Happy Banned Books Week 2012!
To celebrate I've made up a 7-day post challenge. Take a look and play along!
Day 1. My favorite banned book.
Day 2. Banned book I read in school.
Day 3. Banned book that makes me laugh because it was ever even challenged.
Day 4. Banned book I really didn't like/didn't finish.
Day 5. Book I didn't know had been banned.
Day 6. Book I've seen challenged in local school/library.
Day 7. Banned book I will always stand up for.
There are many lists online of books that have been challenged or banned in the US and around the world. I probably won't stick to just the 2012 list. I'm interested to see everyone's responses!
Showing posts with label books. Show all posts
Showing posts with label books. Show all posts
Sunday, September 30, 2012
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Reading isn't just words
I had a problem at the library today. We had a kid’s program in the morning, and even though I get anxious and flinch more than usual around large groups of children, that was not my problem.
My problem was a boy that kept bringing graphic novels up to the desk only to have his mom take them back and tell him to “get real books.” We have some short chapter books that are about Spiderman and Yoda and all those characters guys like no matter what age they are, but even those didn’t pass her scrutiny of the authentic state of “book.”
Eventually the kid got frustrated, threw his arms out and said, “What am I supposed to do, I’m not interested in anything else!”
To which I think his mom said something along the lines of “Well, get interested in something else.”
I’m with the kid here. Granted he was calling them “comic books” which is fine and I doubt his mom would have been swayed by the slightly snobby-sounding “graphic novel.” Unless maybe I said it with an English accent... Anyway.
So what if the kid isn’t reading Hawthorne yet? If you start telling him some books aren’t real and things he’s interested in aren’t put in books then he won’t want to read when he’s older.
And seriously. Look around at all the books in the children’s library… books about police cars or how bulldozers work or bat-eared foxes. Books on colors and numbers and feeling sad or making decisions. Getting dressed, saying please, sharing with others.
Up until we’re teenagers (and probably beyond that into adulthood) we use books to learn how the world works, and most importantly how we feel and interact with our world.
Reading is psychological, social, emotional, and intellectual. So maybe some people feel that authors can cram their agenda or people blindly follow the protagonist’s lead without contemplating how they really feel, but at least there’s an opportunity to explore how you react to situations and social schemas.
Let the kid get swept away in a comic book if he wants to. He’ll be interpreting the images just as much as the words. He will find moral dilemmas, be incited to use his imagination, and give his range of emotions a little workout in a safe place between paper pages. Which is exactly what any other “real book” does.
My problem was a boy that kept bringing graphic novels up to the desk only to have his mom take them back and tell him to “get real books.” We have some short chapter books that are about Spiderman and Yoda and all those characters guys like no matter what age they are, but even those didn’t pass her scrutiny of the authentic state of “book.”
Eventually the kid got frustrated, threw his arms out and said, “What am I supposed to do, I’m not interested in anything else!”
To which I think his mom said something along the lines of “Well, get interested in something else.”
I’m with the kid here. Granted he was calling them “comic books” which is fine and I doubt his mom would have been swayed by the slightly snobby-sounding “graphic novel.” Unless maybe I said it with an English accent... Anyway.
So what if the kid isn’t reading Hawthorne yet? If you start telling him some books aren’t real and things he’s interested in aren’t put in books then he won’t want to read when he’s older.
And seriously. Look around at all the books in the children’s library… books about police cars or how bulldozers work or bat-eared foxes. Books on colors and numbers and feeling sad or making decisions. Getting dressed, saying please, sharing with others.
Up until we’re teenagers (and probably beyond that into adulthood) we use books to learn how the world works, and most importantly how we feel and interact with our world.
Reading is psychological, social, emotional, and intellectual. So maybe some people feel that authors can cram their agenda or people blindly follow the protagonist’s lead without contemplating how they really feel, but at least there’s an opportunity to explore how you react to situations and social schemas.
Let the kid get swept away in a comic book if he wants to. He’ll be interpreting the images just as much as the words. He will find moral dilemmas, be incited to use his imagination, and give his range of emotions a little workout in a safe place between paper pages. Which is exactly what any other “real book” does.
