Summer Camp - an experience that changes lives.

Did you go to summer camp? I did, and it was one of those childhood experiences that stayed with me and became a pleasant, misty memory of swimming in a lake, sleeping in bunk beds, hiking, campfires, canoes and lots of new friends.

When I had children of my own - they all went to summer camp as well. It amazed me as a parent to see the effect that camp had on my kids. Camp gives children that first critical taste of independence, of making decisions for themselves, trying new things without that ever present safety net of mom or dad. Sure, they'd probably been on sleep overs with friends - but there was always a parent there. This is new, fresh, dangerous and exciting. A great experience at camp can literally change a child's life. I've seen kids discover things about themselves that boosted their self confidence and made them more willing to try new things.

I was surprised to hear that there are kids who are missing out on this opportunity because their parents are too scared or uncomfortable to send them to camp. Don't be afraid to allow your kids to have amazing experiences!

Come talk to Nancy Kyme, author of Memory Lake the Forever Friendships of Summer and Morgan Tebeau, Director of the Sheridan Mountain Campus. They'll both be here at the store Saturday, March 24 from 1 to 3pm - you're kids will love you for it!

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!

March 2 is the birthday of Dr. Seuss ~ Celebrate by reading to a child. Dr. Seuss (Theodor Seuss Geisel) wrote 44 childrens books that have been translated into 15 languages. He won 2 Academy Awards, 2 Emmy Awards, the Peabody Award and a Pulitzer.

Many of Geisel's books express his views on a remarkable variety of social and political issues: The Lorax (1971), about environmentalism and anti-consumerism; The Sneetches (1961), about racial equality; The Butter Battle Book (1984), about the arms race; Yertle the Turtle (1958), about Hitler and anti-authoritarianism; How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1957), criticizing the materialism and consumerism of the Christmas season; and Horton Hears a Who! (1950), about anti-isolationism and internationalism.


Pick a topic  and then share it with everyone you can find!

 

The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go.

                                                ~ Dr. Seuss

The Book Club Delemma

I have a love-hate feeling about book clubs in general.

I love the idea of book clubs - an eclectic group of people getting together to discuss something they've read - simple. There are lots of reasons to participate in a book club. Meet new people who share your love of reading, get out of the house, experience new authors or genres, lively discussions etc...

I hate book clubs - for some reason people in book clubs seem to think that they're supposed to read books that are 'lofty' or the classics. There are thousands of books and just as many reasons for reading them. Don't be afraid to read something that is classified as humor, mystery, sci-fi, historical fiction or (gasp!) romance simply  because they aren't considered 'classics'.

A classic is something everyone wants to have read but no one wants to read.  ~ Mark Twain

Where Have You Been?

This the place where I'm supposed to tell you about the cool news in the book world - I've been lazy but I promise I'm going to be better and work harder and get more organized.... you believe me right?

Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I was completely entertained by this book - there's enough historical fact to make it believable. I will never look at Lincoln in the same way - I will forever picture him with an axe in his hand!



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Robert Parker - The Professional

The Professional by Robert B. Parker

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I did the audio version of this book, read by Joe Mantegna. I'm not sure if it was the reader or just the dialog of millions of short choppy sentences, but I wanted to punch someone through most of the book. It's a perfectly good story, maybe just read it yourself and skip the audio version.



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Book Trends

Last year at this time I was patting myself on the back for having a successful holiday season and looking forward to a long and happy book selling career.

In the last twelve months the e-book market has literally exploded. No longer is the Amazon Kindle king of the hill; now we're watching sales of the Nook Color, IPad, Sony Reader and others soaring. Significant price cuts, 3G, Wi-Fi, touch screens, web surfing and full color have made these little devices much more popular. One of the little devils even turned up under my Christmas tree! I am now the guilty owner of a Nook Color.

For the first week I only used my Nook at home with the blinds closed, late at night, under the covers. I was sure the book police would show up and confiscate my business license. When it didn't happen I came out into the daylight and learned some cool stuff.

I have to tell you - I like it. I haven't read a lot of books with it yet, but I do use it to read my favorite magazine while I'm on the treadmill. I check email, write and upload my newsletters (yes, this is from my Nook!), surf the web, listen to music and a host of other activities. On the downside, it's heavier then the average book and I worry about carrying it places because it was a lot more expensive than a book! I'm still finding that the books are more expensive than here in the store but its fun and helpful in my daily life so I'm not completely hating it...

I'll post more as I have time to investigate further and I would love to hear your thoughts... did you get one? give one? want one? Where is the future of our books heading?