How to encourage reading/News from book business/Words and Technology

Is Amazon Prime Worth It: 2015 Edition

Posted on by Julia Tomiak / 9 Comments

Almost three years ago, I shared Three Reasons Why Amazon Prime is Worth It. At the time, I thought Prime was a good investment, especially because I live an hour away from any reasonable shopping options. Since then, the fee has gone up $20, but Amazon has also added services.

Should I fork over another $99 to keep my Prime Membership?  That’s my question today, and I’m bringing you along for the analysis. 😉

amazon prime

How much does Amazon Prime cost?

$99/ year. Ouch. Please note that it will automatically renew. You can ask for an email reminder three days before the renewal happens.

What Are the Benefits of Amazon Prime?

  1. Free Two Day Shipping. This sells the membership for me. I don’t live near high quality stores, nor do I like to shop. I’d much rather spend ten minutes in my Amazon iPhone app than an hour in a mall. Also, I have four children and many times we scramble to Amazon for last minute birthday presents. Need I mention the times Prime has saved me with the in-laws?
    In 2015 so far I’ve placed 36 orders. Assuming an average shipping fee of $5 per order, that would cost $180, $81 more than the Prime fee.  I think I get my money’s worth.
    Not all items on Amazon fall under the Prime shipping plan, but most often I can find what I need.
  2. Prime Instant Video. Unlimited streaming of movies and TV shows. Please note, it’s difficult to search for titles, and the selection is limited. I couldn’t find Pitch Perfect, The Great Gatsby or the TV show Chuck (all popular in my house right now.)
    To compare, Netflix costs $7.99 – $11.99 per month for unlimited streaming of movies and TV shows, depending on features. That’s about $120 per year. Since we live in the boonies and have Internet data limitations, we can’t reasonably use Amazon Instant Video or Netflix streaming, but we subscribe to the DVD mail program.  We get two movies at a time (as many as we want per month) for $12/ month or $144 a year. So far, we’ve found everything we want to see on the Netflix site.
  3. Prime Music. Ad-free access to millions of songs, albums, and Prime Playlists. You can listen to the music on multiple devices and organize your library into playlists. Genres available include Alt/Indie Rock, Blues, Christian, Children’s, Hip-Hop/ Rap, and many more. Prime Playlists include things like 80’s Movies and Scores to Study To. I couldn’t search for anything specific but saw a nice variety. I can’t use this service (see note about data issues above), but it looks pretty good.
  4. Prime Photos.  Unlimited photo storage in Amazon Cloud Drive as long as you keep your Amazon Prime subscription. I didn’t know about this benefit and will seriously consider storing some photos here. If you cancel your prime membership, you have 90 days to download and remove your files from the Cloud or incur storage fees.

    It would be nice to store some of my many photos in the cloud.
    It would be nice to store some of my many photos in the cloud.
  5. Kindle Owners Lending Library. You can borrow one e-book per month to read on a Kindle, Kindle App, Fire Tablet, or Fire Phone. Like the Instant Video service, the selection is limited, and browsing the lending library is painful. We read The Hunger Games series using this feature, but we haven’t borrowed much since. Both the Instant Video and the Lending Library favor browsing over searching for a desired title.
  6. Kindle First. Download an editor’s book pick a month before the official publication date.
  7. Prime Pantry. Select grocery/ household items in regular sizes (e.g. not Sam’s bulk) to fill a virtual box that will ship for a flat 5.99 fee.

Taking all this into account, I’ll definitely renew this year, based on the two day shipping alone. I’m also excited about the possibility of photo storage. Of course I’ve gotta be careful how many photos I upload at once because of our data limits. Sometimes living on a farm really stinks.

If you use Amazon Prime, what benefits do you like best? Has anyone used Prime Music or Prime Pantry?  Please share your experiences!

Thanks for stopping by!

Julia

 

 

 

 

 

 

Improving vocabulary

What Is Ethos?

