The Gift Of Reading

Brace yourselves. I have an announcement of epic proportions.

Christmas is coming.

I know, I know, it's completely shocking that it is showing up again on December 25. If your family is like mine and highly values the written word, there will likely be a book or two underneath your tree.

It's a tradition for us - there is always reading material in the stocking. Always. One year it was the only thing in mine and my husband's stocking, but there is always a book or occasionally a magazine subscription.

Last year, I got my Kindle. I love it. It's fabulous and amazing. I love having so many books in my purse at one time. But it does make my husband's job a little more difficult. Because I've been watching digital deals all year and been able to utilize Amazon's Prime lending feature, I've kept up with a lot more books than I normally would.

So I don't know what he's going to get me. I hope it's actually one of the books on my writing craft wish list... hint, hint... The list is in the notebook underneath my desk in case anyone wanted to know... Like my hubby... who reads this blog... But I digress.

Since this is the second Tuesday of the month I would normally highlight a particular favorite book of mine, but since Christmas is coming, I thought I'd share some gifts you can give to the reader in your life. If you're like me, you're already shopping and hoping to get it all out of the way so you can enjoy the holidays.

A BOOK

This is the first and foremost gift idea for any book lover. But how do you pick the perfect book?

1. Ask. If you don't mind giving up the element of surprise, you could just ask them if there's a book they've been wanting. This is easiest, but for some people it takes a bit of the fun out of gift giving.

2. Check their bookshelf. You want to do this for two reasons. First you don't want to buy them a book they already have and second you can find out what type of books they like. If you're checking out a bookshelf, look for two things:
       - recurring authors - sometimes it will be very clear that there are one or two authors that the reader loves. You can check to see if that author has a new book out (that they don't already own) but you can also use book reading sites to find authors similar to their favorites.
       - recurring publisher - This is one I didn't realize until I started writing. Publishers tend to have individual styles. And without intentionally doing so or even realizing it, your reader might gravitate toward a particular publisher. I was surprised to find two particular publishers encompassed about 75% of the Christian books on my shelf.

3. Look for something new. Maybe your loved one is adventurous and likes trying new books. There are several places you can go to strike out on your own with book selections.
      - Bestseller list - Some books are really popular. If your reader is someone who likes to see what the buzz is about, this could be a good route.
      - Bookstore employees / Librarians - These people live and breathe books. They will likely have a good suggestion for you.
      - The web - American Christian Fiction Writers has a site called Fiction Finder that will help you find books by genre, author, and many other search criteria.
      - Awards - Nearly every genre of book has an award or two. Get on the web and find the list of winners. ACFW's winning book list can be found here. The Christy Award, another prestigious Christian fiction award, has a list of winners here. 

4. Go back to something old. Check backlists of some of their favorite authors. Are there any older books they don't yet have? I've highlighted a few of my favorite older books this year. You can find those articles here.

AN E-READER

I have my Kindle and I love it, but there are other who love their Nooks, iPads, and other various electronic readers. Even if you know you want a Kindle you have several choices to make. Some things to consider when selecting an e-Reader:

1. Other Electronic Devices If your loved one has a iPhone, iPod, and a MacBook, then most likely they would want an iPad. They already own compatible apps and know the device. On the other hand if they carry an android phone and despise all things Apple, they probably don't want an iPad. Think about what fits in with their existing digital accessories.

2. Price It is a major thing to consider. Determine your price point before you shop. You can find something for any budget.

3. How will they use it? I play games on mine and do a lot of things besides just read, so I have the Fire. My father-in-law reads. That's it. He has the basic Kindle and it's perfect for him. He never goes anywhere without it. Since he got it, I think he reads more than I do.

4. Where the content comes from Many readers are connected to a content source. And while there are ways around it sometimes, you want to make it as easy as possible for your gift receiver. If they love Amazon and buy things constantly from Amazon, get them a Kindle. If they don't want to be tied to anything and want more control, you may want to look at a Windows tablet.

LOTS OF BOOKS/DISCUSSION

If you're a fan of the gift that keeps on giving, consider enrolling your loved one in a book club. Books will arrive on their doorstep all year long, just waiting to provide hours of escape and enjoyment. If they like short, inspirational romances, Love Inspired has three lines to choose from for monthly reading deliveries. 


There are many other book subscription services though. Simply do an internet search for monthly book subscription and look for your favorite service. Sometimes these subscriptions are tied to book forums and clubs. If your reader is into that, consider giving them one that would provide conversation and discussion as well as a good story.


