 by alexanderhodde

“Can I have a drink of water?” she asks. I know by now it’s simply her way of retaining my attention, but I look into her trusting, loving eyes, and I can’t deny her yet another drink of water, even though the bed will be wet in the morning, and I realize there will be a spill. I always happens

When I give her water she says she’s cold, and so I cover her better and set up the humidifier. She thanks me sweetly for the water and asks if I will lie on the bed beside her for a minute, that’s she’s still cold. I lay beside her and wrap my arms around her and let her know everything’s going to be okay. I know she’s frightened. I don’t know how to belay her fears besides letting her know I love her.

“See that picture up there on the wall?” she asks. “Who is that?

Because she cannot walk, I bring the picture down and show it to her. There’s her brother Charlie, her brother Irwin celebrating my birthday party. I was three at the time. Mom was almost 33. You do the math.

How many times has she brought me water when I wanted a little more attention at night? How many times have I crawled into bed and had my mother’s loving warms wrap around me and let me know it’s going to be okay?

It’s my turn. She’s afraid, and I can do nothing but make sure as many of her fears, her confusion, the symptoms of her dementia are  belayed, and she knows she’s loved, and that  I have no doubt her fears will come to nothing. It’s a blessing beyond anything I ever expected in this time of our lives. It will stay with me forever.

 

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God’s Warning Signs for America

Posted on January 30, 2012 by Sarah Goebel

Looking outside of ourselves to our nation, I want to encourage the body of Christ to repent for the sins of our nation, including their part in it, and pray for our country’s future. We know that God often sends warnings before He disciplines a nation, as seen in His dealings with Israel throughout the Old Testament. I believe our nation is living in a warning period right now that may very well be followed by God’s correction if we do not turn back to Him. That said, I recently read a book called, The Harbinger, that identifies the events that have recently transpired in our land beginning with 9/11 to an ancient biblical prophecy. The book correlates these events and our actions that have preceded them with the actions and events of ancient Israel as revealed particularly in the Book of Isaiah. Isaiah 9:8-9 contains Israel’s warning and her response to it is found in verse ten. The similarity in America’s response
compared to Israel’s is astounding! The judgment that follows Israel’s defiant response is then pronounced in verses eleven and twelve. The author, Jonathan Cahn, ties Israel’s purpose with America’s saying:  “no other nation has been called into being for the will of God or dedicated to His purposes from conception. No other people had been given a covenant. But the covenant had a condition. If they followed the ways of God, they would become the most blessed of nations. But if they fell away and turned against His ways, then their blessings would be removed and replaced by calamity…” Israel did fall away and their blessing was replaced with calamity (eighth century B.C.).  Our hope is that there is still time for America to heed the warning signs God has given, repent, and avoid similar judgment.

The book is written in a gripping narrative style and sounds like fiction, yet it is real. It reveals nine warnings of coming destruction that God gave to Israel and how these same nine warnings have reappeared here in America in precisely the same pattern. It is beyond extraordinary! I was unable to put this book down until I finished it!

I encourage you to watch CBN’s interview with Rabbi Cahn as they discuss The Harbinger: http://youtu.be/-SVhZCh0yDc .

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Cataloguing my books! by Camy Tang

Posted on January 26, 2012 by Camy Tang/Camille Elliot

Camy here! Thanks to my friend Dream, who’s also the eHosty at the Love Inspired forum boards, I found a cataloguing program for all my books. I used to use an Excel file, but I wanted something a bit more robust which would also have a matching iPhone app so I can take a copy of my catalog with me on my phone, and that way if I’m at a store and I don’t know if I already have a particular title, I can look it up really quick.

She actually gave me several programs to look at, and I eventually decided on Booxter, because it works on a Mac and the other programs I looked at didn’t quite do it for me. One was made mostly for music, so the item descriptions were stuff like “label” for publisher and “artist” for author’s name, which confused me!

Booxter is neat because you input the book’s ISBN number (I’ve been using Goodreads to help me with that) and Booxter searches Amazon and the Library of Congress and the British Library databases for the ISBN. Then it automatically fills in all the fields for you, like title, author, publisher, etc. It will even bring up a thumbnail of the book cover most of the time. I can fill in the other fields as I want. I can put location–where the book is on my shelves, which are numbered so that I can find a book easily–and also notes if I read the book and anything I wanted to comment on. It’s so awesome!!!

Booxter isn’t without it’s glitches. I found out that when you input a book’s ISBN number, and Booxter pulls the information from the web, it will input the price the book is selling for on Amazon or any other bookstore which sells books through Amazon. Many of my books were out of print, and the used prices for some of them was WAY high, like in the billions of dollars!

