Packing for the Adventure...
"I'm going to a deserted island, and here is what I'll take..."
I used to love that game. It took imagination and a good memory to keep track of what I'd committed to taking. Even though I knew I'd never end up on a deserted island, a sense of adventure overtook players as we pretended we were getting ready to take off.
This lens is about possessions--books, mostly--and what we'd choose if we had to pick only ten titles. Would you choose fiction? Nonfiction? Something you'd already read, or a new book from the bestsellers list?
Think about it.
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Note to Self
Bring bookmarks, a highlighter, and a good pen. (A good book begs for notes in the margin.)
Curl Up With a Good Book
Are e-books the beginning of the end?
"There's been a lot of buzz lately about books. I'm not talking e-books, but Real books with nice covers and pages that we can flip, dog-ear, and bookmark. Margins I regularly scribble notes in if I'm caught up in a topic. Books that live on dusty shelves in used bookstores and in the homes of hungry readers.
And I wonder...How do you feel about it? Would you 
rather get your reading fix online with one of the popular electronic readers, or are you content to curl up in a comfy chair with a cup of tea within's arm reach? How do you feel about listening to your books instead of reading them?
Some of us love the feel and smell of real books. We appreciate the turn of a good phrase, and the long hours writers pour into their books.
I 
know from experience that the last week before a book deadline demands gargantuan amounts of coffee and chocolate. Writing a book is like tossing a pile of leaves into the air and trying to organize them into neat mini-piles. On a windy day. With small children running around the yard. And a dog yapping next door.
Some of us write about our passions for reading and writing. Here are four wonderful sites for book-lovers. A place to celebrate writers and readers, and meet people who still curl up with hardcovers instead of electronic page-flipper gadgets.
Book Chase
Book Lover's Blog
Shelfari
Write by Faith
Speak Up!
Reading Aloud @YouTube
Another Way to Read
Amazon Kindle is shaking up the world of books...
If you haven't heard about Amazon Kindle, you're not up to speed on techie gadgets.Kindle isn't a fly-by-night product. It's everything I thought I'd never want, until I took the plunge and bought one. Now I'm thoroughly hooked on the benefits of this amazing electronic reader. I even wrote a lens about Kindle, Amazon Kindle Tweaks & Tips.
E-Ink is the big draw, as far as I'm concerned. Kindle's screen looks like a spacious LCD (about 5x7) but can I just say, NO GLARE! I can sit anywhere in bright light and still read it without eyestrain. That's because it isn't backlit. When the sun goes down, you'll need to turn on a light or use a booklight just as you would with a regular book.
Along with a fabulous e-book reader that downloads bestsellers in less than a minute (at only $9.99 for most), Kindle comes with a basic browser that lets you check email or browse your favorite websites. And I might add, its wireless technology (WhisperNet--same as Sprint) costs nothing. Nada. No monthly payments. Nope. Huh-uh. No way.
I'm currently reading The Shack on my Kindle. And you know what? I also read hand-held books with real pages, too. Kindle feels right in certain places, and at certain times. I take it along in my purse (And all this from a writer & book lover...Kinda makes you go Hmmm, doesn't it?
Photos...details...user videos...& more!
If Money Weren't an Issue...
Where would you plan a getaway?
Daydream a little.
I'd head to Ireland
Discover Ireland - Right Here, Right Now! Discover more...5 points
Paris...where else?
4 points
Glacier National Park
Glacier National Park Official Website4 points
New Zealand-where else?
Welcome to the official site of Tourism New Zealan more...3 points
Great Smokey Mountains National Park!
Great Smoky Mountains National Park NPS-USGS Coope more...1 point
Tennessee ...
Great Smoky Mountains National Park1 point
Seabrook Island!
1 point
The Dead Sea
0 points
I'd go to China
Lonely Planet China Travel Guide. China travel inf more...0 points
Definitely Singapore
The Singapore Infomap (www.sg) is your first stop more...0 points
Best Books of All Time
Whatever your tastes, whatever your background, there's something for everyone at the following links, where the written word has made a deep dent on our world.
Buy at AllPosters.com
- 100 Top Novels
- Bookwise.com lists the top 100 novels of all time.
