Ye gads! Already? Yep; summer's danged close. Teachers are whipping out their summer reading assignments; vacationers are picking through paperbacks (or downloading to their ereaders) in anticipation. What are you going to read this season? Whittle down the stack of dusty magazines? Spring for a NYT Bestseller? Peruse the stacks at your favorite used book store?
Of course, I have a few suggestions...
1. Read about reading
How to Read Literature Like a Professor, by Thomas Foster, adds some insight to your reading, whatever it is. It doubles as a refresher course in interpretive literature, but in a good way. I'm still reading slowly, a chapter or so at a sitting... fortunately it's on loan from a very understanding and patient friend. (Thanks, Chris!) I recommend it. Even though I haven't finished it. :D
2. Support your local bookstore!
Pick up those summer reading assignments for your students at an independent book store. They'll love you for it, and probably offer a discount. Plus, remember you always get "free shipping" when you buy from a real, bricks and mortar retail store.
3. Spread some good karma.
Traveling? Try this: pick up some used paperbacks before you go, knowing you'll finish them and not want to bring them home. Strike up a conversation about reading with a stranger (making a friend in the process) and leave the book with him or her. Alternatively, ask the management if you can donate the book to the hotel's game/reading room, or just just leave it by the pool with a post-it-note saying "free book- enjoy."
4. Switch gears.
Always seeking a legal thriller? Give your brain something else to chew on. A romantic comedy. A graphic novel. A translation. Something your parents didn't want you to read, a hundred years ago, when you were a kid. Something you loved as a kid, but you can't remember why.
5. Stretchhhhhhhhhh.
For real, stretch. Your brain loves it when you get so absorbed in a book you just can't put it down. Your spine hates it. So stretch, already.
6. Share it.
Share it by reading it with someone. You don't have to join a book group; just make a pact with a friend, your daughter, sister, spouse, or a neighbor that you'll read the same book and discuss it this summer. Then do it!
7. Share it again.
Share the book, yes, by all means! But also, share your reading pleasures with us here (guest posters always welcome) and with readers elsewhere. Reading (usually) is a solitary activity, and that's part of its allure. Sharing what you've read adds another dimension to your understanding - and enjoyment - of the book. So dish!
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
But seriously, what ARE YOU reading?
I'm always looking for guest bloggers! It's this easy: type about
what you've read recently - old or new, any genre - what you liked about
it, and why you'd recommend it. Or not.
Please contact me if you're the slightest bit interested. I welcome your reviews, and your fellow readers will appreciate it, too.
Please contact me if you're the slightest bit interested. I welcome your reviews, and your fellow readers will appreciate it, too.
Saturday, May 19, 2012
Grad gift: More than a money holder
Sure, grads need cash. It's gotta be the most appreciated gift of all time. Gift cards are almost certainly the second favored item, right? And they're easy on the giver, minimal shopping and wrapping and all that. But.
They're so. You know. Nondescript. Unimaginative. Borrrrrrring.
Giving a grad a gift like cash or pre-paid gift cards is practical, sure to inspire sincere "thanks" and yet, the grateful word is so often accompanied by the look that says, "Boy, you put a lot of thought into that, huh?"
Enter the book. You can stand out from the other check-writing, gift card-toting graduation party attendees by sticking your check, cash, or gift card into a clever (good) book. You know I love The Naked Roommate (snicker if you want to; it is full of practical advice for college-bound high school grads) but there are more, newer titles to consider - some perfect for college graduation gifts, as well as high school pomp and circumstance. Some ... are really only "perfect" if you know the graduate's parents really well. Just think before you wrap, OK?
A few on my graduate gift-giving radar:
No Money? No Problem (see how that title could double as an excuse for the low amount of your check?), Cool Shit (sort of 'The Dangerous Book' for teens/adults who aren't quite grownups) and the give-at-your-own-risk Get Laid.
No, I don't make this s... stuff up. What about you? What books are you wrapping up for graduates in the class of 2012? Please share... it's almost party time!
They're so. You know. Nondescript. Unimaginative. Borrrrrrring.
Giving a grad a gift like cash or pre-paid gift cards is practical, sure to inspire sincere "thanks" and yet, the grateful word is so often accompanied by the look that says, "Boy, you put a lot of thought into that, huh?"
Enter the book. You can stand out from the other check-writing, gift card-toting graduation party attendees by sticking your check, cash, or gift card into a clever (good) book. You know I love The Naked Roommate (snicker if you want to; it is full of practical advice for college-bound high school grads) but there are more, newer titles to consider - some perfect for college graduation gifts, as well as high school pomp and circumstance. Some ... are really only "perfect" if you know the graduate's parents really well. Just think before you wrap, OK?A few on my graduate gift-giving radar:
No Money? No Problem (see how that title could double as an excuse for the low amount of your check?), Cool Shit (sort of 'The Dangerous Book' for teens/adults who aren't quite grownups) and the give-at-your-own-risk Get Laid.
No, I don't make this s... stuff up. What about you? What books are you wrapping up for graduates in the class of 2012? Please share... it's almost party time!
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Wiser Wednesday: Reading games
After flirting with Angry Birds and declaring a truce with Draw Something, I've returned to my old addiction: word games. Lately I've been spending a little (too much) time with Word Dynamo.
Time to 'fess up: where RU wasting your reading time these days?
---- oh and PS, get your kids addicted and I'll betcha they get better SAT scores (you're welcome) ---
Time to 'fess up: where RU wasting your reading time these days?
---- oh and PS, get your kids addicted and I'll betcha they get better SAT scores (you're welcome) ---
Saturday, May 5, 2012
Turn to Books for Mother's Day, Graduation
Want to get mom a page-turner for Mother's Day? Give a grad a good book? Well, of course I wholly support that notion.