I found out that it’s because many online bookstores have a program that scans the web for the same book being sold by another online bookstore, and the program automatically increases a book’s price a little higher than the next highest price available. If you have two bookstores with the same program, the two programs play price leapfrog and the price of the book skyrockets to insane amounts.

The problem is that Booxter automatically adds up how much your collection is worth. I had a few books in the billions of dollar range, and it overloaded Booxter’s price summary, causing the program to not save my catalog even when I hit Save. I would input books and try to save it, but the next time I opened the catalog, the books had disappeared. I finally figured out it was the astronomical prices and when I deleted the prices, Booxter was able to save my catalog fine.

I have to admit my complete geeky side because I love cataloguing my books! I think I should have been a librarian. I love making sure the series line is inputted correctly and that I have the series number down. I have been inputting how much I paid for a book (for each book, there are two fields–how much the book is selling for online, and how much I paid for it). I also input any name in the copyright that’s different than the name on the cover, which enabled me to find the pseudonyms of some old Regency authors. Cool!

Booxter has also enabled me to input all my ebooks, which were not completely catalogued on my old Excel file. The only problem is that Booxter searches Amazon and the Library of Congress, but they don’t necessarily have the (non-Kindle) ebook ISBN in their databases. I have been using Goodreads to find alternate ISBN numbers for the same book to input into Booxter so the program can find my books in the databases and fill out the fields for me, and then I will usually change the ISBN later to reflect the actual ISBN of the ebook I own. (Yes, I know I am anal.) Sometimes I will use the Kindle ASIN number for Booxter because the program almost always will be able to pull up the book information from a Kindle ASIN.

So how do you catalog your books?

Camy Tang writes romance with a kick of wasabi. Out now is the first book in her new series, Protection for Hire, which is a cross between Stephanie Plum and The Joy Luck Club. She is a staff worker for her church youth group, and leads one of the worship teams for Sunday service. On her blog, she ponders frivolous things like knitting, running, dogs, and Asiana. Visit her website to sign up for her quarterly newsletter.

Click here to find out how you can join my Street Team—it’s free and there’s lots of chances to win prizes!

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It Really Is a Small World

Posted on January 25, 2012 by juliearduini

This real life experience is so surreal that I thought I’d share it with you. I think what intrigues me the most, given how expansive our world is because of social media, God still gives those small world moments, too.

I recently joined the Women’s Literary Cafe and I participate in their networking opportunities to highlight authors, new books, and Indie reads. Most of the networking is through Twitter, and I’ve enjoyed meeting new authors and readers through this.  During Christmas vacation I learned I had a few new Twitter followers, and with low cell phone signal, tried to thank them.

One follower stood out more than the others. It wasn’t so much he was an author, but where he was from. He mentioned his area as the Finger Lakes region of Upstate New York. That’s pretty specific, and it had my attention because that’s where I spent 34 years. I thanked him for the follow and mentioned the shared location.

He sent a Tweet saying how funny that was, and that his hometown is a place I probably don’t know, a place called Geneseo.

Geneseo is where I gradated from college.

Isn’t that wild?

But wait, this isn’t finished.

He confesses he doesn’t just live in Upstate NY, he also sets his mysteries in Upstate NY. The Adirondack Mountains, in fact.

I tweet that my work-in-progress, a contemporary romance, is based in the Adirondacks.

Now we’re both seeing how crazy this is.

Yet, there is more.

He writes back, wondering if I know of Speculator, NY, as that’s where his story takes place.

My story, Spectacular Falls, is based on the Adirondack village I love so much—Speculator.

Finger Lakes region of Upstate New York/picture by Julie Arduini

At this point we’ve exchanged e-mails (my husband is aware and I’m keeping accountability as I often preach about the dangers for married people to correspond with the opposite sex and this author is happily married with a beautiful family) and the small world wonders continue. He had a book signing at the only grocery store in town and the staff helped him with accuracy.

Spectacular Falls has a store based on the real one, where the hero is the co owner. Many of my scenes center on that very store, or my version of it.

This author is Aaron Paul Lazar and the world is small enough that he was able to describe his home to a single intersection and I know exactly where it is.  He’s been kind enough to extend his upcoming release to me for a read, and offered to look at my WIP as well. Although our genres are different, already we both weave that unique Adirondack smell into our stories. It’s balsam and evergreen and is such a part of Speculator life, it’s impossible not to mention the fragrance.

Aaron isn’t the only Upstate NY and Speculator connection. I met Elaine Miller a few years ago when I was a Mothers of Preschoolers, MOPS, mom of a toddler and Elaine was our guest speaker. She’s a dear friend to the mentor mom we had at the time, and I remember Elaine’s book, Splashes of Serenity. I loved the book so much I ordered copies for friends. Years went by and I caught up with Elaine on Facebook. She wrote about Speculator. I told her my WIP is based in Speculator.