- TIME Magazine - Top 100 English-Language novels
- ALL-TIME 100 Novels: the Complete list of 100 novels as chosen by TIME's critiques
- 100 Best Nonfiction Books
- Random House's Modern Library lists these top 100 nonfiction titles.
- World's 500 Greatest Books
- A Lifetime's Reading: The World's 500 Greatest Books
by Philip Ward - The Modern Library
- 100 Best - a collection of lists
What Books Do You Plan to Read This Year?
If you missed reading some of the titles on your to-read list last year, no problem. There's always time, if you set it aside. Read a chapter a day, or just a few pages. Or, head to an island and read to your heart's content.
The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon by Stephen King
I have read a lot of Stephen King in my life, and more...2 points
Mabel Stark: Tiger Whisperer
And she first did it before women even had the rig more...1 point
The Girls by Lori Lansens
'I have never looked into my sister's eyes. I have more...1 point
The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
Lily Owens is the daughter of a brutal father and more...1 point
Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West
And I have always gravitated towards the literatur more...1 point
The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
Lily Owens is the daughter of a brutal father and more...1 point
The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
Lily Owens is the daughter of a brutal father and more...1 point
Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West
And I have always gravitated towards the literatur more...1 point
Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West
And I have always gravitated towards the literatur more...1 point
Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World: Vicki Myron, Bret Witter: Books
One frigid Midwestern winter night in 1988, a ging more...0 points
The Last Lecture
A lot of professors give talks titled "The La more...0 points
The Story of Edgar Sawtelle
Born mute, speaking only in sign, Edgar Sawtelle l more...0 points
Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace . . . One School at a Time: Greg Mortenson, David Oliver Relin: Books
Some failures lead to phenomenal successes, and th more...0 points
Dead and Gone (Sookie Stackhouse, Book 9) by Charlaine Harris
Amazon.com: Dead and Gone (Sookie Stackhouse, Book more...0 points
Just Sayin'...
Avid readers usually also like quotes about books.
- To read without reflecting is like eating without digesting. - Edmund Burke
- Books serve to show a man that those original thoughts of his aren't very new after all - Abraham Lincoln
- Books are not made for furniture, but there is nothing else that so beautifully furnishes a house. - Henry Ward Beecher
- In the case of good books, the point is not to see how many of them you can get through, but how many can get through to you. - Mortimer Adler
- Beware of the man of one book. - St. Thomas Aquinas
- No man can be called friendless when he has God and the companionship of good books. - Elizabeth Barret Browning
Did You Know...?
All the earnings from James M. Barrie's book Peter Pan were donated to the Great Ormond Street Hospital for the Sick Children in London.
World's Favorite Islands
"An Island in Time" poster
- 2008 World's Best Islands
- In Travel + Leisure's 2008 World's Best Awards, readers choose the very best in travel: hotels, cities, islands, spas, cruises, airlines, tour operators, business hotels, and more.
- Lost Islands of the World
- Want to really get away from it all? Here's your guide.
- Have we misplaced groups of islands?
- Is the United States quietly, mysteriously, skrinking?
If ever you found yourself stuck somewhere you didn't want to be, do you think you could survive? What would you do first? How would you make a shelter? find food? seek help?Here are some interesting links with tips on how to survive an island experience. Kinda makes you want to stick close to home, doesn't it?
1. How to Survive on a Deserted Island
2. Would you be able to survive a desert island experience?
3. Survivor Foods to Take to a Deserted Island (from WebMD)
4. Make a shelter, find food, & more...
Even the Monkey likes to read...
And you thought the Yellow Pages were boring?
10 Books I Might Pack
Bookmobiles, Braille, & More...
- DIY bookbinding
- Step-by-step instructions on how to bind your very own
- Seedlings Braille Books for Children
- Their logo: "By the touch of a finger, behold the world."
- Making Books with Children
- Making books with children is a great way to encourage literacy and creativity and build bridges across the generations. Susan Kapuscinski Gaylord has seen the positive effects firsthand during her twenty years of making books in schools, libraries, and with her family. Her primary goal is always to make it easy and fun. At makingbooks.com, she shares what she has learned to bring the joy of making books to you.