Sunday, December 4, 2011
Do consumers want fancier books?
Rummaging around in book news I found this article posted on nytimes.com about how publishers are combating the e-book market by publishing ink-and-paper books with “special effects.” No, no holograms jumping out tossing confetti and slaying unicorns. Rather, publishing books with attractive, detailed cover designs, deckled edges, high quality paper, or ribbon book marks. The argument goes that consumers are purchasing e-books for the convenience of reading and storing books on e-readers and publishers are trying to encourage consumers to buy a product they won’t only enjoy reading, but enjoy owning.
All right. This opens up a whole can of demonical worms to me, and seeing as every other/single line of news and conversation at work includes the economy, it’s a great topic to bring up book buying behavior. So, let’s do it.
I’ve always viewed books as an investment, a resource, and something to be used and owned. Seriously, I’m building a library. However, I’m not the consumer that these publishers are aiming at. Because most of the books I buy are used. I’d love to buy new books all the time to support authors, publishers, and economy in general. But I just can’t. And it isn’t because I choose to buy other things instead. Books are the first thing I spend money on after bills and food. But lately I struggle to get passed the food step to have extra money to buy books. And when thrift stores sell books I want for 50 cents, well, used it is.
I cherish books I’ve bought used, especially beat up, ex-library copies with crinkled covers and a billion marks. I prefer paperback for fiction – more space for more books. A couple books in our collection are fancy hardbacks with a bookmark. But honestly, I want to buy simple paperback versions I can write in when I actually read them. To me, using and owning a book isn’t having something pretty on my bookshelf. It’s what’s inside that I value.
So, as much as I’d like to say that all this Bedazzling books to get people to enjoy owning them is utter superficial donkey donuts and real readers don’t judge books by their covers and people that do probably have “War and Peace” and the Bible on their mantles but have never opened them – I need to put aside my judgment and think about this.
I understand the holiday season fast approacheth (Oh, wait. It’s here.) and there are going to be a lot of consumers acting on emotional impulses to buy products. A person looking for a book to give an avid reader will want to buy a nice book that looks interesting and special, not a wrecked discard from the Platt County library. Also, a reader who has a gift card or a little extra money to spend on books/a book to treat him/herself will probably go after a nicer, new book that attracts their whimsy. Not something they HAVE to read or doesn’t spark their interests at all. Enter deckled edges and a textured cover jacket.
I also understand that hardcore fans of a series, author, or particular book may want special editions or higher quality books that they will keep on the top shelf or pass on to someone else in grand condition.
And yes, interior design and physical aspects of a book as a piece of art are important. Reading a physical book is an experience that stimulates the senses. I’ve smelled all the books in my collection, and I’ve seen readers or fiction, poetry, non-fiction, and text books alike getting euphoric over the scent in between the pages. Just looking at the Harry Potter font brings back all sorts of ideas, memories, and emotions. Books are and should be beautiful.
However, I see some problems with using shiny dust jackets as a way to promote consumers to buy books. The article attests that while some publishers are trying to keep prices of books down, many of these new releases do come with a higher price. A quote in the article from a publisher said that customers would probably pay a few extra dollars for a nicer book. I can see this in some instances, but not all.
The main goal with these fancy books is to combat the dollars going toward e-books. But I think the lower price of e-books, especially in fiction, can be just as persuasive as convenience and storage. Personally, I’ve only downloaded free e-books. (But I buy books with loose change at the thrift store, so I realize my consumerism standpoint is a bit twisted.) It’s been shown when retailers like Amazon put bestselling titles on sale for .99-2.99 then sales of self-published books of those prices go down. Yes, consumers have an eye out for fancy paper… but a lot also have their eye on the price tag.
I’m not saying to not pay attention to cover design and layout – that’ll be another blog post. But to me, a good book at a decent price is what I’m looking for. I love Dover thrift editions and there are many mass market paperbacks that have nice covers, a clean layout, and stand the test of my time reading it, lending it, and going back to it for my notes.