You could go for the easy choice - a book about moms, like the ones I reviewed for The Plain Dealer a few Mother's Days ago (now available on Kindle). Or wrap up the resume-building book of the month for your grad and cross 'get a gift' off your to-do list.
Or you could take a different tack and not point out mom's mommy-ness (trust me, by the 6,000th time you've heard yourself referred by your parental moniker instead of your name, you get it) instead, celebrating what mom is in addition to all that maternal goodness.
Similarly, while the grads you know will surely appreciate money, awesome business card holders, money, briefcases, money, how-to-get-a-job books, or money, perhaps they too would welcome a chance to shake off the label ("student" or "graduate") they've worn so long, and would revel in a little token honoring their personhood.
To stir your imagination, then -
Is mom a shutterbug?
Beyond Snapshots and several other nice titles for moms who are ready to take their fancy cameras off the Auto setting and take awesome photos of children (theirs or someone else's) can be found at my favorite photo-tip site, Digital Photography School.
Speak to her romantic side...
Book clubs are snapping up and tittering about 50 Shades of Grey and it's the first of a trilogy, so there's more where that came from if she likes it. ("It" being erotica, aka soft porn, but quite well written - at least, so I've heard.)
Or maybe mom's into yoga, beekeeping or blackjack. I think you get my point. Before she was a mom, that woman had her own personality, her own interests, her own je ne sais quoi - and she still does. (It's just really, really hard to see behind the mommy mask.)
Take the same approach to shopping for a graduate, and your gift is sure to stand out. You can go for the obvious - pick one of those well-timed 'how to get a job' books - or you could think, what does he like to do? Where does she wish she could go? and go from there.
If you can't come up with a title that's a perfect fit, you can always fall back the cliched but pleasingly psychedelic Dr. Seuss title, Oh! the Places You'll Go! It appears on everyone's annual what-book-to-get-for-a-grad lists, but frankly, I think giving that as a graduation gift screams "amateur," don't you?
On the other hand, there are those grads you have to buy a gift for whom you'll never really get to know (boss's son, for one) and such standard fare is appropriate in those cases. Maybe The Naked Roommate isn't appropriate for the boss's son, but I couldn't leave it out of this piece - it's my all-time favorite title for a high school graduate. OK, now off to shop, ya'll. You have some gifts to buy!
= = = = = = = = = = =
What to get the teacher?
I'd be silly not to mention this great title for a teacher gift: 60 Hikes within 60 Miles of .... OK, Cleveland comes to mind (I know the author, wink, wink) but several dozen other cities also occur to me. That's because the 60 Hikes within 60 Miles of .... books are available for Seattle, San Diego, Chicago, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, and oodles of other major metro areas. After a long school year, I'm pretty sure most teachers would love to spend a few hours on a nice, quite, peaceful trail that doesn't have to be graded, copied, or discussed at a meeting. Just sayin'.
You could go for the easy choice - a book about moms, like the ones I reviewed for The Plain Dealer a few Mother's Days ago (now available on Kindle). Or wrap up the resume-building book of the month for your grad and cross 'get a gift' off your to-do list.
Or you could take a different tack and not point out mom's mommy-ness (trust me, by the 6,000th time you've heard yourself referred by your parental moniker instead of your name, you get it) instead, celebrating what mom is in addition to all that maternal goodness.
Similarly, while the grads you know will surely appreciate money, awesome business card holders, money, briefcases, money, how-to-get-a-job books, or money, perhaps they too would welcome a chance to shake off the label ("student" or "graduate") they've worn so long, and would revel in a little token honoring their personhood.
To stir your imagination, then -
Is mom a shutterbug? Beyond Snapshots and several other nice titles for moms who are ready to take their fancy cameras off the Auto setting and take awesome photos of children (theirs or someone else's) can be found at my favorite photo-tip site, Digital Photography School.
Speak to her romantic side...
Book clubs are snapping up and tittering about 50 Shades of Grey and it's the first of a trilogy, so there's more where that came from if she likes it. ("It" being erotica, aka soft porn, but quite well written - at least, so I've heard.)
Or maybe mom's into yoga, beekeeping or blackjack. I think you get my point. Before she was a mom, that woman had her own personality, her own interests, her own je ne sais quoi - and she still does. (It's just really, really hard to see behind the mommy mask.)
Take the same approach to shopping for a graduate, and your gift is sure to stand out. You can go for the obvious - pick one of those well-timed 'how to get a job' books - or you could think, what does he like to do? Where does she wish she could go? and go from there.
If you can't come up with a title that's a perfect fit, you can always fall back the cliched but pleasingly psychedelic Dr. Seuss title, Oh! the Places You'll Go! It appears on everyone's annual what-book-to-get-for-a-grad lists, but frankly, I think giving that as a graduation gift screams "amateur," don't you?
On the other hand, there are those grads you have to buy a gift for whom you'll never really get to know (boss's son, for one) and such standard fare is appropriate in those cases. Maybe The Naked Roommate isn't appropriate for the boss's son, but I couldn't leave it out of this piece - it's my all-time favorite title for a high school graduate. OK, now off to shop, ya'll. You have some gifts to buy!
= = = = = = = = = = =
What to get the teacher?
I'd be silly not to mention this great title for a teacher gift: 60 Hikes within 60 Miles of .... OK, Cleveland comes to mind (I know the author, wink, wink) but several dozen other cities also occur to me. That's because the 60 Hikes within 60 Miles of .... books are available for Seattle, San Diego, Chicago, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, and oodles of other major metro areas. After a long school year, I'm pretty sure most teachers would love to spend a few hours on a nice, quite, peaceful trail that doesn't have to be graded, copied, or discussed at a meeting. Just sayin'.
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