- Parade of Bookmobiles
- A celebration of the American Bookmobile, by the American Library Association.
- New Books of 1908
- Significant new titles that were released 100 years ago.
A Bag for Your Books...
Zazzle is a fabulous gathering of artistic designers who offer amazing products that reflect their interests. I have created product lines with my nature photography. The products below were created by others. I love their bookish theme, don't you?
P.S. Visit the lens I created about Zazzle.
Better Reader by KatrinaArt
Make personalized tote bags On zazzle.com
View other Arts Design Fashion Bags
What About the Children?
Studies have shown that a child who witnesses reading in the home at an early age will naturally fall into the same pattern. If you have a baby at home, schedule a reading time every day. Make it a top priority, and a time of togetherness. There's no right or wrong time to introduce books.Although your infant won't understand the words, the rise and fall of your voice is soothing. Books will soon become familiar, and best of all--your child will associate reading time with love and comfort. While it's doubtful you'll ever be stranded on a deserted island with your children, you could plan a creative island "trip" in your own living room. Children love imaginative outings even if they don't leave home. Spread a blanket on the floor, or drape it across a card table.
Ask what they'd take to an island. Gather as many of the items as possible, and let them pack for the big adventure.
Prepare surprise treats--simple stranded-on-an-island fare to set the tone. You might be able to find some over at Cooking for Kids.
After your arrival at the island, encourage them to set up housekeeping. Then sit with them and read one of their selected books together. Pause every so often to discuss what you're reading. As hypothetical questions and listen between the "lines" of their answer.
If your kids aren't interested in books, try turning off the tv. That's what one mom writes about at Mama's Musings blog, and her post explains the wonderful results of that decision.
Here are some adventurous story suggestions from a few children's librarians:
Medford Children' Library
Roxanne Chadwick's books
Classic Favorites, grades 4-6
Fiction Favorites, grades 2-4
What Children's Books Do You Recommend?
Dear Professor Einstein: Albert Einstein's Letters to and from Children: Robert Schulmann, Alice Calaprice, Evelyn Einstein: Books
Can you imagine, getting to write back and forth t more...0 points
The Tales of Beedle the Bard, Standard Edition: J. K. Rowling: Books
Offering the trademark wit and imagination familia more...0 points
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw
Let%u2019s face it: Greg Heffley will never change more...0 points
IlluStory Make Your Own Story Kit
Publish your own book with the Illustory Make Your more...0 points
Book Trivia
Dr. Seuss wrote the wildly popular Green Eggs and Ham after his editor dared him to write a book using fewer than 50 different words.
More on Words
Word games to shake the brain
I love board games like Scrabble and Taboo, but every now and then, it's fun to explore games that are available online games, too.Whether you're stuck on an island or stuck in a mind haze, here are some online word games to shake up the gray matter.
Popword
Wordsearch
Cryptoquote
Storytime
Something for the Book Lover in your life.
Leave a Footprint & Pass Along This Link...
Use this one-click widget to open up a drop-down widget of current social bookmarking sites:
Thanks!
Evelyn_Saenz wrote...
I think the island might sink if I took all the books I would like to read on a deserted island.
Great lens! You really got me thinking.
Posted April 23, 2009
Silent_Note wrote...
Wonderful lens! You have a great collection of resources and information here. Please do stop by my lens and say hello when you get the chance.
Posted February 12, 2009
naturegirl7 wrote...
"Very good lens", says the librarian. I enjoyed it immensely.
Posted January 05, 2009
mulberry wrote...
I was lucky, my older sister read aloud to us all of the time as kids. I much prefer reading to watching TV. (Don't think I'll be reading the Yellow Pages anytime soon though)
Posted January 02, 2009
poutine wrote...
I don't like to mess up a book by underlying or writing in the margins.
Posted November 22, 2008
poutine wrote...
I don't like to mess up a book by underlying or writing in the margins.
Posted November 22, 2008
seedplanter wrote...
in reply to Jason_Wright Hey Jason, thanks for stopping in. I visited your book site & left a comment re. reviewing your book. I love your description of it--sounds like it has a great takeaway. No wonder it has done so well!
Posted November 21, 2008
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