Saturday Sum up – Feb 29

Posted on March 1, 2014 by Christie

I am a regular bookstore visitor. Generally on Friday night, after we drop my daughter off at ballet, my son and I head over to Indigo and while away a couple hours, browsing and barely resisting the copious books. I have a Kobo. I don’t even know how to set it up and have no real desire to. We don’t actually have an independent bookstore in my town, although we do have a couple second-hand bookstores, which I try to visit when I can.

This article by Canadian Writer David Bidini is, I think, a sad reflection on the state of independent bookstores.

Reading between the times to understand the death of indie bookstores

Speaking of indie bookstores, The Bookseller posted a disheartening article about the decline of independent bookstores in the UK. Read it here.

But just so you don’t think all is lost – read this awesome story about a young boy who wants to start a library for homeless people.

Enjoy your day!

Saturday Sum up – January 25

Posted on January 25, 2014 by Christie

Here’s what I found bookish & interesting on my tour around the Internet this week:

I loved this story about people forming a human chain to move books to a new library – now that’s bookish dedication!

For the past couple of years I’ve taken part in Goodreads Reading Challenge. I also track my reading at the 50 Book Pledge, which I love even more as it’s very visual. I view participating in these things as a way of challenging myself to read more and do other stuff (watch tv, waste time online) less. The Guardian views the reading challenge another way. Read The bad side of Goodreads’ Reading Challenge.

My brother Mark bought me a Kobo for Christmas. He’s a dear man. “You read a lot,” he said to me when I thanked him. Yep, I read a lot….of BOOKS. Like… books that I can hold in my hand with real pages I can turn and then store on my shelves when I am done. Nevertheless, I tried to set the damn thing up and failed and now it’s just sitting on my bedroom table, abandoned. So…

this makes me inordinantly happy: How Book Porn is Actually Revolutionalizing the Book World

Check out this comprehensive list of 50 Essential Mystery Novels. It’s missing Thomas H. Cook, a mystery writer at the top of my list, but it’s still a great start for newbies to the genre.

Finally – here’s a fantastic list of books for booklovers.

Saturday sum-up – Jan 18th

Posted on January 18, 2014 by Christie

Here’s what I found bookish & interesting on my tour around the Internet this week:

Why does too many books still not seem like hoarding to me?

Looking for a way to spice up your reading lives? Check out these cool Reading Bingo Challenge cards over at Random House.

I love The Nerdy Bookclub and they recently posted about Canadian children’s books.

I am a big fan of Nick Bantock. He’s probably best known for his Griffin and Sabine trilogy and if you haven’t read them I highly recommend them. Anyway, my son and I made our weekly pilgrimage to Indigo last night and I stumbled upon Bantock’s latest endeavour, The Trickster’s Hat. I didn’t purchase it, but I’m going to. It’s a beautiful little book about creativity with 49 activities you can do to promote it in your own life. Visit Nick’s Etsy page. (Edited on Feb 22 to add this review of The Trickster’s Hat from the National Post.)

And here’s something avid readers already know: Great novels can change your life…and your brain

Today in literary history: A.A. Milne, author of Winnie the Pooh was born in London on this day in 1882. My mom read me and my brothers Winnie the Pooh all the time when we were kids. I loved those stories, but I loved my mom reading to me even more.

““If you live to be a hundred, I want to live to be a hundred minus one day so I never have to live without you.” A.A. Milne

Saturday Sum-up

Posted on January 11, 2014 by Christie

Here’s what I found bookish & interesting on my tour around the Internet this week:

I do a lot of reading about reading. The longer I teach, the less I care about testing and grammar and the more I care about reading. When students leave these hallowed halls (and the hallowed halls of whatever post-secondary route they take) they’re not going to read and then make a poster. At best, they might start a book blog, but even then they’re not going to talk about the figurative devices they come across in the books they read. The question then becomes, ultimately, how do I instill in my students a life-long appreciation for reading.

This article was an interesting look at that very topic: How to teach reading for pleasure.

Yet one more reason to love Jon Stewart: https://twitter.com/JasonElsom/status/421800162143789056/photo/1

(with thanks to @JasonElsom for the original post)

And, egads, The Telegraph shares its list of the Top Ten Young Adult books of 2013 and not only have I not read any, I’ve only heard of two.

On this day in literary history (in 1928) Thomas Hardy (Jude the Obscure; The Mayor of Casterbridge) died. He was 87. His heart is buried in the grave of his first wife and his ashes are buried next to Charles Dickens in Westminster Abbey.

