One of the most important things to think about is "What am I putting in my brain?" What we read affects how we think, how we behave, and how we see others and the world. For this reason we should choose carefully what we read and what is available for members of our family to read. What kind of person do you want to be? What kind of people do you want your family members to be? Be aware of what your children are reading. Even Children's books and Young Adult's books maybe have things that would surprise you.

A second thing to think about is "How do I really want to spend my time?" We only have 24 hours per day. That time is best used by dividing it in a reasonable way between adequate sleep, eating healthy food without rushing, exercise, work, learning, and recreation. "Is what I am reading worth my time - time I can't use to do something I might value more?

A third question to ask yourself is "How do I want to spend my money on books?" During my work in management at bookstores I would often see customers buy books simply because they were on a best seller list. Libraries often have copies of these books and although you might have your name on a list for awhile before you can read it at least you aren't buying something that you read once (if you finish it at all). If you want to read or refer to a book more than once then it might be good to consider owning a copy. First it is usually better to borrow one from a library or friend and see if you really want to own it. This applies to cookbooks and other nonfiction books as well as to fiction.

What format do you want - paper, electronic, or audio? For paper books, hardcover is better if the book will get a lot of use. Softcover is usually less expensive and works fine for some situations. It may be easier to carry a softcover book around with you for reading or reference. The difference in price may help you determine whether to get hardcover or softcover. You may want a hard copy instead or of, or in addition to your CD, tape, or ebook. Audio books are great for listening to in the car, or while doing housework. These may be abridged or word for word. Be sure to check so you aren't surprised when it is a shorter version (or longer) than you expected. You may also want to see who the narrator is and if it is someone you want to listen to. Narrators are sometimes actors whose voice you would be familiar with so you may already know how they sound. Most ebooks can be purchased and downloaded immediately and can be found on a wide variety of subjects. Do you want to read it on your computer or would you want to print it out? Unless you like reading a screen - PDA or computer - you may want your books in paper format. If it is a reference book then having it on your PDA could allow you to access the information almost anywhere. It might be worth it to buy the printed copy if available if it is a long book that you would want to refer to frequently or read more than once. If the ebook is 195 pages do you really want to print it out or will you be fine with reading it on your computer?

Author links

Find out information about an author before reading what they wrote. The book will be more interesting and help you choose whether you really want to read a certain book. Below are some websites that might help in your search.

http://falcon.jmu.edu/~ramseyil/biochildhome.htm Children and Young Adult Authors and Illustrators

http://www.scils.rutgers.edu/~kvander/AuthorSite/ - Author and Illustrator pages

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lists_of_authors - wikipedia author information

http://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/authors.html - Online Books Page - authors.html

Books based on movies or TV shows 

Don't base your decision on whether to read a book just on whether you liked the movie version or not. Many movie versions are quite different from the book - which could be bad or good. It is often difficult to put a book into a movie that is 1 ½ or 2 hours long or even 3 hours long.

Websites for movies based on books:

http://www.mcpl.lib.mo.us/readers/movies/ - Based On the Book - search by movie title, book title, book author, or year of release

http://als.lib.wi.us/bookmovies.html - From Books to Movies - alphabetical listing of books which have been made into movies

http://ucalgary.ca/~dkbrown/movies.html - Movies and television shows based on children's books

Ideas for titles of books to read

A Thomas Jefferson Education by Oliver DeMille - includes information about how to choose whether to read a book and lists classics for children, young adults, and adults

http://www.mcpl.lib.mo.us/reference/subject.cfm?id=9 - books reviews and searches for books in certain genres

Harvard Classics   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvard_Classics