Good Books and Shelf-Space

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

In June, the five in our family made a goal to read ten books this summer. It was a great challenge, during these wonderful months of an untangled schedule and sunshiny days, that we make reading a priority.

My boys immersed themselves in worlds of fantasy and humor, places inhabited by Beasts, funny Mr. Gum, potty-humored Super Diaper Baby, adventures in Tunnels, and the always-a-hit Batman and Star Wars. And usually, after time reading, they couldn't wait to share the lavish tales and terrible troubles of their fictional friends. What a great peek into the mind and interests of a child! So fun for me ... to watch their excitement in the new places they would go in their reading. 

We now have books used as doorstops, as they've again run out of shelf-space ...

I would be most content if my children grew up to be the kind of people who think decorating consists mostly of building enough bookshelves.  ~Anna Quindlen, "Enough Bookshelves," New York Times, 7 August 1991

  
Our adult bookshelves also run over-- which makes me smile. Above, a peek into my recent shelf-space of books. Out of the many books I've read over the last few months, I have loved the worlds of a few:

• The Art of Racing in the Rain: Wow-- this was a beautiful book that not only surprised me with its depth but also with its important story. Told from the perspective of the family dog (really!), the angle on the family's struggles and the dog's role in holding them all together amazed me. The strain applied to Enzo the dog's family by extended family is a stress so familiar, the story strikes hard ... and lingers, well past the final page. I enjoyed this book immensely. by Garth Stein.
• The Mountain Between Us: I enjoyed this moving story for its setting in the wilderness of the Rocky Mountains, and the depiction of the power of love to help us survive past pain. Well-told by Charles Martin, one of my favorite authors.
• The Shell Seekers: In rereading this classic, I'm rediscovering Rosamunde Pilcher's brilliance in sustaining vivid characters, and the deep pain she's able to recreate in their relationships. A fantastic portrayal of family and the rift caused by those who take toward those who give. 
• The Help: This breakout novel shines for its authentic characters and unique glimpse into the South at an unpopular time and topic in USA's history. A big thank you to Kathryn Stockett for sharing her exquisite world. 
• On Writing: Even though it's a non-fiction book in my list of summer reading, I can't help but place it among books I have loved reading. Because I do love it. For writers and avid readers, Stephen King gives a rich look into the life he lives turning out well-loved stories and reflecting on the creative process. I'm not sure, as a writer, that I could ever read this book enough.
  
  
  
  For the other books I've read, and enjoyed or not enjoyed reading--I defer to literary agent Nathan Brantford's excellent post on the judge of quality. Not everyone likes a certain book. For a novel I like, there may be 100x more people who do not like it. And vice versa. But, the judge should be if a book achieves what the author set out to accomplish in writing that book. I wholeheartedly agree. There are books that do not strike me in my reading taste, but that are well-done and accomplished what the author intended. A wonderful way to approach new books, I think.
  
  
  So, as I delve into writing my next novel, I am confident that not only are our shelves bursting with stories immersing us in new worlds, but that has reading become a fixed habit in our house, and also a destination worth pursuing.   

Starting the conversation (leave a comment below): What books have you enjoyed reading recently? What are you reading now?

Reading and the Rich Experience

"When you sell a man a book you don't sell just twelve ounces of paper and ink and glue you sell him a whole new life. Love and friendship and humour and ships at sea by night- there's all heaven and earth in a book, a real book." ~novelist Christopher Morley

I have always loved to read. Some of my earliest memories are of the library in Arkansas where I learned to read: the chalky-white walls, the blue felt-like carpet, and the endless cases of books—the taller ones, of course, had the magical adult books. But I remember loving two things about that library—the books, and the name placards that children could earn by reading lots of books. Yes, I earned lots of placards, but mostly I learned to love to read for the experience of reading a book—to open the cover of a new book was to open the portal to a new world. I still love reading books, and discovering new worlds, experiencing the world through a new character and learning as I read.

About six months ago, when we moved to Prague, our easy access to new books evaporated in an instant. But, this week, I scored a huge triumph. I configured my first international book order, effectively breaking down the barrier to getting new books. I’m elated!

Seth Godin recently said this about e-books versus paper-and-ink books: “Sometimes the goal is to make change happen. A book is a physical souvenir, a concrete instantiation of your ideas in a physical object, something that gives your ideas substance and allows them to travel ... unlike just about any form of electronic media, you get to read the book at your own pace, absorbing it as you go.”

