Technolandy

Day 12 (of 2024/25) #ReadAnEbookDay  thanks @libbyapp et al

Hardcover, paperback, or downloaded… books are awesome… for most of us… as an English/history major with a bonus education concentration in librarIANship… and my library brain loves the debate between the main formats to acquire a book collection. I had a book collection that made me and friends cringe anytime we were moving… but most have converted to ebooks ~ because I misread one of the ‘skills good readers do’ – good readers re-read – I thought that meant good readers re-read favourite books – and it took a friend to point out that it was about unfamiliar/out-of-context words… 

Hardcovers are the majority of my irl collection. Paperbacks don’t get published  for about a year after the hardcover, and for some I can’t wait… though the advantage of the book edition is that it is instantly downloaded and I can get reading. But I can’t get autographs on my book editions…

Paperbacks are cheaper, but kinda like waiting for a movie to hit a streaming platform… the initial excitement has passed, but has been tempered by reviews and shares – either leading to entering on a must-read pile or a ‘nope’ list. 

Now, at a time in schools where personal devices are being excluded, it is making ebook reading something ‘detached’ from schools. Admittedly part of that is the challenge to get ebooks in school libraries working effectively ~ when looking at a screen is too often misinterpreted as the less popular distraction… yes, kids reading books in their laps instead of focusing on the teacher is a distraction —> future tool for banning? a ban under the guise of promoting SOGI is already underway… and those written by bipoc authors… 

So today, let’s celebrate and look to embrace reading on screens! I usually have one on my iPad and another on my iPhone… two books on the go… right now I am reading “We Solve Murders” (and am going to get a hardcover of it) and my phone has a copy of Quivers – a Life. The one from the Howard Stern universe I have not found a physical copy of. Screen reading is great – yeah yeah, the texture of paper… the smell of books… the turning of a page… there are sensations that can’t be replaced… but to flip between books… not lose a page… change devices and keep on reading… there are some advantages. And I am starting to explore the free section within Amazon prime… the colours of the graphic novels never fade… and of course spoiler) as I am building our schools Comic Book Library… as a school working with home learners across the province, I need to consider how to share ecomics with students who cannot physically come and borrow a series… more on that later though!

Explore epub mobi pdf and all other writings via the screen… it certainly makes packing for a trip easier… which book to pack? All of them!! I only tease that my iPhone weighs a lot because of my library…

Borrow a book from your local library via Libby (an app). Explore Project Gutenberg. Check out OpenLibrary.org … buy books from local bookstores! Remember Amazon started as a bookseller! Let’s get more people reading!