I am guest posting …

I was invited by Rowena Cory Daniells to guest post over at Ripping Ozzie Reads.  So pop over to hear me pontificate on book blogging and reviewing.

Sean the Blogonaut on Writers, Reviewing and Websites

 

Rowena has very kindly invited me to discuss how reviewers find an author via their web presence, what they look for on author web sites and finally, what they look for in a book.

Who is Sean and why should I listen to him?

Good question.  I am a teacher, a book blogger, interviewer and a reviewer.  I have been focussing on speculative fiction for the past year but I have had a life long interest in reading and authors. I review for traditional publishers, small press and conduct audio interviews for Galactic Chat. Now I’m wary of self proclaimed experts so I won’t pretend to be one.  I can only let you know how I get to know of authors and their works.

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Horrifying Reads

By which I mean scary.

I have only ever read one book that I have had a physical gut wrenching reaction to - A manual written by evangelical Christians for exorcising the mentally ill.  Even that didn't scare me, just made me ill.

I am reading quite a bit of horror at the moment, and while some of it is truly good writing, it's not scaring me.

I want your recommendations for horror that will scare me witless.  Give me the best book that you have read that's made you want to walk to the bedroom with the light on.

Guys Read - Encouraging Boys reading

A hat tip first to Amanda of Desert Book Chick for letting me know about this American site developed by the Author Jon Scieszka.

Guys Read is a initiative  designed to:

help boys become self-motivated, lifelong readers.

Jon hopes to achieve this goal through a number of avenues. He lists 6 target areas on the website in the mission statement:

Our mission is to motivate boys to read by connecting them with materials they will want to read, in ways they like to read.

1. Make some noise for boys.

We have literacy programs for adults and families. GUYS READ is our chance to call attention to boys’ literacy.

2. Expand our definition of reading.

Include boy-friendly nonfiction, humor, comics, graphic novels, action-adventure, magazines, websites, audiobooks, and newspapers in school reading. Let boys know that all these materials count as reading.

3. Give boys choice.

Motivate guys to want to read by letting them choose texts they will enjoy. Find out what they want. Let them choose from a new, wider range of reading.

4. Encourage male role models.

Men have to step up as role models of literacy. What we do is more important than all we might say.

5. Be realistic. Start small.

Boys aren’t believing that “Reading is wonderful.” Reading is often difficult and boring for them. Let’s start with “Here is one book/magazine/text you might like.”

6. Spread the GUYS READ word.

Encourage people to use the information and downloads on this site to set up their own chapters of GUYS READ, and get people thinking about boys and reading.

I love this idea, and the humour displayed in such documents as the Guys Read charter.

Is the internet affecting your reading?

Won't Somebody think of the Children

I recently heard a radio host talking about Nicholas Carr's, The Shallows- What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains.  Now I am always a bit skeptical when concerns are raised about the Internet and its effect on "today's youth" or "insert target demographic here".  Too often it's the call  of conservative Luddite elements within society that are resisting the loss of control they once exerted over information.

We are what we read
Thankfully though Carr's book seems to be a rather more balanced look at how the technology of the Internet is shaping our culture, our habits, our reading and what implications this might have.  From the book promotion site:

Building on the insights of thinkers from Plato to McLuhan, Carr makes a convincing case that every information technology carries an intellectual ethic — a set of assumptions about the nature of knowledge and intelligence. He explains how the printed book served to focus our attention, promoting deep and creative thought. In stark contrast, the Internet encourages the rapid, distracted sampling of small bits of information from many sources. Its ethic is the ethic of the industrialist, an ethic of speed and efficiency, of optimized production and consumption — and now the Net is remaking us in its own image. We are becoming ever more adept at scanning and skimming, but what we are losing is our capacity for concentration, contemplation, and reflection. 

The Shallowsbook.com  

Has the Internet affected your reading?

I confess that I have felt my concentration span shortening, my attention constantly assaulted by twitter (which I turned off to write this).  I read more than I ever have, indeed I read a good solid 6 hours a day if I am not working.  Most of this reading is short grabs of information - screen read, scanning optimized blog posting or messages via Facebook or Twitter.   Anything much over 500 words and I begin to notice the extra effort required to remain attentive.

How about yourself?