Posted on by Julia Tomiak / 7 Comments
Wondrous Words Wednesday

Several weeks ago, Jeff Goins discussed Balancing the Soul and Schedule of a Creative Life with Emily Freeman on his Portfolio Life podcast ( a fabulous podcast, by the way).  The episode tackles difficult issues like finding margin and focusing on craft, and Jeff used the word ethos. I was pretty sure I knew what it meant, but I wanted to learn more about it.

If you like learning about words, join in the Wondrous Words Wednesday meme. Visit Kathy at Bermuda Onion to link up your post or see other word nerdy posts.

Ethos \’ē-thas\noun from the Greek ethos, custom, character
The distinguishing character, sentiment, moral nature, or guiding beliefs of a person, group, or institution

Examples:

  • The ethos of the Apple business model combines art with engineering.
  • Donald Trump exudes an ethos of arrogance.
  • It’s important not to let the hustle of modern life override my creative ethos.
This garden gate demonstrates a nature loving ethos.
This garden gate demonstrates a nature loving ethos.

 

Word Nerd Workout

Try using ethos in a sentence.  How have you heard this word used?

Don’t forget to visit other Wondrous Words Wednesday posts!

Banned Book Week Giveaway Winner

Thanks to everyone who visited and commented on Five Things You Should Know About Banned Books.  Readers shared interesting experiences with book banning – please check out the discussion if you haven’t already.  I used a random number generator to pick a winner; congrats to Elizabeth at Thoughts From an Evil Overlord! Elizabeth wins a Barnes and Nobel gift card  – maybe she’ll get a book that’s been banned!  😉

Elizabeth, please send your mailing address to julia dot tomiak at gmail dot com so I can ship your prize!

Thanks for stopping by!

Julia

 

 

 

 

 

 

Book reviews

Why You Must Read All the Light We Cannot See

Posted on by Julia Tomiak / 6 Comments

I have recently finished my favorite book of 2015.  Seriously, it’s fabulous.  If you like historical fiction, or even if you don’t, please pick up All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr.

Premise

All the Light follows two children on opposite sides of WWII.  Marie-Laure LeBlanc lost her mother to childbirth and her sight to congenital cataracts.  She lives in Paris with her father, the locksmith of the National Museum of Natural History.  Monsier LeBlanc forces Marie Laure to navigate her world independently, challenging her to develop her other senses.  His loving, but demanding, expectations will one day save her life.

Werner is an orphan in Germany.  His mind bursts with questions and ideas, and he has a particular affinity for building and fixing radios.  Werner will do anything to escape the fate of his father – death in the mines of Zollverein, the coal mining complex outside Essen, Germany, where he lives. When Werner’s talent gains the attention of local Nazi leaders, he seizes the opportunity to leave Zollverein to train at a special school.  Unfortunately, Werner trades one nightmare fate for another.

Eventually, a radio brings Marie-Laure and Werner together, just in time for Werner to save Marie-Laure’s life.

All you life you wait, and then it finally comes, and are you ready?

What I liked

  • Anthony Doerr tells this story with beautiful writing, including fresh, vivid descriptions, such as:

Hours wear out and fall away…  [Marie-Laure] stands alone in Madame Manec’s room and smells peppermint, candle wax, six decades of loyalty.  Housemaid, nurse, mother, confederate, counselor, chef – what ten thousand things was Madame Manec to … them all?

  • Doerr uses alternating points of view, as well as changing time frames and settings, to increase tension and keep the story moving.  He opens with the bombing of Saint Malo to pull us in to a life threatening situation, then he backtracks and explains how the characters found themselves in such dire circumstances.
  • The characters are fully developed, interesting and compelling.  By having at least one character from each side of the conflict, Doerr explores the human side of war.  I’ve often wondered how so many Germans could buy into Hitler’s philosophy, could consort with him in the murder of millions of people.  All the Light shows how good fear is at controlling behavior.
  • Although it’s a novel about WWII, and therefore sad and at times disturbing, it also has themes of love and bravery and hope.  It made me cry, but I adore it.