The Miller family has spent 30+ years in Speculator.

The writing life is isolated and one piece of trivia I put in Spectacular Falls is that there are no traffic lights in Speculator. It’s a small place, but the mark Speculator leaves on your heart is canyon wide. What I love about working through the story and connecting with others to learn the craft is how small the world is.

Do you have any stories like this? What do you think about all these shared events?

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Why Are You Passionate About Reading?

Posted on January 24, 2012 by James L. Rubart

I was an active kid—which is a gross understatement.

Climbing fifty foot trees by age six, building forts in the open field across the street from our home dawn to dusk, playing football, baseball, basketball and any other sport they threw at me …

Didn’t leave a lot of time for reading.

Till the day my mom announced I would read half an hour a day before I went to sleep.

It took about a week of fighting the idea (and grinding through my 30 minutes) before I was hooked.

Then the battle became getting me to turn my light off.

“C’mon, Mom! I gotta finish this chapter.”

By the time she came back in, I’d finished that chapter and was half way through the next. I’d try the same pitch as above and sometimes she agreed. I’m guessing a part of her was saying, “I can’t believe it worked, what’s the big deal if he reads a little longer? It’s a good thing for him.”

And it was. Sports books, fantasy, comic books, biographies, sci-fi, theology … I chewed them all up, and when I found a book I loved, sleeping and eating were unwelcome distractions at best.

Without that passion for reading I’m not sure the passion for writing would have been born. (So thanks, Mom, you’re awesome.)

Do you have that kind of passion for reading? Duh, of course you do. I’m guessing you wouldn’t be reading this kind of blog if you didn’t. But talk to me. What do you love about reading?

Being taken away to another world so completely you forget where you are?

Discovering emotions you might not have known you had that are stirred up?

Reading something you’ve always felt but have never been able to put into words?

Has a book changed your life?

Why do you love to read?

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When was the last time you were truly “amazed”?

Posted on January 23, 2012 by alandkathi66

“Amazing grace, how sweet the sound.”

Nearly everyone, Christian or non-Christian, recognizes those familiar words to the beautiful old hymn. But in a time and culture that cheapens words by overuse, does the impact of the lyrics escape us? When everything from hamburgers to a pair of new shoes to the weather are described as “amazing,” how much amazement does that leave for God’s grace?

As a writer, I ask myself that question often; as a result, I have learned to pick and choose my words carefully. True, if I’m writing dialogue between people who would naturally speak in popular trends, I will probably include more usage of terms like “amazing,” “cool,” or “awesome,” despite the fact that the subject matter may not warrant it. But in the primary body and narrative of my piece, I need to be more discriminating.

At one of the very first writers’ conferences I ever attended (WAY back in the Dark Ages!), I remember one of the instructors saying, “A good writer takes the time to find the right word; a great writer takes a little longer and finds the perfect word.” I’ve never forgotten that, though on occasion I’ve become lazy and not practiced it. My work suffered as a result.

As readers, even if you don’t always pick up on such over-usage and watering-down of common words, something tells me you’ve been irritated or bored when you came across it. Is it possible you gave a book a less than favorable rating–worse yet, didn’t even finish reading it–for that very reason? Perhaps you didn’t recognize or identify why you were disappointed, but thinking back now, can you remember such an experience? Usually it happens with a story that had great potential and really should have carried you along on a page-turning adventure; instead it left you with a ho-hum feeling that fueled your already accurate perception that there are simply too many good books out there to waste your time on the not-so-good ones.

Whether you’re a writer or a reader–or both–what are some of the overused terms that bother you most? I’d love to compile a list of such terms, along with alternative and more creative, colorful terms–sort of like our own Thesaurus. As fellow lovers of words, can you help me out here? Let’s see how creative a list we can compile.

Something tells me it will be…well, amazing.

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Preaching or Storytelling?

Posted on January 20, 2012 by lynettesowell

Every so often the discussion comes up in Christian circles, with writers and readers both:

What makes Christian books…Christian?

When does a writer go from storytelling, to preaching?

How much is too much?

On the other hand, what makes a spiritual message “watered down?”

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus told the disciples that “You are salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.” (Matt. 5:13)

From this verse, I understand that we believers give a flavoring to the world that can’t be found anywhere else. Saltiness is distinctive. You can tell when it’s there, and when it’s not. Have you ever tasted a salt substitute? It’s kinda-sorta salty, but not the same thing.

The next verses tells us that we’re “the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” (Matt. 5:14-16)

From these verses, I understand that if we’re the light of the world and let our lights shine, our good work will point others to God and bring glory to Him.

