What’s in a genre?

Patrons often come in and ask us for something in the genre they like to read, rather than a specific author.  It’s not so bad when someone asks for literary fiction or a British mystery. But what happens when someone comes in and says they like to read alternate history or romantic suspense? We start sweating (okay, not all of us, but some of us.)  Sometimes it’s easy, sometimes it’s not. I think we need a pocket version of this fun website!

With Book Country, you just select your genre (there are very specific breakdowns) and it’ll give you a selection of several authors who write within that genre and a brief description of each book. Wonderful!  No more researching those tough combinations!

World Book Night 2013

Tonight is World Book Night in the US and the UK. It’s a wonderful idea where people go into the community on the night of April 23rd, and give out free paperbacks to people who might not be big readers.  The organizers hope to forge community spirit, make ties between people and also promote literacy.  Books are donated by libraries, bookstores, through financial donations and personal donations.

There are selected books, so it’s not just about giving away those worn out Harlequins your Aunt Madge has sitting on her bookshelves. This year, some of the books include Tracy Chevalier’s THE GIRL WITH THE PEARL EARRING, Ray Bradbury’s FARENHEIT 451, John Green’s LOOKING FOR ALASKA and Nora Roberts’ MONTANA SKY. Book givers sign up early, and then pick up a stack of books from a designated post on the night of the 23rd.

You can read a great blog post about ways to get ready for this fun evening right here.  There are library events, author readings and even events online (check out the Facebook pages).

Right now, there are no official planned events for Canadian cities, but maybe next year. This event seems to be growing (in the US, there were only 2 events last year compared with 28 official events this year). It’s a wonderful idea and certainly something to get a community excited, while promoting literacy and books at the same time. Will you follow it online or attend one of the events? Let us know!

The Power of Books

I think this photo says it all.

I tried to find the source of this photo, but as far as I can tell, it’s from the intro to a season of Reading Rainbow. Fabulous!

Read the Book, Listen to the Audio

We have a lot of people who use the library exclusively for audiobooks. They’re a great way to get some “reading” in if you travel, or if you have sight problems.  They’re also fun to use when working out, and make the time pass quickly. And we’re adding more to our collection at the library everyday (or you can use OverDrive and download free audiobooks!)

If you’ve never listened to an audiobook, you’re in for a treat.  While most don’t contain sound effects or music, many are read by actors who really make the stories come to life. And often, if you find it difficult to get into an actual book, an audiobook can change all that.

But here’s something you may not have thought of: listening to an audiobook either before or after reading the book. If you have reluctant readers at home, using audiobooks with children can make a huge difference. Children love to revisit their favourite stories, so popping in an audiobook version of Charlotte’s Web, let’s say, can be great incentive for the child that just doesn’t feel like he can make the transition to larger chapter books. If they can listen and follow along in the book, even better. It’s just another way to use audiobooks to promote reading.

Drop in to see the great audiobooks we have for all ages!

Downton Abbey

It seems like the whole world is obsessed with Downton Abbey.  If you don’t watch it (or haven’t even heard about), you might want to skip this post. But if you’re like many of my co-workers and every second patron, this could be something to keep you busy while you wait for Season Three to arrive on DVD, or Season Four, which will air sometime in early 2014.

We have the first two seasons of the popular British drama on DVD, so you can come in and borrow them to watch at home.  But we also have a few books to keep you busy while you wait for your spot in line (because these DVD’s are always on hold).

Upstairs & Downstairs : The illustrated guide to the real world of Downton Abbey by Sarah Warwick

The world of Downton Abbey  by Jessica Fellowes

If you’re on Pinterest, you might want to start your own fun boards like this one or  like this one.  Pinner Jules Pritchard posts funny pictures like this:

Even the gang at Sesame Street is in on the fun.

If you need a daily dose of Downton, follow the antics on Twitter.  They often post funny quips from the series, as well as news to keep you up to date! If you’re not a Downton Abbey fan, why not give the series a try. Great cast, great characters and lots of scandal!  What more could you ask for?

Blink a book?

Google Glass (Photo credit: Stuck in Customs)

Ereaders and eBooks are a commonplace thing now. Just about everyone has a smartphone, tablet or computer and can access eBooks in some format or other. We see a steady stream of eBooks being taken “out” of our library through OverDrive, and those are just our patrons who use the free eBooks. There are probably plenty more patrons who purchase eBooks as well. It’s a great way to read books, whether you use it for travel or just an easy way to pick up that 400-pager before bed.

Recently, I read an article wondering about the coming of hands-free books and how it would impact our society. Author and social media manager at CNET, Nathan Bransford, had an idea about the new Google Glass device and the possibilities of hands-free books.  Haven’t heard of  Google Glass? You can read more here, but essentially, they are an experimental device–a wearable computer–that will act as a recording device, a camera, an information center and entertainment piece….all under the guise of a simple pair of glasses.  The Google Glass is still in the development stages, but Google has started a project where it is loaning out the glasses to people who presented them with creative ideas about how they would use them.  So, we’ll have to see if this moves to a stage where everyone can purchase a pair and start using them!

Now, the concept of reading on the Google Glass is something Mr. Bransford was concerned about, but for different reasons.  The viewing area is apparently quite small, and wouldn’t work well for doing a lot of reading.  He was most excited about the thought of being able to read (hands-free) while walking or traveling on the train. It really is an interesting concept, one where you might control flipping the pages with a blink of an eye or some other simple gesture. 

But as some of his readers pointed out, there are implicit dangers here. Of course, we’re thinking of using this as a reading device in the best possible ways, but what about people who will try to read while driving? (You know someone will do this!) Even the idea of reading while walking could have HUGE problems, with people not being aware enough of their surroundings already when they walk with iPods or other listening devices etc. There are just so many applications where using the glasses would be dangerous.

The Google Glass is very well designed, so much so that it isn’t all that noticeable when a person has them  on.  They could easily be mistaken for a regular pair of glasses. The possibilities here for reading are probably very real, and it’s only a matter of time before someone develops an idea to make books available for people who will own them. But along with using common sense, there should probably be some safeguards so that they won’t be misused. What do you think?  Would reading a book hands-free using a device like Google Glass be something you’d want to try?