Have you ever wondered if you continued to read Harry Potter because it was a novel written by J.K. Rowling or because it was a Harry Potter novel? What if she had been forced to stop writing while the series was still ongoing and gave her blessing to another author to continue her work? Would you still read it? While that didn’t happen [...]
Mark Cameron was traveling in Hong Kong when he noticed many commuters, like himself, simultaneously reading e-books and listening to music. He also noticed the obvious disconnect between the two activities, as the music had nothing to do with what people were reading. It was then that Mark wondered if there was a way to combine the experience: to read an e-book while [...]
Electronic books are a hot topics these days, with owners of e-books like the Amazon’s Kindle and Barnes and Noble’s Nook claiming they’re reading more because of the ease with which they can purchase and read books. Many who read the New York Times article left comments, with some interesting points being made. Many loved it, claiming they now read more books each month than [...]
When you first read these names, you are going to think: actress, singer, comedian, actress. But the following celebrities have also written children's books. Julie Andrews: Perhaps best known for her roles in Mary Poppins and The Sound of Music, this multi-talented film and stage actress and singer is also the author of children's books. Her books include Julie Andrews' Collections of Poems, Songs, and Lullabies, a [...]
A few weeks ago in a hotel in Providence, Rhode Island, I passed "A Exit." That's not right, I thought. "That's not right," my friend Kerry exclaimed. I was staying there with a group of college friends and half of us are English majors. We were all irritated at the sign. "It should be An Exit," said one, "or just Exit," added another. [...]
Ever stop and think about how odd some of the phrases we use are? Take ‘happy as a clam’ for example. Are clams actually that happy? The phrase most likely derives from an older, now mostly unheard New England idiom, “happy as a clam at high water.” It could also be simply because an open clamshell resembles a smile. But, regardless of whether [...]
When was the last time you bought a magazine? For me, it was probably a few years ago, back when I could afford to drop $5 to read what was most likely one single article that I could find in some form on the Internet for free. I haven’t had a subscription to a magazine since I was in high school (when my [...]
Serializing novels is an age-old method of reaching an extended readership, but University of Michigan Press is bringing the concept into the twenty-first century through the use of Facebook. Between July 18 and Labor Day 2011, the press will serialize chapters of two newly-published novels set in Michigan: A Spell on the Water (May) by Marjorie Kowalski Cole, a coming-of-age story; and Faithful Unto Death (June) by [...]
I just finished reading the first book in Suzanne Collins's Hunger Games trilogy. In this futuristic society, North America is now known as Panem and consists of a controlling government and 12 districts that each year, in punishment for their revolt 74 years ago, must choose a boy and girl to be sent to fight to the death; the last one alive is the winner. [...]
I can still remember the packets elementary teachers handed out to us on the last day of school. Along with our report card, we were each given a long list of books, separated by grade level with a cover page: “Suggested Summer Reading.” Although other kids usually threw theirs into the garbage, or onto the floor of the bus, or simply left them [...]