Ultimately, I believe flashy, blinky, glittery books will make some sales, but overall won’t increase readership or book buying. For the people that will buy books the most, a book should be consistent, nice on the eyes, and a moderate price. As the article says, “Something worth buying and worth keeping.”
In summary: Just make sure the paper smells good. It’ll be sold.
All right. This opens up a whole can of demonical worms to me, and seeing as every other/single line of news and conversation at work includes the economy, it’s a great topic to bring up book buying behavior. So, let’s do it.
I’ve always viewed books as an investment, a resource, and something to be used and owned. Seriously, I’m building a library. However, I’m not the consumer that these publishers are aiming at. Because most of the books I buy are used. I’d love to buy new books all the time to support authors, publishers, and economy in general. But I just can’t. And it isn’t because I choose to buy other things instead. Books are the first thing I spend money on after bills and food. But lately I struggle to get passed the food step to have extra money to buy books. And when thrift stores sell books I want for 50 cents, well, used it is.
I cherish books I’ve bought used, especially beat up, ex-library copies with crinkled covers and a billion marks. I prefer paperback for fiction – more space for more books. A couple books in our collection are fancy hardbacks with a bookmark. But honestly, I want to buy simple paperback versions I can write in when I actually read them. To me, using and owning a book isn’t having something pretty on my bookshelf. It’s what’s inside that I value.
So, as much as I’d like to say that all this Bedazzling books to get people to enjoy owning them is utter superficial donkey donuts and real readers don’t judge books by their covers and people that do probably have “War and Peace” and the Bible on their mantles but have never opened them – I need to put aside my judgment and think about this.
I understand the holiday season fast approacheth (Oh, wait. It’s here.) and there are going to be a lot of consumers acting on emotional impulses to buy products. A person looking for a book to give an avid reader will want to buy a nice book that looks interesting and special, not a wrecked discard from the Platt County library. Also, a reader who has a gift card or a little extra money to spend on books/a book to treat him/herself will probably go after a nicer, new book that attracts their whimsy. Not something they HAVE to read or doesn’t spark their interests at all. Enter deckled edges and a textured cover jacket.
I also understand that hardcore fans of a series, author, or particular book may want special editions or higher quality books that they will keep on the top shelf or pass on to someone else in grand condition.
And yes, interior design and physical aspects of a book as a piece of art are important. Reading a physical book is an experience that stimulates the senses. I’ve smelled all the books in my collection, and I’ve seen readers or fiction, poetry, non-fiction, and text books alike getting euphoric over the scent in between the pages. Just looking at the Harry Potter font brings back all sorts of ideas, memories, and emotions. Books are and should be beautiful.
However, I see some problems with using shiny dust jackets as a way to promote consumers to buy books. The article attests that while some publishers are trying to keep prices of books down, many of these new releases do come with a higher price. A quote in the article from a publisher said that customers would probably pay a few extra dollars for a nicer book. I can see this in some instances, but not all.
The main goal with these fancy books is to combat the dollars going toward e-books. But I think the lower price of e-books, especially in fiction, can be just as persuasive as convenience and storage. Personally, I’ve only downloaded free e-books. (But I buy books with loose change at the thrift store, so I realize my consumerism standpoint is a bit twisted.) It’s been shown when retailers like Amazon put bestselling titles on sale for .99-2.99 then sales of self-published books of those prices go down. Yes, consumers have an eye out for fancy paper… but a lot also have their eye on the price tag.
I’m not saying to not pay attention to cover design and layout – that’ll be another blog post. But to me, a good book at a decent price is what I’m looking for. I love Dover thrift editions and there are many mass market paperbacks that have nice covers, a clean layout, and stand the test of my time reading it, lending it, and going back to it for my notes.
Ultimately, I believe flashy, blinky, glittery books will make some sales, but overall won’t increase readership or book buying. For the people that will buy books the most, a book should be consistent, nice on the eyes, and a moderate price. As the article says, “Something worth buying and worth keeping.”
In summary: Just make sure the paper smells good. It’ll be sold.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)