Summer reading tips

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!

Words are Cheap, Laughter is Free

Recently I wrote about what fun my son and I had just hanging out the library. I didn't mention the oodles of hand puppets, games, puzzles, and friends we enjoyed there, nor did I mention that we went to the library that day to sign up for one of its many upcoming programs for children. I didn't mention it because I think we all know: libraries are fun. They're also a great source of free entertainment, and I'm talking about more than just being able to borrow a bazillion books, for nuthin.'

But as we enjoyed several of Doris Cronin's books (Click, Clack, Moo; Diary of A Worm) it occurred to me - she's one of those authors whose books all but guarantee belly laughs. Great big guffaws, even. We laughed so loud I was afraid we might be asked to leave :-0

What authors do that for you? Let me know!

I'm Rich!*

My friends Matt and Gina Hutter are featured in the July (print) issue of Money Magazine because they... wait for it... wait for it... use cash.

Greenbacks.

Bills.

US dollars.

Remember?

If the answer is no, please, please read the article. A few times. We'll wait.
= - = - =
Doesn't that make sense?

To Matt's money-saving tips I can add but one: before you buy a book, check it out at the library first. :)


*Sure, you can file this under "misleading titles." But I am rich in friends!

It's PC to Read About Your PC

Reading PC Magazine isn't exactly a pleasure; I consider it a duty. Like a lot of folks, I shop, read, learn, and work on a PC (a PC and two laptops, in fact) so I think I ought to try to understand the machines that are, for better or for worse, embedded in my life.

I know, as sure as I'll have to see a doctor when I get sick, there are some computer illnesses I'll have to see a help desk technician to heal. And then God help me (and my PC) - because like doctors, some help desk technicians have great "keyboardside" manners, and some don't.

But I digress. The latest issue of PC Magazine contains a dandy list of the editors' top 200 websites. Among them were a few for readers and writers:

Project Gutenberg features more than 20,000 books in the public domain;
WOWIO is an e-book site that offers loads of free books, in easy-to-download PDFs;
Footnote digitizes and uploads every document housed by the National Archives (!); and
Ninjawords, for when you've just gotta know the meaning of a word, and you don't wanna wade through several dictionary sites to get it.

I also enjoyed reading about Kiva, an organization that's reinventing what it means to "share the wealth." The site helps users make small loans to entrepreneurs worldwide - for example, $200 to a shopkeeper in Kenya - and then, helps loan-makers recoup their dough. Sounds good to me.