I agree. To me, spending time reading at leisure words permanently printed onto paper is an enriching experience to be savored. The transience of blinking cursors isn’t the same, disappearing so quickly in our e-world that it hardly bears existence at all. But a physical book is a piece of timelessness in page form, with an experience lingering in my mind like the vibrant colors of a stunning sunset, forever changed and moved by the subtleties of savoring.

So, though I blog into the transient e-web-world and spend countless hours putting letters in the space of the blinking cursor writing novels, and even though I read my news, and emails, and blogs, and school updates electronically, I still am not ready to settle down and pleasure read a great novel from a screen. I look forward to every novel I read—especially the ones coming in a few weeks, via international mail. Whichever way we choose to read, whether on an e-page or a paper page, here's to to reading and the richness of the reading experience.

Starting the conversation (click to leave a comment, below): What are your reading habits? Have they changed in the digital age—iPad, Kindle, e-Reader? And, do you recommend any great books you’ve read lately?

2009 Book Recommendations (from my shelf)

The View of Prague, the Vltava River, and the Prague Castle from Strahov Monastery

Around Prague, new wintertime scents linger on every corner—logs burning on raging fires, sugared chestnuts roasting at street vendors’ carts, and the tangy aroma of Czech mulled wine. Adding much shorter days, frostier nights, the twinkle of lights on Christmas trees, the sounds of seasonal operas and the Nutcracker from the National Theaters, and the impending celebration of the Czech St. Mikulas Day, we know the Advent season is upon us.

With December here, I’d like to recommend a few great books from the stack (more like a towering stack) we’ve read here in our house this year. Books always make great gifts, and stocking stuffers …

Yesterday, I had the privilege of seeing the Strahov Monestary on Petrin Hill in Prague, which includes libraries with books dating back to the Ninth Century. It was a complete Wow experience—amazing to witness the works of the ages collected in such a beautiful place.

the 9th Century New Testament

I’m currently reading The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon, a European bestseller. The book includes the story of a book, found in a very special library. I believe Zafon says this about libraries so poetically, I have to insert his words to share with you:

“’This is a place of mystery, Daniel, a sanctuary. Every book, every volume you see here, has a soul. The soul of the person who wrote it and of those who read it and lived and dreamed with it’ … I wandered within the winding labyrinth, breathing in the smell of old paper and dust. I let my hand brush across the avenues of exposed spines, musing over what my choice would be. Among the titles faded by age, I could make out words in familiar languages and others I couldn’t identify. I roamed through galleries filled with hundreds, thousands of volumes. After a while it occurred to me that between the covers of each of those books lay a boundless universe waiting to be discovered …”

My Shortlist of Book Recommendations: (click on title for link to Amazon)
Women’s Fiction:

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Annie Barrows and Mary Ann Shaffer

For Children, Fiction:

The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo

The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S.Lewis

Adult Non-Fiction:

The Hole in Our Gospel by Rich Stearns

The Noticer by Andy Andrews

And … (if I may) my book: The One Year Mini for Busy Women by Jennifer Lyn King
I hope you, or those on your list, enjoy one or more of these as much as we have …

Happy Reading!

Jennifer

For you: What are some of your favorite books you've read this year?

The Publicity Dilemma

Some days I admit to being a "gearhead" (the result of my Mechanical engineering degree). Most days, I love to get my technology fix (again, "gearhead"). For almost a year, I've walked around in awe at the sleek and elegant mobile device I've carried in my hand to connect to the world-- my iPhone. Like almost every review I've ever read on the supersmart device, I love my iPhone, too. But while I could go on and on about how I love the apps and the web Safari and the email access and everything else I seemingly need in my life technology-wise, I want to point to something else new and technology-related in my world ... being an author and facing the new world of the internet and the resulting publicity dilemma.

Over the past year, it has been interesting to watch and listen to the buzz flying around the publishing industry about books and the shift toward the digital revolution (or so I'd like to call it). The music industry has been walking through a world of quicksand in their rapid shift toward digital, battling everything from copyrighting to piracy to royalties. Meanwhile, the book publishing world has been standing by on their stacks of books and pages and words in print hoping to survive on the physical side of publishing words-- on paper, old-style-- and not get sucked into the quicksand of digital media, too. But, the inevitable has been happening at an accelerating pace, and the book (and newspaper, and magazine) world has been pulled into the digital vortex, too. Not only do e-readers and digital books seem familiar now, but old-style bookstores and bookshelves now have a different battle to fight-- that same digital revolution. And, of course, swept along in all of this, publishing houses and the books' authors themselves have to find their way through the muck of the web by embracing a new way of doing business and attracting readers--the new publicity dilemma.