What I didn’t like

  • Nothing.  This book won the Pulitzer Prize.  I can see why.
  • Some of my fellow book clubbers didn’t like the switching of time and place; they found it distracting from the story.

Have you read All the Light We Cannot See?  What did you think of it?  Since my review overflows with praise, can anyone add some criticism?

Thanks for adding to the discussion!

Julia

 

 

 

 

 

 

Improving vocabulary

What Does Praxis Mean?

Posted on by Julia Tomiak / 6 Comments

All the Light We Cannot See has so many fabulous vocabulary words in it, I have to share one more. I used an index card as my bookmark, noting all the “new to me” words and looking them up.

If you’re nerdy enough to love words and index cards, join the Wondrous Words Wednesday meme with Kathy at Bermuda Onion. Bloggers share new words they’ve learned or highlight favorites.

Here’s my word for this week: praxis. Do you know it? Before finding it in All the Light, I’d previously heard of it as the name of a test. (Quick Google search reveals… yes! It is a teaching exam for educators. Aha! Did you know I pulled a stint as a middle school teacher of kids with special needs? Whew, what a year.)

Anyway, here’s a quote from the novel:

He comes home from school, kneels on the kitchen floor, and forms airplane after airplane with unswerving, almost frightening devotion, evaluating different wingtips, tails, noses, mostly seeming to love the praxis of it, the transformation of something flat into something that can fly.

praxis \ˈprak-səs\ noun from Medieval Latin, from Greek, doing, action, from prassein to do, practice
1. Action or practice, as practice of an art, science or skill
2. Practical application of a theory

Apparently, a man named Tim Godfrey published an e-book about Internet Marketing called Profit Praxis. Pretty catchy title. Here’s a review on Profit Praxis from Tech Our Way.

Word Nerd Workout

This one is tough to use in a sentence. Here’s my try:

My daughter finally enjoys the praxis of playing her piano pieces and does so without nagging from me.

If you can’t think of a sentence, tell me about a praxis you enjoy (something you like to practice).

wondrous memeDon’t forget to visit Bermuda Onion!

Banned Book Week Giveaway Still Open

If you haven’t already, read my post Five Things You Should Know about Banned Books and leave a comment to enter my giveaway of a Barnes and Nobel gift card. The winner can buy any book he/she wants, even one that’s been banned!  Giveaway closes Friday, October 9.

Thanks for stopping by!

Julia

 

 

 

 

 

 

How to encourage reading

Five Things You Should Know About Banned Books

Posted on by Julia Tomiak / 23 Comments

In one of my favorite novels, The Book Thief, Nazi soldiers burn a huge stack of books because they want to protect people from harmful ideas.

In modern-day America, some groups and individuals are trying to do basically the same thing: limit access to books deemed harmful and inappropriate.

This week, the American Library Association and book lovers across the country celebrate Banned Books Week, a time set aside to raise awareness about the problem of censorship that still nags our country, even in the 21st century.

Do you believe in free access to information and ideas? Then here are five things you should know about book banning.

1. Definitions

  • A challenge is an attempt to remove or restrict materials. It is more than just a person or group expressing an opinion; that group or individual wants to take away access for everyone.
  • A banning is the removal of materials from a library or other point of access.

2. Reporting

The ALA compiles data based on voluntary reports of challenges or bans. It estimates that 85% of book challenges receive no media attention and are unreported.

3. Book banning can happen near you.

Perks of Being a WallflowerWhile browsing the ALA site, I learned that The Perks of Being a Wallflower, an excellent YA novel with a significant amount of controversial content, has been restricted in Fairfax County Virginia.  I was surprised that my old school system, a large, wealthy district in the suburbs of D.C., engaged in book banning.

Also, according to an article dated October 2010, only juniors and seniors William Byrd High School and Hidden Valley High School in Roanoke, Virginia had free access to Perks. Freshmen and sophomores needed a note from a parent to check it out.  I guess that’s better than pulling it all together, but I was surprised to hear about a restriction so close to my home.

