It's Almost My Favorite Reading Time of the Year

The holiday season is just around the corner. And for me, that means one of my favorite reading times of the year is approaching. Actually, it's one of my favorite times of the year period. I love the snap of cold in the air (don't love snow though), the decorations, baking, crafting, and especially Christmas books and movies. There is just something about Christmas themed entertainment that cheers me up and boosts my spirit. And the last few years, I've found myself diving into my holiday reading earlier than the previous year.

From November 1 until January 1, I only read novels (and pretty much watch Christmas movies exclusively) set during the holiday season or have a seasonal theme. The only time I review books on my blog (The Self-Rescue Princess) is when I'm in my seasonal reading phase. The reviews focus on the holiday spirit in the stories. Last year, I also started reviewing a Christmas movie (usually a Hallmark movie). 

Usually, I have a good list of books I plan on reading but find my list is really pitiful this year. I've been swamped with writing projects (editing, writing new books, and now rereleasing a series) that I haven't spent as much time browsing for new holiday reads. If anyone has any suggestions for my to read list, please share them in the comment section. (Authors feel free to mention your own book.)

Like a Vacation with Drugs

By Joanna Campbell Slan

On August 8 I’m going in for foot surgery. They’ll take a piece of bone from my shin and put it in my big toe on the right foot. There’s a ten percent chance that it’ll grow and thrive enough that I won’t need further surgery. Maybe even twenty percent. It all depends on several things, including whether I can stay still enough to allow the tiny blood cells in the transplanted bone to find and connect to the bone that’s been nearly destroyed by my joint implant. My FAILED joint implant.

The thought of sitting still drives me nuts. My friends have gotten used to me walking around and doing housework while we’re on the phone. I only sit still to type. Heck, I even bought a standing desk so I wouldn’t be on my backside while writing.

And that gets me depressed. Or it did.

I might have found a solution. Back when I was a kid, my mother used to drive from Vincennes, Indiana, to Summerville, South Carolina, each summer. To keep us occupied on that long trip, she’d stock up on comic books, games, and small craft kits.

Well, why not look at this bed-stay as a sort of vacation--with drugs. Pain medication, actually. I've been warned this will be more painful that my past surgery. I'll need a distraction. Or two.

Why not gather a bunch of kits, super books, and craft items?

That’s exactly what I’ve done. Here’s my list:

·         Yoyo quilt for a dollhouse bed

·         Christmas ornaments kit

·         One-quarter scale project inside a tiny Sherlock Holmes book

·         Christmas candy container kit

·         Christmas basket kit

·         Quilling kit

·         Russian needle punch kit

·         Bunka rug kit

Yup. Of course, this will be a vacation with drugs, so these projects might turn out kind of…weird. But I feel like I’m going into this with a positive attitude, and that has to help!

Okay, if you've had a "vacation with drugs," tell me...how did you get through it? I want to know!

Literacy

I usually describe myself as semi-literate when it comes to computers. For example, I was writing this blog directly on the New Post screen when my computer announced it was shutting down, and I had no idea why or how to prevent what I had already written from disappearing. I have a very computer-literate husband who cannot make me understand how to do many things on my laptop. I took a course for beginners but it taught me how to do a few things I never want to do and none of the things I do want to do. Some day I will take another course or two -- or I will wait until a good friend finishes learning to be a computer tech, and let her show me.

On the other hand, I don't remember learning to read. I do remember first grade and Dick, Jane and Sally -- but I already knew most of the words. I remember mastering t-h-o-u-g-h, a "big" word whose pronunciation did not match the spelling. English is a peculiar language.

I remember my mother taking me to the library and the thrill I felt when I saw all those books. And they were FREE!! I couldn't get over how wonderful a library was. I still think it's a wonderful bargain.

I have been a life-long bibliophile. There have always been books wherever I lived. My husband is one, too. The first change we made to our co-op after moving in was to have floor-to-ceiling bookshelves installed. The shelves are filled and there are supplementary bookshelves now.

But now comes this new electronic way of reading. Hundreds of books can be put into a device smaller, thinner, and lighter than a hardcover. I don't own one, but I probably will someday.

The idea is not as new as you might think. At a science-fiction convention I went to more than twenty years ago, a speaker told of the possibility of an electronic reader, starting a very big discussion of the ramifications, and whether or not it would overtake books like books had overtaken scrolls. Sci-fi people are at least as much bibliophiles as mystery fans, but they are by and large young and very open to advances in science and technology. Yet most of them were against the idea, because they love not only reading, but the books themselves, the feel, the ease of handling them, the lack of need for electricity. But one person stood up and said one word: Moving. The young often change residences after they first leave home. And bibliophiles quickly learn that books are heavy, and they don't fold up small. Suddenly an electronic reader seemed like a marvelous idea.

I wonder if the device is going to make it harder for the countries that prefer their women uneducated, even illiterate. Surely there will be programs for the e-book device that teach the owner to read. And one slim device is much easier to hide than even one thick, heavy book. And with more and more of the world's books available, it will be harder than ever to keep women -- and men, for that matter, ignorant.

I have seen the future and it is e-readers.