What I Did On My Summer Vacation (or What I Learned On My Summer Vacation)

Tip of the Day: If you are planning a Pacifc Northwest vacation, don't skip Vancouver. The views from Grouse Mountain and Stanley Park? Amazing.

 Vancouver, BC

 

While visiting Vancouver, Seattle, and Portland, I did and saw and ate many fabulous things, but for the purpose of this blog I shall narrow it down to kidlitish stuff. So, to focus, a list!

 

1. Read SAVE THE CAT: The Last Book On Screenwriting You'll Ever Need by Blake Snyder. I heard of this book for the first time when Jessica Brody talked about it at Rochester Teen Book Festival this past May. I'm so glad I finally picked it up -- something about it TOTALLY CLICKED in my brain! I love the 15-beat scheme! And his tricks for nailing a logline! Wow. I got off the plane with 3 pages of novel notes for my MG that is nearing submission and an MG that is in rewrites, and a reason to return home to write after vacation.

2. Went to Powell's Bookstore. Twice. And bought eight books. Including SAVE THE CAT because I'd read a library copy on the flight there. Yes, it is the best bookstore EVER! It was also SO BUSY and awesome to see tons of people buying books!

3. Read two YA novels on my Nook and learned that I will skim a book very quickly on it if I would otherwise stop reading a paper version of the book. I'm not sure what this says about my reading habits, but I am glad I finished the two books I may have given up on otherwise.

What did you do this past week?

Deena, Miss Subbing for Pubbing

eReading v. Paper Reading (or We Are Living in a Digital World and I Am a Digital Girl*)

*With apologies to Madonna

Tip of the Day: Check out these YA for NJ ebay auctions for more chances to get cool stuff for donating to NJ's Sandy relief efforts!

Last Christmas, my mother bought me a Nook Simple Touch.

I was excited to own an ereader because a) I wanted firsthand experience with the new technology that we'd be promoting at my library with our OverDrive ebook lending platform, and b) I wanted to easily read some ebook-only novels on a nice matte screen.

Skip ahead 11 months into ereader ownership. Do I prefer digital words to printed? Let's find out.

TIMES I PREFER EBOOKS/EREADING:
1. When flying (lighter packing)
2. When on the exercise bike/elliptical machine (easier to hold onto with sweaty hands/less finger strain)
3. When a good sounding book is only epubbed
4. When reading in bed (easier to read with less moving (yes, I'm lazy right before sleepy time))
5. When I want to read something very fast (it's easy for me to skim with one-touch page turning)
6. When I want a book immediately (wifi connection!)

TIMES I PREFER PAPER BOOKS/PRINT READING:
1. When flying (can still read during "no electronic devices may be turned on" period)
2. When at the library/bookstore (can easily/quickly flip through, read random pages, see if the book is for me)
3. When the cover is gorgeous and I want to look at it again and again
4. When the formatting of the ebook is messy/hard to read (has happened with self- and trad-pubbed books)
5. When reading picture books (I like the images big and bold)
6. After I've been staring at a computer screen all day at work (need a break from screen time)
7. When doing book talks to teens (they can see the whole package of what they're getting -- length, tone from book design, etc.)

From these lists I can easily say that both types of books have a place in my life, and I don't want to see either go away any time soon.

What do you prefer about each type of book/reading experience?

Deena, Miss Subbing for Pubbing