 

4. Many well-loved and respected classics have been banned, including

  • To Kill a Mockingbird
  • The Great Gatsby
  • The Grapes of Wrath
  • The Lord of the Flies
  • Of Mice and Men
  • 1984
  • Their Eyes Were Watching God
  • The Color Purple
  • Gone With the Wind

5.  Institutions involved

According to the Office of Intellectual Freedom, a division of the ALA, the institutions that challenged books most often between 2000 and 2009 were schools, school libraries, and (most disturbing to me) public libraries. Individuals challenging books are most often parents.

For more statistics about book banning, check out this interesting infographic from the ALA.

The Problem

Here’s the  problem with banning: Who should get to decide?  One parent might want to restrict Harry Potter for its magical elements.  I have no trouble with magic, but I don’t want my kids exposed to sexually explicit material.  What if atheists wanted to keep C.S. Lewis novels out of schools because of their Christian themes?

We live in a free country, with many different world views affecting our choices and behavior.

Instead of banning books, teachers, librarians, and parents can encourage good reading habits and responsible thinking by:

  • educating themselves and the children they work with about controversial content in books
  • guiding young readers to make wise choices
  • discussing controversial content in an open, constructive way

I always tell my kids that effective communication is one of the most important skills they can learn.  Guess that means I’d better be ready to talk about edgy content.

Word Nerd Note:  Common Sense Media is fantastic resource for finding out about controversial content in books, movies, TV and video games.  It also offers discussion starters to get you through those tricky topics.  I have the app on my phone, so I can get the info any time, like in the bookstore.

Giveaway

Leave a thoughtful comment below and you’ll enter a giveaway for a Barnes and Noble gift card to buy any book you choose.  Even The Perks of Being a Wallflower.  Just tell me what you think about book banning, if you’ve ever experienced censorship, or your ideas for handling sensitive content in books.  I’d like to hear from all sides – because, as I said, good communication is key.  Giveaway closes Friday, Oct 9, 2015.

More Thoughts on Banned Books

banned 2015

Sheila at Book Journey has links to more posts and giveaways about Banned Books on her blog.  Please visit!

Thanks for adding to the discussion!

Julia

 

 

 

 

 

 

How to encourage reading/Improving vocabulary

Vocab for Banned Books Week: Censor

Posted on by Julia Tomiak / 8 Comments

 

Guess what? It’s Banned Books Week, an event sponsored by the American Library Association to highlight the importance of free and open access to information. The ALA wants to make sure that you know that people and organizations still try to restrict access to books, and that book lovers must fight censorship and protect the freedom to read.

My word today honors Banned Books Week. If you like learning about words, visit Kathy at Bermuda Onion for Wondrous Words Wednesday. You can comment on other people’s words and add your own in a blog post.

Censor \ˈsen(t)-sər\ from Latin, Roman magistrate, from censēre to give as one’s opinion, assess

  • A person who supervises conduct and morals: as
    • an official who examines materials (as publications or films) for objectionable matter
    • an official (as in time of war) who reads communications (as letters) and deletes material considered sensitive or harmful
  • one of two magistrates of early Rome acting as census takers, assessors, and inspectors of morals and conduct
  • a hypothetical psychic agency that represses unacceptable notions before they reach consciousness

Censorship

  • the institution, system, or practice of censoring

censorship

The photo above comes from the novel All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr. It’s a letter written by young Werner, a German student at a prestigious school supported by the Nazis. It’s a work of fiction, but let it be a bold reminder that we do not want to practice what Nazis did.

Word Nerd Workout

Tell me what you think about banning books, and if you think it qualifies as censorship.  I’m a conservative mother, and I’ve banned books from my children’s eyes, but I would never try to take books out of a library.  Where do you stand?

More workouts

wondrous memeDon’t forget to visit Kathy at Bermuda Onion.

Thanks for getting nerdy with me today!

Julia