Saturday Sum-Up

Posted on January 4, 2014 by Christie

Here’s what I found bookish & interesting on my tour around the Internet this week:

Art from Scholastic.

The Guardian’s Philip Hensher had some thoughtful things to say about reading: This should be a golden age for readers, but it feels like the end of days

I was particularly interested in Mr. Hensher’s assertion that even reading 15 books a year has a positive impact on your life. A mere 15 books, people! Since I intend to do way better than that (I read 62 books in 2013), I’ve already signed up for Savvy Readers’ 50 Book Pledge. It’s easy to use and a wonderful way to see what you’ve read.

Speaking of seeing what you read…

If you are a book voyeur, you need to follow Savidge Reads regular feature Other People’s Bookshelves Simon lets people share their reading lives via their impressive bookshelves and it’s always fascinating.

I am not ashamed (okay, maybe I’m a teensy bit ashamed) to admit that I can’t wait to watch this remake of Flowers in the Attic. Teenagers of a certain age devoured this book (come on, admit it!) and this remake looks a bazillion times better than the 1987 movie.

On this day in literary history:

Albert Camus, author of The Plague, was killed in a car accident near Sens in 1960.

And a recommendation:

If you haven’t already discovered her blog, I highly recommend The Perpetual Page-Turner. Jamie updates regularly with interesting (and often interactive) content. If you are a book-lover, she’s definitely one to follow.

With apologies to Adrian and Jon

Posted on August 25, 2013 by Christie

If my younger self had gotten her act together, I might have found a place in the publishing business. Nothing gives me more pleasure than reading and anyone who knows me, knows that I am really critical about what I read – just ask me what I think of Fifty Shades of Grey or Twilight. Or visit my Book Graveyard

By day, I am a high school English teacher and I really and truly feel that the most important part of my job is to put students on a path towards a lifetime of reading. During the 2012-13 academic year I had an astounding grade ten class. These kids were amazing – smart and funny and hard-working – and a true joy to spend time with. They also, for the most part, loved to read. So we did read, a lot.

I have a pretty good-sized classroom library…and it’s getting bigger. I have already asked our Mill & Cab teacher if he could get his students to build me a bigger and better bookshelf in my room in the fall because I am outgrowing all the bookcases I’ve purchased and scavanged over the past few years. I love having all those books in my room because it shows students I am a serious reader. It also allows me to have real conversations about books and gives me the ability to put a book into a kid’s hands and say “Read this.”

So, when a student turns the tables and puts a book in my hands, I feel obliged to read that book. In this case, the book was called John Dies @ the End by David Wong.

And I tried, guys; I really did. I got to page 142 and I just couldn’t go on. In a nutshell, John Dies @ the End is a crazy hybrid of horror and comedy about two friends, Dave and John, who appear to be some sort of supernatural investigators (think Sam and Dean from Supernatural) who come into contact with this mind-altering drug called ‘soy sauce’. Wackiness ensues.

Sadly, the wackiness just wasn’t interesting to me.

According to Cracked.com (where David Wong, a pseudonym for Jason Pargin, was an editor), John and Dave “find out the world is being attacked by a Lovecraftian god named Korrok, whose godhood has not saved him from being totally retarded. Dave must overcome Korrok’s dark and invisible army, while overcoming his own personal demons. His primary demon is the fact that he just doesn’t give a shit.”

John Dies @ the End had an interesting introduction to the world. The novel “has been published in no less than four formats: as an online serial, then through the print-on-demand service at CafePress, then via indie horror publisher Permuted Press, and now by huge megapublisher St. Martin’s.” It has also been made into a movie.

I can certainly see why the book would appeal to the two young men who recommended it to me. It’s over-the-top and ridiculous and, I suppose, creepy in parts. It’s like a cult film: Hobo With a Gun, say. Maybe if I had discovered this book 30 years ago, I would have enjoyed it more. But I doubt it.

So, this made me think about book recommendations. Something The Guardian also pondered in its article When book recommendations go wrong. I know how I feel when I fall in love with a book and want to share it and other readers aren’t quite as enamoured. It cuts like a knife, people.

Book Riot (an absolutely fabulous book-related site) had a great article about What To Do When Friends Give You a Book You Don’t Want to Read. I really felt obligated to read John Dies @ the End because how can I expect my students to accept my recommendations if I won’t accept theirs? The truth of the matter is that I have my own criteria for deciding whether or not I should keep on trucking through a book that doesn’t immediately grab me.

I considered what makes me give up on a book in 2012 in my post Books are like a relationship, sometimes you have to end it

At the end of the day – with so many books on my tbr shelf – I just had to break up with John Dies @ the End. I hope Adrian and Jon can forgive me.

