galadrielwatson

December 6, 2014

An Ode to My Cat, With the Impeccable Sense of Time

Dear Pip,

Thank you for always being there. Without you, this blog would have half as many posts. Without you, my newest manuscript would remain in its infancy. Without you, my writing career would be huffing and puffing behind.

For you’re my morning companion. By the time the alarm rings at 5:10 a.m.—the cue to begin my treasured before-work hour of writing—you’re there, meowling and kneeding and expressing impatience for my night to come to an end.

And end it does. With your meowling and kneeding and impatience, the snooze button is useless. I’m awake, up-and-at-’em, yes ma’am.

On Saturdays and Sundays—non-work days—I anticipate the decadence of sleeping in, with plenty of daylight hours left to write. But no, there you are—at maybe a glorious 5:20—pressing your daily demands. Your internal clock is remarkable. (Your respect of weekends, not so much.)

So from my sleep-deprived but creatively fulfilled heart: thank you. You’re my hard-to-ignore fluff-ball of get-up-and-go.

Do you have pets? How do they help or hinder your writing?

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About the Author

Posted by Galadriel

Hi, I’m Galadriel: blogger, author, reader and resident of a quaint small town in the breathtaking West Kootenay region of southeastern British Columbia. You can also find me on Twitter and Facebook.

December 3, 2014

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Print Is Dead…Or Is It? (Part II)

In my last post, I listed the top four benefits of ereaders. Now here are the top four benefits of print:

Print

1) Bookstores!!! Need I say more? The colour, the content, the possibilities. I had a bit of a depressed period after I received the ereader, entering a bookstore and knowing I’d walk away with nothing.

2) You can remember what you own. What ebooks are on my ereader? I’d have to give that some thought. But what are my favourite print books? All it takes is a glance at my bookshelves and the reading memories come flooding back.

3) You can lend it. I’m a young adult author; I read a lot of young adult books. My daughter reads young adult books. If the book is on my ereader, I can’t hand it to her to read next. It’s stuck, alone, in cyberworld.

4) You can give it away. If I’m not a huge fan of a particular book, at least I can console myself that the money I spent can benefit someone else. I regularly donate my lesser-liked books to the library, so others with different tastes can give the book some love.

So What’s My Conclusion?

Undoubtedly, ereaders are practical. I also find them cold and unemotional and solitary.

Print, on the other hand, appeals to the senses. A physical book inspires descriptions like “possibilities” and “memories” and “love.” Whether stored on a shelf or held in your hand, it lets others glimpse your preferences and peek at who you are. Plus it creates a sense of community, whether that involves lending to family or browsing a bookstore or donating to a library.

So print wins. I rarely pick up the ereader anymore, except to refer to a couple of how-to books I purchased in the past.

And apparently, many others agree. Of the people who prefer print:

65 per cent prefer it because they can feel it physically
61 per cent prefer it because they can learn better (and this has been backed up in recent research)
58 per cent prefer it because they can share it
53 per cent prefer it because they can see it, like a piece of art
45 per cent prefer it because they can resell it
44 per cent prefer it because they can collect it
Another 44 per cent prefer it because they can give it as a gift
42 per cent prefer it because they enjoy buying it
And there are even strange ones, like 11 per cent prefer it because a print book smells and an ebook doesn’t, and 9 per cent prefer it because their reading choices can impress others.

So these are all the reasons that print is not dead, and ereaders won’t be taking over our bookshelves anytime soon.

(Click here for more interesting stats about rising print sales.)

Which do you prefer?

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About the Author

Posted by Galadriel

November 29, 2014

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Print Is Dead…Or Is It? (Part I)

Print is dead. A while back, that’s what everyone was saying. Who wanted to kill trees for temporary pleasure when you could harmlessly read electronically? Soon the paper book would no longer exist.

I’ve been an avid reader quite a while, and was intrigued by the idea of ereaders. Would an ereader be as cozy to curl up with as a book? Would the pixilated text annoy me? Would fake-flipping the pages feel wrong? But I didn’t feel I could justify the expense of buying one for the sake of an experiment.

Happily, my family provided the solution. Two Christmases ago, they bought me an ereader as a gift.

Since the Kindle was launched in 2007, ebook sales have grown explosively. But lately, they seem to have stabilized. In the first half of 2014, ebooks accounted for 23 per cent of unit sales, while print books outsold them at 67 per cent. Even young people—who otherwise seem to be glued to electronics—prefer print; in a recent survey, 74 per cent said they prefer print over digital or audio formats.

But what’s my take? It’s been nearly two years since I received my gift. Have I dedicated myself to technology? Renewed my vows to paper? Or settled into a happy hybrid balance?

First, let’s explore my view of the top four benefits of each.

Ereaders

It’s easy to instantaneously obtain books. When I received the ereader, I was staying at my in-laws’ cottage in rural Alberta and—gasp—had run low on reading material. After a little setup and prep, I had library books downloaded onto the ereader and was ready to read.
It’s easy to carry and hold. I no longer need to haul bulky books to and from work every day, on the off chance I’ll find a lunchtime moment to read. Nor do I need to prop heavy books on pillows to read comfortably in bed.
It’s good for jotting notes. Would I write in the margin of a print book? Rarely. But I have no qualms about putting down thoughts or highlighting passages in an ebook.
If I don’t know a word, I can look it up. Before, I’d never have gone out of my way to consult a dictionary, but one-touch look-ups make it irresistibly easy.

Read Print Is Dead…Or Is It (Part II).

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