THE GIFT CARD

If all else fails, give them the gift of picking their own reading material. They'll still appreciate it.


Have you ever been given the perfect book? Do you like giving books as gifts? What tips would you add to this list?


All pictures courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. 

What Do You Do Yourself?

I don't know if hubby and I are lacking time, talent, or inspiration, but my extended family seems to be much more inclined to complete Do-It-Yourself projects.

Gotta trim a few strings and
add some clothespins, but
it's looking pretty good! 

Between seeing all the fabulous things that they tackle, the constant influence of gorgeous Pinterest projects, and a general desire to make/have cool things done around my house, one would think I'd be all over the DIY scene. I mean, I grew up doing DIY (see the part about my extended family...)

However, the fact of the matter is that we are just now finishing our first DIY project in years. We turned an old chest of drawers into a dress-up clothes closet for my girls. It's in the last stages. All I have to do is add a few clothes pins and load it up.

I love the feeling of knowing I took something we had and gave it a new life AND filled a great need in our home. Dress up clothes tend to swallow the playroom in about 2.3 seconds. Now they will have a neat little home instead of a box in the corner.

Hopefully, actually finishing this small project will spur me on to other projects. There are certainly a few other things I'd like to see done around my house.

Are you a do-it-yourselfer? I'd be curious to know the biggest project you've ever tackled on your own. Was is a good idea? Do people who excel at doing their own projects motivate you or irritate you?

Pony Rides and Pinatas ~ Birthday Memories Revisited

What is the best birthday memory you have?

My kids' picnic table cake from two years ago.
Everything is edible except the little people.
And the candles. 

Here at my house we're in the process of planning my children's annual joint birthday party. This always makes me think about the birthday parties of my childhood. My brother and I frequently shared birthday parties growing up since our birthdays were a mere week apart.

I remember having a tie-dye party where we all made t-shirts (in the eighties of course). Sleepovers were always popular insanity. My mom was a great cake artist. She would spend hours each year creating edible masterpieces for us to tear into and celebrate another year of life. One year I had unicorns and rainbows spilling across a cloudy sky.

My desire is that my kids have similar memories to look back on when they grow up. I spend a lot of time making their cakes and planning our annual cookout to make the most of each opportunity.

Now it's your turn! What are some of your favorite birthday moments?

Fifth Tuesday Frolic ~ The Gee I'd Like To Edition

Photo from FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Every so often a month has five Tuesdays. In the grand scheme of things, this isn't a problem. But when your blog has a 4 week topic rotation for your Tuesday posts.... That fifth Tuesday is left hanging without a topic.

So, instead, we shall party!

I'm doing what I have decided to call a Fifth Tuesday Frolic. We're going to share links and comments and basically tour around the internet together having a lot of fun.

This month, we're going to share things we'd like to do.... we plan on doing them... but in reality they may be little more than a pipe dream. I'll be putting mine in the comments a bit later this morning. So start sharing! Post a link to a picture or article of something you see and say "Gee, I wish I could..."

New Question Of The Week Feature!

Are you on Facebook? If so, I'd love for you to come and join my page where I will be doing a Question Of The Week Feature on Thursdays.

Today I'm asking about music. What's your favorite song about forgiveness? Christian, secular, country, pop, rap - it's all up for discussion!

Hit the Facebook Page and put in your vote or we can discuss it over on Twitter.

Google+ people, I'll have the question of the week over there as well as soon as I get my page up and running. About all I've done thus far is create it.

Aren't on any of those sites? Toss your answer in the comments below.

The Value of the Five Star Review ~ A Peek at a Writer's Life

You see them almost everywhere these days. Five little stars, some of them colored yellow or red, indicating what other people think of the particular item. How much weight do you give them? Do you even consider them?

I haven't thought much about them until recently. The only place I ever filled them in was Netflix and that was so I could get better suggestions from them. Generally speaking, I don't do Amazon reviews or go around to other sites and tell people what I think.

A few weeks ago I signed up for GoodReads. If you've never heard of this site, it's where you can keep track of books you've read, books you want to read, and interact with other fans of said books and their authors. It's really a neat site, though I'm still learning it.

If you're on there and want to connect with me, you can find my profile here.

The first thing you do when you sign up for GoodReads is rate a bunch of books so that it can offer you suggestions and hook you up with similar readers. I started using their scale, happily rating more than fifty books before stumbling to a halt.

They were asking me to rate a book I didn't like. A book I really didn't like. One I didn't like so much that I didn't finish reading it - I just skimmed through to the end to see if it got any better. Instead of giving it the one star rating I felt it deserved, I skipped it. I just clicked "not interested" and moved on. I've felt like a chicken ever since.

