Books for Christmas

If you are anything like me, then you have a list of books you would like to see under the tree for Christmas!  Or better yet, how about an eReader under the tree with the books you want?  I am all for being environmental and saving trees and reading on my Nook instead of actually getting books, but I will admit there is just something about a big book wrapped under the tree that makes the Christmas tree sparkle and glow like it has a secret!

Quote of the Day

He puzzled and puzzled until his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before. Maybe Christmas, he thought ... doesn't come from a store. Maybe Christmas, perhaps ... means a little bit more!


-Dr. Seuss, How the Grinch Stole Christmas 

NaNoWriMo

This past month with the prompting from my sister, I decided to try my hand at National Novel Writing Month.  I am proud to announce that I made it to the 50,000 word goal two days before the deadline and validated my novel.  I am still working on editing my work and may post some excerpts from the novel at times.

If you don't know much, or anything, about NaNoWriMo, check out the website, so maybe next year you can participate as well!

http://www.nanowrimo.org/

Quote of the Day

Unless you have been very, very lucky, you have undoubtedly experienced events in your life that have made you cry. So unless you have been very, very lucky, you know that a good, long session of weeping can often make you feel better, even if your circumstances have not changed one bit.


-A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket

Quote of the Day

I'm five years too old to lie to myself and call it honor.


-The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Halfway there!

My goal for 2011 is to read 100 books before Dec. 31.  I recently finished book #50.  I am now working straight into book #51!  

Half Price Books

Everyone should find a Half Price Books near them!  It's a great place to find discount books, movies, and music ... and they always have a great collection of items under $3 which for someone on a budget is a great way to get books for less!!!

Here is their website so you can find one near you!

http://www.hpb.com/

eReader

For Christmas / my anniversary this year my husband got us a Barnes and Noble Nook. After all my painstaking research on prices and features, I felt the Nook was the best option for us. It's definitely one of the cheaper options but includes many neat features, like a LendMe feature that allows you to share books with other friends who have Nooks. And also the Read in Store feature that allows you to read any book for 1 hour for free on your device inside a Barnes and Noble store. That feature alone I could get excited about and have already tried it out myself this past Friday night. The device is really neat and seems to work great so far. I also love that you can get eBooks from your local library on the device as well. I've put a few on hold but have yet to get those.

For anyone who is an avid reader and has shelves and shelves of books at home this might just be a great gift for an upcoming birthday, anniversary, graduation, or any other event. They seem to be staying pretty steady at the price points they are now, but there are constantly new models and updates coming out.

I personally prefer the e-ink screen that looks very similar to the words and look of a page out of a book. They now have color options though for people who read a lot of magazines and children's books. However, these usually have LED screens which are harder on your eyes, and they also drain the battery much quicker.

They are pretty neat devices and come in all kinds of price points, ranging from less than $100 all the way up to about $800 if you include the iPad and other tablet PC's in the mix.

I'm sure even more new models and cool features will become available in 2011, and hopefully a lot more free ebooks for the devices as well. Right now, there are some modern free ebooks that authors have chosen to make free plus over 1 million books that have already made it to the public domain, including most of the classics like Dracula, Jane Austen books, Mark Twain, Alice in Wonderland, War and Peace, etc.

If you're thinking about getting an eReader all I can say is so far I love mine and can't wait to read some more on it.

Anyone else have thoughts on loving or hating the ereader? Book selection? Which model is the best?

A New Year

Well, a new year has come and that can only mean one thing ... challenges and goals set for ourselves. This year my personal challenge is to read 100 books before 2011 is over. I have already found myself watching TV just a little bit less and reading a little bit more. (Both of those things in and of themselves are great for us.)

Does anyone else have any reading challenges for this upcoming year?