Monthly Archives: January 2010

On iPads and eBooks

Posted on by
Reply

I’ve been thinking about eBooks lately. It started with John Green’s article in School Library Journal: “The Future of Reading: Don’t Worry. It Might be Better than you Think.” As a librarian, I really like the donut analogy. Man I have some great crullers in my library. You should go and read the article because John Green is way smart and eloquent, and my summary will not in anyway capture it all. For the purposes of what I’m going to talk about here, the thing you need to know besides the crullers (oh go and read the article if you want to know), is ThisIsNotTom.com. Originally it was a site with complex riddles to solve. Then Green got involved and the riddles became keys to unlock the next part of a novella of his.

Okay, so now the iPad is here. iBook already exists. I hear an iBookstore is in the works. I thought the Kindle was interesting, the nook looked neat, but I love me some Apple products, so now I am suddenly and keenly interested in e-readers. Because the iPad integrates other applications that users want perhaps more than an e-reader (web access, music, etc.), this could be a real boost in the spread of e-reading.

There is a theory (I think it is Dr. Ruben Puetedura’s) about the use of technology in education that I believe also applies here. Basically tech can take one of four roles:

  1. Substitution: the computer substitutes for another technological tool, without a significant change in the tool’s function.
  2. Augmentation: the computer replaces another technological tool, with significant functionality increase.
  3. Modification: the computer allows for the redesign of significant portions of a task to be executed.
  4. Redefinition: the computer allows for the creation of new tasks, inconceivable without the computer.

None of these is any better than the other. They just are.

So an e-reader that just presents the text is substitution. This is, I think, what most people think of when they think of an eBook. Some people are like, “Ick, I want to hold the book.” Others are like, “Wow, shiny, new, and just think how many books I can carry with me on vacation.” And then most of us fall in between.

Augmentation would be like if you had an eBook of say Shrinking Violet by Danielle Joseph: you could hear the bands that Teresa plays when she DJs. Or during Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games your screen would show the seal of the capital, you’d hear the anthem, and see images of the fallen. That would be pretty neat. Or it could be distracting.

I would argue that ThisIsNotTom.com is modification. How you get to the text is the part that is significantly redesigned. But you are still getting to text and reading it. Here’s where I think some real growth could be fascinating. Choose Your Own Adventure online? Mysteries you actually have to solve (sort of like the 39 Clues, but more so). Audio mixed with video mixed with text mixed with images?

I’m even more flummoxed about what Redefinition will bring. Group reading and creating experiences of some sort seem likely as we are moving through and beyond web 2.0.

I’d be curious to hear what people think the advent of more advanced and integrated e-readers. Will it change the way we read and write? What are some examples of things that are already going on that I’m missing?

ALA Midwinter in Boston

Posted on by
Reply

One of the cool things about being an author and a librarian is that when ALA has conventions, I get to see my library peeps and my author peeps. And my current peeps introduce me to new peeps. (All this talk of peeps and libraries reminds me of one of my favorite sites.)

On Friday, I did a workshop about standards for school library media programs that was awesome. It was led by Pam Berger, who was just fantastic. Then I went to the author panel with Eric Van Lustbader, Chuck Hogan, Tracy Chevalier, and Julie Powell. Ostensibly it was about books into movies, but they talked about all sorts of things. As a new author, I found it fascinating and reassuring when they talked about reviews. Except for Lustbader, who insisted he didn’t read his I should have taken notes and written down quotes because they were interesting. Chevalier talked about how the reviews balanced her, since most people who write to her or come to her events like the books. Both she and Hogan mentioned that they wished they could learn something from them, which is one of the fallacies of book reviewing, I think, that the author will read it, incorporate it, and somehow improve their work.

Continue reading →

Debs Pageant: Rhonda Stapleton

Posted on by
Reply

Greetings from ALA Midwinter! It seems fitting that my last contestant in the Debs Pageant should coincide with this conference. Full disclosure, I am actually typing this up a couple of days ahead because I am going to be in all day workshop, and then I’m going to the YALSA happy hour. But, when you read this, I will be there.

So, for the last time, in Secrets of Truth & Beauty, Dara is a former child pageant star. So, in order to introduce you to the wonderful authors and characters of the 2009 Debutantes, I am hosting a Debs Pageant on my blog. Our final contestant comes from Rhonda Stapleton’s Stupid Cupid. Let’s get on with the pageant!

Character name: Felicity
Age: 17
Biography: I am a brand-new matchmaker at Cupid’s Hollow. I love helping my fellow students and making a difference in my school by finding true love for them.

What is your talent? Caring about people. Is that a talent? Well, if it is, that’s mine.

What will you wear for the evening dress competition? I’m still in the process of shopping. I’m kind of broke right now, and my mom (aka, the House Nazi) won’t give me money. Tightwad!

Who is your escort? There’s only one escort I want–but I don’t want to say his name out loud and jinx it! *girly sigh*

And now for the interview portion . . . If you could change one thing about the world, what would it be? The one thing I would change is loneliness. No one would be alone–there has to be someone special out there for everyone. Even me, right?

Thanks Rhonda and Felicity!

Stupid Cupid is available now. Get it from Amazon, or at your local bookstore. Rhonda recommends Joseph Beth Bookstores–check them out! To find out more about Rhonda, visit her website.

Hunger in the Hunger Games

Posted on by
Reply

I recently finished listening to the audio of Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games, and I’m halfway through the sequel, Catching Fire. It’s this little-known series about a girl, a dystopian society, and a twisted battle-to-the-death-as-entertainment scenario. Maybe you’ve heard of it?

In college for papers I’d often use compendiums, especially for Shakespeare. So, for example, I once wrote a paper on the use of the word “strange” in The Tempest, so I went to the compendium and found a listing of every single time the word was used. If ever a compendium is made for The Hunger Games, I’d love to see how many times food is mentioned. It makes sense that Katniss, who has had to struggle for every bit of food that passes her lips, would wax ecstatic over the bountiful food of the capital.

I was most interested in the bread.

I had a professor in college who was fixated on the use of bread in literature, specifically whole grain versus white. White is of course refined, while whole grain is more natural. He argued that you could tell the whole outlook of society by how they described the bread. If white bread was a luxury, then refinement, manners, and social class were highly valued. If instead it was disdained, and whole grain got the nod, then this was a time in society that valued the working class, was back to nature, and avoided pretense. So I loved that each district had its own style of bread.

Yes, it’s a New York Times bestselling sensation, and I’m focused on the bread.

I’ve heard that there’s some Team Peeta vs. Team Gale style rumblings (incidentally, listening to the audio, I thought the reader was just mis-pronouncing Peter for most of the first book). I’m Team Gale for what it’s worth, though that probably has more to do with his having less screen time. He’s capable, moody, and doesn’t have a chance to utter the cheesey lines that Peeta often does. But really, I’m Team Katniss. Witty, resourceful, stubborn, kind, and skilled, she’s a perfect heroine.