Conflicting reviews: What do YOU think?

Uh-oh. I gave a copy of The Casual Vacancy (by JK Rowling - maybe you've heard of her?) to a dear friend, because, well, heck, Rowling can write, right? and because I'd read a review that made the book's premise sound enticing.

Then I read another review ... that made it sound awful.

So, have YOU read it? Was it all that bad? Should I call my friend and apologize? Or was that reviewer just having a bad day? Do you think I should lay off the question mark key for a few days?

I welcome your comments.

Shades of Grey Blip or an Industry Boost?

In case you think "everyone" is reading 50 Shades of Grey, I'm not. (Yet! It's on my list.) But I know how you feel - I've been absolutely astonished by the number of my friends and the number of exuberant strangers I've heard from lately who have devoured the book. It's hot, however you want to interpret it - Ellen Degeneres is reading it on YouTube, a movie's reportedly in the works, and several public libraries have banned it.

(Not surprisingly, the title seems to have caused some spelling confusion, but that's a topic for my writing blog, not this one.)

Because I'm so interested in the machinations of the publishing industry, I have to wonder whether Shades of Grey is more than a blip. Will it amount to Harry Potter for a different demographic? After they've finished reading Shades of Grey (a time or two, wink, wink) will women of a certain age seek out other similarly absorbing titles?

I rather hope so.
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Speak up: leave a comment or contact me if you'd like to review the book or share your views. Guest bloggers always welcome!

Why Social Media is good for reading

JK Rowling finally did it (well, her publisher did) and now that all seven Harry Potter books are on available for e-readers, we can breathe a collective sigh of relief. Not that the books are available, but that because they are, we may finally be free of those silly articles predicting the death of e-readers.

Actually, next to the prediction (made by every generation since Socrates, at least) that civilization is coming to an end thanks to "today's youth," the assertion that reading is dead is probably a close second. I disagree.

Kindles and all manner of screens mean we may be buying and turning fewer paper pages, but we're reading more.  What evidence do I have for this crazy idea? My teenager has bought two books, with her own money, to read on her iPhone. If I'm crazy, well, so is the rest of the world.

In fact, I'll prove it by saying this: social media is making better readers of us all.

Admit it; you've probably been tempted to "like," "+1" or otherwise recommend an article by one of those catchy headlines. Then after you click, you (the responsible person who doesn't want to be seen as an indiscriminate button-pushing sharer) will read the whole article. I mean, do you really want to end up in a discussion with someone quizzing you on your opinion about something in the bottom paragraph if you haven't read the article? Uh-huh. That's what I thought - a little online repartee can convince you to go back and read the ones you really just skimmed, and shared, too hastily.

And then there are books, those dinosaurs we carry (yet and still!) to read on beach vacations and in doctors' offices. How many online reading circles are out there? A lot more than there were 20 years ago, and thanks to the peer pressure applied by fellow Facebook users eager to weigh in with opinions to impress their friends (you saw The Hunger Games before you read it? OMG!) I bet that you've purchased or checked a book out of your library just because of the buzz it got from someone's Tweets or Pinterest boards. See? Peer pressure isn't necessarily a bad thing.

Of course, if you think I'm wrong, be sure to tell me. Just know this: I dare you to share this until you've read the whole thing.
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From Mary Ruefle, in Someone Reading a Book Is a Sign of Order in the World, comes this excellent explanation of why reading will never be passe:

Reading...is a great extension of time, a way for one person to live a thousand and one lives in a single lifespan.

Read on, my friends!