Even though this video has been out for quite a few months, one of my writer friends posted the link on Facebook a couple weeks ago and I viewed it for the first time. As an author, I must say that in this new world of everything-internet, even authors have to find a way to plug into the web. Or should I say--especially authors. If you haven't seen this video yet, especially if you're a writer, take a quick watch (it's only about three minutes).



The old formulas of doing physical book tours and book signings are no longer enough. Now we have blogs and social networking sites (Facebook) and blog tours and book videos and Twitter. In another blink or two, we'll have some other must-use digital manner of connecting with readers. And in my mind, that's great. But maybe that's the techie in me talking. Oh-- and the amazing and rewarding ability to connect with people everywhere anytime.

I've been paying attention to this new publicity factor for a while and have two things to note.

1) Internet publicity is revealing. I don't plan to use an example here, but I'm sure you can think up one or two on your own from your own experience. But in my experience, the quest for bigger numbers and larger followings and more publicity often drums up gimmicks-giveaways and copy-and-paste canned question and answers, or, in other words, insincerity. Even through the veneer of a digital screen, source motives can still be seen clearly. Self-promotion is a touchy thing that easily becomes pushy and overbearing. I think consumers are smart. In this digital era, people want something real-- something authentic.

2) Internet publicity can be very well done (when it's authentic). Take, for example, John Mayer. As a musician who also happens to be very tech-savvy, he came up with a grass-roots way to connect with his core fans through his blog. Over the 2008 holidays, he held a holiday cake-baking contest. In exchange for fans sending in photographs of their creative cakes, he chose a few over the course of a month or two, and posted some photographs with his own comments. John also posted photographs of his own cakes he baked. And, to the best cake baker, he sent an autographed guitar as a prize. Click here for the link.

I have many note cards filled with my thoughts on this subject ... and since this posting is long already, I'll save more for next week.

Have a great week ... and a wonderful Valentine's weekend. -JK

Great Books for Giving

Shopping is not my favorite thing to do. In fact, I think I’m not a very good shopper. These past twelve years, I have to admit I’ve wholeheartedly adopted Brian’s shopping method: have a list, find the items on the list, buy them and get out … quick. I tend to go as long as possible without setting foot in a store besides the grocery, and the mall comes in absolute last. So this shopping season, I’m spending my time on things I enjoy (being with the family, writing, entertaining) instead of things I don’t. And the shopping is getting done in quick spurts.

Given this year’s floundering economy, the publishing industry has come up with a few catchy campaigns to get people to buy books as gifts and bestselling book lists are easy to find. For me, Amazon is my top book source because of its infinite selection of books from which to choose and for their free super saver shipping offer. Amazon is almost a pain-free shopping experience.

To me, Books make great gifts because 1) they’re easy to wrap, 2) they’re easy to buy, and 3) they make great keepsakes when the giver signs inside the cover. So, to start some ideas flowing for great Books to give as Gifts for the 2008 Christmas season, I’m jotting down a few of my favorites and the link to buy them:

For kids:
Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney: A great classic story with beautiful illustrations; one of my lifelong favorites
Diary of a Worm by Doreen Cronin: Hysterical read every time

The Gold n’ Honey Bible: We’ve all learned so much from this well-written children’s Bible storybook
The Doppleganger Chronicles by G.P.Taylor: A great new illustra-novel that all kids will love
Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson: The all-time classic favorite at our house … can’t read it enough!

For adults:
Leadership Promises for Every Day by John Maxwell
Ordering Your Private World by Gordon McDonald
Mistress of the Revolution by Catherine Delors: Both Brian I loved this historical fiction novel—right now it’s bargain priced at Amazon for $6.99!
The Shape of Mercy by Susan Meissner: One of Publishers Weekly’s favorites for the year
The One Year Mini for Busy Women by me, Jennifer King: Not that I’m biased as the author, but I have to be J: For the busy woman of any age

Happy (Quick) Shopping this year!
-JK