What makes you give up on a book?

My reading/blogging year, 2012

Posted on December 31, 2012 by Christie

My goal was to read 60 books this year but I didn’t make it. I blame Italy. (Too much Prosecco does not, in fact, allow for close reading – or any reading for that matter. I was, however, sober enough to snap a few picures of bookstores in Rome.) My summer road trip with the kids also took a chunk out of my summer – when I would normally be reading at the beach while the kids swim, I was drivingdrivingdriving…and shopping. Still I am currently on book 54, so I am happy with that. Of course if I only read 50-ish books a year, it will take me TEN years to read all the books on my to-be-read shelves. Never mind the titles listed in my want-to-read notebook (which I anally copied over into a new notebook yesterday).

Still, it’s time to reflect on what I have read. A couple days ago I did this nifty survey, which came from The Perpetual Page-Turner.

Here are some additional thoughts about my reading/blogging year:

1. Not all Young Adult books are created equal.

I have been reading a lot more YA fiction these days. I have two teenagers at home (a daughter, 15 and a son, 13) who are both avid readers. My son, in particular, is constantly telling me I have to read [insert title]. I also teach high school English and I am really, really working hard to create a culture of book love in my room. I am slowly, but surely, building a classroom library and I am trying to read my way through it so that I can offer real advice to those kids who need it. So when I say that not all YA is created equal I feel like I have a little bit of credibility. Here are the YA titles I read this year:
1. Reality Check – Peter Abrahams
2. I Am Not Esther – Fleur Beale
3. Things Change – Patrick Jones
4. Between – Jessica Warman
5. Chasing Boys – Karen Tayleur
6. Nevermore – Kelly Creagh
7. The Day I Killed James – Catherine Ryan Hyde

100_2090 8. Ashes – Ilsa J. Bick
9. The Fault in Our Stars – John Green
10. Drowning Anna – Sue Mayfield
11. Jane – April Lindner
12. He’s After Me – Chris Higgins
13. The Returning – Christine Hinwood
14. I’ll Be There – Holly Goldberg Sloan
15. Divergent – Veronica Roth
16. Nothing But Ghosts – Beth Kephart
17. Things You Either Hate or Love – Brigid Lowry
18. Monsters of Men – Patrick Ness
19. Gone – Kathleen Jeffrie Johnson
20. Nevermore – Linda Newbery
21. The Heights – Brian James
22. 40 Things I Want To Tell You – Alice Kuipers
23. The Death of Jayson Porter – Jaime Adoff
24. Surrender – Sonya Hartnett
25. The Ask and The Answer – Patrick Ness
26. The Invention of Hugo Cabret – Brian Selznick
27. Played – Dana Davidson
28. Right Behind You – Gail Giles

Of those titles here were my favourites.

#1 NO CONTEST: The Fault in Our Stars – John Green ( I have SO MUCH love for this book. Everyone should read it.)

#2 Nevermore – Kelly Creagh

#3 Ashes – Ilsa J. Bick

#4 The Ask and the Answer / Monsters of Men – Patrick Ness (Yes, I know it’s cheating to put two books in one slot, but these are the second and third books in Ness’s amazing Chaos Walking trilogy, which starts with The Knife of Never Letting Go.

#5 Between – Jessica Warman

#6 Nothing But Ghosts – Beth Kephart

#7 The Death of Jayson Porter – Jaime Adoff

#8 Surrender – Sonya Hartnett

#9 Right Behind You – Gail Giles

#10 Played – Dana Davidson

When I read YA fiction I am looking for good writing, authentic characters, good writing. I mean, if we want kids to know what that is – we have to make sure they have opportunities to read it. I think YA has come a long way from where it was, but there is still a lot of junk out there. (Sparkly vampire books, I am looking at you!)

2. I have less patience for books than I used to. ( aka I am aware of the dwindling sand in my reading hour glass.)

Last year I started a Book Graveyard, a place to keep track of the books that I just couldn’t get through – for whatever reason. If I give a book a couple tries, or a few dozen pages and I just can’t read it – I make note of it here. Robby Benson’s novel Who Stole the Funny? recently landed there. Sorry, Robby. I still love you.

3. I don’t love any books. (At least that’s what my kids tell me.)

I actually love all books; I just don’t like some of them. Here are some of the titles I read this year, which I didn’t like at all.

