Do you enjoy reading? Most parents introduced reading to their children as infants. Bedtime stories and quiet times to read the same stories over and over again. I know my daughter heard “The Wait For Me Kitten”, hundreds of times. And for people of my generation, “Fun With Dick and Jane” was our introduction in school to reading.
Books have always been a way to explore the world beyond our door, both in fact and fiction. As a child, Carol was (and still is) a voracious reader. If she was out with her Dad, the best treat he could get her was a new book. Tom Corbett, Space Cadet helped fuel my interest in the early space program and as a young teenager, Ian Fleming fascinated me with the exploits of Bond, James Bond. As much as I’ve enjoyed all, well most, of the Bond movies, they still don’t match with reading the exploits of this master spy and imagining the scenes in your mind.
Now that we are in the Grandparent stage of life it has been fun to share our love of books with the Grands. And of course watch our children read to their children over the years. All of the grandchildren seem to enjoy reading…when they are not on their video devices. Which takes us to that most important question – Printed book or E-Book?
There is a certain pleasure in holding a book, turning the pages and even seeing it sitting on a shelf. Many people talk about the aroma of a book. However, when traveling, I love having a library on my phone or tablet. It’s nice to have a variety of genres available as I relax in a Deck Chair and let my mind wander through the writer’s words. I’m currently bouncing back and forth between two books. One is Endurance by Scott Kelly about his nearly year stay at the International Space Station. And the other is Imhotep, a story of modern people being transported unexpectedly into acient Egypt. I’ll give a report on them in a future post. A big difference in genres! I downloaded both of these so that I could go to them at anytime and anywhere. And who has not had a wonderful waiting experience at the doctor’s office, DMV or many other locations where a nice book will help pass the time as well as enrich your life. Recently it was time for my annual physical and during the always expected wait (reception area, doctors reception area, exam room…we’ve all been there, done that) I was able to go through several chapters of one of the books from my iPhone.
Most of the books I download are from the http://www.bookbub.com You can sign up for daily emails to receive their offers. It provides you with the opportunity to put in your preferred genres. There are many free books and most running under $3. I remember seeing Scott Kelly’s book when it came out and it was $29.99. My downloaded copy was $2.99. Other sources of E-Books are Amazon https://www.amazon.com/kindle-dbs/hz/signup?_encoding=UTF8&ref_=17_us_gs_17 Nook by Barnes & Noble https://www.barnesandnoble.com/b/free-ebooks/nook-books/_/N-ry0Z8qa has a page on their site that is all free books for downloading. Like most of these services you can do a search to match your reading style or find a particular author. Keep in mind that not all books are available for downloading. So of course if you want the “real” book, you can order it from these various sources.
Another option is Audio Books. This is great if you find yourself spending a lot of time on the road. Most of the places who offer E-Books also have Audio Books available. One subscriptions site that specializes in this is Audible which is a devision of Amazon. https://www.audible.com/ep/2book?source_code=GO1GBSH04101890HL&device=d&ds_rl=1262685&ds_rl=1257031&ds_rl=1260658&cvosrc=ppc.google.audio%20books%20free&cvo_campaign=224867049&cvo_crid=318680264528&Matchtype=e&gclid=CjwKCAjw__fnBRANEiwAuFxET-MdRrr41yExAb-8xzY6sgtD_9jugmrHUSpMJFMTVbP-E0H0GN9CSRoCGHIQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
Another audio book site I watch is Chirp. Searching Google will show you many options for E-Books and Audio Books. Just like with ebook services, you can pick among many categories. Since my taste in books is different than Carol’s, I find audiobooks best for when I have trips by myself that may result in several hours of driving time.
Probably my biggest thrill in book reading came a few years ago. Our photography studio has always restored old and damaged photos. A client, Carrie Allen McCray started bringing us photos of her mother and grandparents from the late 1800’s. The stories behind these images were fascinating. Carrie’s mother was the child of a former slave and a Confederate General. What made this unique was that this man acknowledged the two children he fathered by this former slave. This created quite the controversy in post Civil War Lynchburg, Virginia. On one hand he was admired as a veteran, yet men of his day who fathered biracial children we not suppose to admit to such.
Algonquin Books first published Freedom’s Child in 1998. I went to one of Carrie’s book signings, purchased the book and got in line for her to sign. When she saw me she said, “I was going to bring you a copy”. I told her I wanted to experience the joy of getting the book like everyone else. A few weeks later she stopped by the studio and I shared with her my thrill of reading the book and the stories she had shared with us on many visits. Think about when you read a book, magazine or newspaper, you “hear” your own voice in your head as you read the words. But when I read Freedom’s Child, I heard Carrie’s voice!
Carrie’s Mom became an early leader in the founding of the NAACP. The book is a wonderful narrative of a unique time in our history and the overcoming of adversity. The photos within the book were from the restoration work we did. We also were proud to provide the bio photo of Carrie for the book. Carrie has since passed away, but our lives were richer by getting to know and work with her on this beautiful project. The book is available on Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Freedoms-Child-Confederate-Generals-Daughter/dp/1565121864
We would like to hear from you about some of your favorite books. Feel free to comment.