Do you review and rate books? Do those little colored stars factor into your buying decision?

Authors talk a lot about ratings and book reviews. It's rather important to us that people like our book, after all.  Ratings and reviews give us a glimpse into what people think about books... sometimes. I tried to be honest in rating my books. The scale according to GoodReads is this:

    - 1 star - I didn't like it
    - 2 stars - it was ok
    - 3 stars - I liked it
    - 4 stars - I really like it
    - 5 stars - it was amazing

I followed it. Which means I ended up with several books at two and three stars. I started to feel bad. How would I feel seeing a fellow author give my book two stars? Should I even rate books? Only rate them if I was going to give them a high rating? I refuse to inflate my ratings just because I happen to like the author as a person or because I want people to think Christian fiction is so stellar it's above putting out a mediocre book.

But I know this happens. I know people who've done this. They read a fellow author's new book and want to help them sell their book, so they give it a glowing five star review, when all it really deserved was a respectable four stars, or maybe it was just okay and should have a three.

The converse also happens. I've seen MANY one star reviews, particularly after a book has been on free promotion, that trash a book just because it's Christian. The story may be excellent, the writing superb, but the content is Christian and they were trying to fool everybody into reading it by making their book free for a couple of days. At least according to the reviewer.

I removed the identifying information on this review, because I'm not trying to bash someone for leaving their opinion. I just wanted to give an example. 

All of this means that ratings and reviews have gotten to the point of being nearly worthless, or worse, detrimental.

What do you think about those little colored stars? Do they factor in to your purchasing decisions? Do you rate books?

If you're an author, what do you think when you see a fellow author give you something besides a five star rating? Does it hurt your relationship with them?

Do You Believe in Miracles? ~ A Peek At My Readers

No, we're not talking about ice hockey or the Olympics (though the Summer Games are only 73 days away!!!).

I'm talking about real miracles.

Today, I want to hear from you. I've participated in several conversations lately about whether God is still in the miracle business, and if He is, why aren't we seeing it.

I've heard a few different theories lately:

1. He doesn't do the major miracles like raising the dead or such anymore because then there would be no denying His existence. Faced with that kind of proof we would be forced to believe and the elements of faith and free will would be removed from the decision.

2. He saves his miraculous power for less developed countries that are more dependent on Him than developed countries.

3. We don't acknowledge His miracles because He utilizes technology such as defibrillators and computer glitches to deliver His power.

There are so many others, but most of what I've seen falls into one of these camps.

So you tell me... Does God still work miracles? Where? Why don't we see them or talk about them?

Twenty-Six Days of.... what? ~ Peek At My Readers

Because I think it's an interesting challenge and I like the idea of bouncing around to check out some blogs I wouldn't otherwise see, I am planning on participating in the A to Z blog challenge in April.

You can click the logo to read more about it.

Here's my problem... My understanding is that I'm supposed to pick a topic and post on twenty-six items from that topic - one for each letter of the alphabet. I've tossed around a few ideas, but I'm just not sure what to write.

What would you like to read about in April?

March Madness Brackets ~ Posting at Regency Reflections today!

Yep, I'm over at Regency Reflections today talking about sports. As the country gears up for another round of collegiate basketball madness, I'm taking a look at what sporting events caused a ruckus in early 19th century England. Here's a sample:

Ah, Spring. When a young American man's fancy turns to brackets and basketballs and he is likely to put more consideration into picking which college to root for than he did selecting which college to attend. There's a reason it's called March Madness.

 Kristi here, and the fascination with sports is not a new one. The Regency era saw a culture on the cusp of the organized sporting events. While many games remained unofficial skirmishes, there were several championship challenges emerging by the beginning of the Victorian era. And of course, all of them got gambled on....

Read the rest of the article!

Once you've finished reading, pop back over here and tell me who to put on my March Madness brackets, because I am clueless.

How Do You Save Time - A Peek at My Readers

Image courtesy of MorgueFile

Okay, so one thing I've been working at is stream-lining my day. Part of this is prioritizing what I need to do so that the most important stuff gets done. Another part of it is doing what I need to do in the quickest way possible. 


Efficiency is doing things right; effectiveness is doing the right things. - Peter Drucker



I want to be both. I want to be efficient and effective. 


So help me out here! What are some of the ways you make things more efficient? Got a link to a project that will help people be more effective? 


Throw it in the comments and let's all up our effective efficiency quotient today!