What does that mean? How exactly do writers let their words become salt and light, so readers enjoy the flavor and can clearly see a Godly message?

As readers, is there such a thing as too salty, too much of a message for us? When does the story fall to the side and the message take over? Is that a bad thing? Worse, when does a message become watered down and turn into just “a positive, feel-good story?”

This is where writers must know their audience, and think about who they’re writing for. Of course, we writers never know who’s going to read our book. For example, authors who’ve had a title release as a Kindle freebie are open to a myriad of reactions/reviews from readers, especially those who aren’t believers and who find the salt overwhelming in a book. And by overwhelming, that could be as simple as a character praying over a situation they face. This should not surprise us, as what comes naturally (or should) to a believer, is as unnatural to an unbeliever as a fish trying to breathe air.

I have to admit that when I’m reading, and a character starts “sermonizing,” as in telling another character “this is the lesson that you are learning through this situation,” I will start to skim if it goes on for very long. That’s my confession for today, I suppose. What about you? Thoughts? Reactions? Thrown tomatoes?

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Let There Be Apps by Elizabeth Goddard

Posted on January 19, 2012 by bethrachg

And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark seasons and days and years, and let them be lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth.” And it was so. God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. God set them in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth, to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the fourth day. Genesis 1: 14-19

Imagine how the universe changed when God turned on the lights!

I’ve written characters in my books that are astronomy geeks and that’s because I’d love to be an astronomy geek myself. But I’ve never had the time or opportunity. Until now.  We recently got a nice telescope, but that requires reading instructions and setting it up. It’s on my to do list.

With today’s technology I have no excuses. I discovered STAR WALK—a  nifty app for iPad that had me and all the kiddoes  outside, staring at the stars. The best part–now we know what we’re looking at. In fact, I learned that I’ve spent my entire life looking at what I thought was the Little Dipper and Big Dipper only to discover that I was looking at Orion. Ha!

Thanks to Star Walk. Thanks to the iPad. Thanks to digital technology turning on the lights for me.  I’m old. I hate change. I love books that I can hold. But I have to admit, technology is changing my mind about many things.

Changing our lives in many ways.  The publishing world is in upheaval over digital books. Since receiving my Keurig for Christmas, I’ve wondered if the coffee world is also in an upheaval, trying to supply the right coffee in k-cups. How many customers still want regular coffee makers, etc? There are innumerable changes happening so fast.

A light has been turned on, illuminating knowledge in greater and faster ways.

One of the biggest changes I see goes hand in hand with the way we read–it’s the way we learn.

I especially see this at home when teaching my children.  I have a big library of children’s books but in addition to those books, I’ve added a library of digital books that either read  to my kids or allows them to read to themselves.  When a child has trouble with a subject I can often find a quick and easy explanation—an explanation they’re more willing to hear—from Brainpop.

Let there be light. . let there be apps. What is the biggest way technology is changing your life?

Blessings!

Beth

Elizabeth Goddard is the award-winning author of Freezing Point and Oregon Outback. You can find out more about Elizabeth at her website, or joint her fan page on Facebook.

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Readers: Born or Bred? Posted by Maureen Lang

Posted on January 18, 2012 by Maureen Lang

I’ve heard it said that if you read to your children, then set the good example of reading your own books where they can see you doing so, children are more likely to grow up to be readers themselves.

I wonder if that’s really true. It sounds like it should be true. I certainly want it to be true, because I’ve done that with my own children—mainly because it came naturally to me. I wanted to read to them because it was fun. And I couldn’t help but read in front of them because, well, I’m a reader.

However, am I a reader because my parents read to me? No. I may very well be a writer because my mother told my sister and I stories that she made up out of her head — inspiring me to make up stories of my own — but I don’t recall ever seeing my mother sit down to read a book. And my father? Well, he did read portions of a couple of non-fiction books about World War Two, mainly because he’d lived the experience and wanted to compare what they were writing to what he recalled. But he never once read a book to me. Overall I’d have to say he didn’t set an example as a reader, either.

As for my nurturing example: my daughter is an even more avid reader than I am. Since she is my oldest, I might once have taken the credit and said she’s a reader because I nurtured it in her. But since I also have a fourteen year old son who must be reminded (i.e. forced) to do his reading homework, a son who saw in me the same things my daughter did, he proves my fine example did nothing. He’s a reader only through coercion.

Perhaps reading passions have something to do with differences between boys and girls. Or perhaps a reading gene has yet to reveal itself in my son. With age he may recall my example of reading and take it up himself someday. I can only hope.

But at this point in my observation, I’d have to say readers are born, not bred.

What do you think? Were you born a reader, or bred to become one? Perhaps a mix of both?

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