Now You See Her – Joy Fielding

The Heights – Brian James (YA)

The Returning – Christine Hinwood (YA)

Jane – April Lindner (YA)

Death Comes to Pemberley – P.D. James

Graveminder – Melissa Marr

Until It’s Over – Nicci French

4. But here are the ten titles I did love this year. (I’ve left the YA books off this list and the titles aren’t in any particular order.)

#1 The Casual Vacancy – J.K. Rowling

#2 A Spell of Winter – Helen Dunmore

#3 Room – Emma Donoghue

#4 The House at Riverton – Kate Morton

#5 The Sense of an Ending – Julian Barnes

#6 The Slap – Christos Tsiolkas

#7 Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand – Helen Simonson

#8 Stitches – David Small (graphic novel)

#9 So Much Pretty – Cara Hoffman

#10 Evidence of Blood – Thomas H. Cook

If I am going to consider my entire year of reading, though, my absolute favourite book would be John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars – which I can’t recommend highly enough.

5. Blogging failures.

I started 2012 with this ridiculous notion that I would post book-related content every day. Yeah. That lasted until April 17th.

6. My blogging year in review. A look back at some of my favourite posts.

I posted several entries this year I was really proud of. Who knows if anyone saw them but me.

Become a fangirl of writers

Let’s talk about love

My shelves, my life part one (although I don’t think I ever did a part two, come to think of it!)

Me and Mr. Jones (my thoughts after the death of Davy Jones)

The importance of a classroom library

Scary books for All Hallows’ Eve

7. Some content that wasn’t mine, exactly, but which is worth a second look.

The Fantastic Flying Books of Morris Lessmore

The Joy of Books

Ryan Gosling loves books

8. Blogs I admire

Bella’s Bookshelves – crazy smart reviewer and Canadian!

Books I Done Read – witty and honest and also Canadian

Nerdy Book Club – keep your finger on the pulse of kid-related books and stuff

Savidge Reads – Simon is a voracious reader and promoter of all things literary

Dot Scribbles – I always add new titles to my want-to-read list after visiting this blog

The Perpetual Page-Turner – content galore, well-written, too

bite by Michelle – if you are even remotely interested in food, this is a keeper

9. And my first ever giveaway…was

The Golden Book of Bovinities by Robert Moore which went to Lynne from Dartmouth, NS

10. Looking ahead to 2013

I am currently reading Gillian Flynn’s novel Dark Places…I might even finish it today (although it’s not likely). I’ll head over to chapters.indigo.ca and roll the calendar over on my little group 50 Books in 2012…Speaking of Chapters/Indigo, I have a shopping cart order just waiting to be placed. I will continue to read read read – nothing gives me quite as much pleasure.

And how about another giveaway. Hey, if you made it to the end of this really long post, you deserve the chance to win something…so I’ll draw a name at random from anyone who comments on this post between Jan 1 and 31st…and send a book-related gift your way!

Happy New Year…and all the best for 2013.

Best in 2012

Posted on December 28, 2012 by Christie

This meme comes from The Perpetual Page-Turner. I love an opportunity to reflect on my reading year, so here goes.

Best In Books 2012

1. Best Book You Read In 2012? (You can break it down by genre if you want)

I spend most of my time reading either Young Adult fiction (mostly chosen from my classroom library) or books from my own massive to-be-read pile. (And I am not exaggerating, I’m talking hundreds of books).

Best YA – no contest…The Fault in Our Stars – John Green.

In fact this might have been my favourite book of the entire year despite the fact that, you know, it ripped my heart out.

Best Fiction – Room – Emma Donoghue

I actually had a harder time choosing this one. I read a handful of books that I really liked this year, all of them for different reasons. This one, though, was just so unusual and compelling I had to put it on top.

2. Book You Were Excited About & Thought You Were Going To Love More But Didn’t?

Graveminder – Melissa Marr

This was the first book I read in 2012 and I’d been really looking forward to it. I loved the cover. I loved the premise. But the writing and the plot and the characters = hot mess.

3. Most surprising (in a good way!) book of 2012?

I just wasn’t anticipating liking The Casual Vacancy at all. I haven’t read the Harry Potter books (except for The Philosopher’s Stone) and I just couldn’t imagine liking a really long book about a small British town. But I did like it. A lot.

4. Book you recommended to people most in 2012?

I have happily recommended The Fault in Our Stars over and over to students in my classes. That’s generally who gets the brunt of my bookish enthusiasm. Other books I’ve flogged include: Patrick Ness’s Chaos Walking trilogy (which I can include here because I read the second and third books in 2012!), Nevermore by Kelly Creagh and Ashes by Ilsa Bick.

5. Best series you discovered in 2012?

Nevermore by Kelly Creagh The second book, Enshadowed, is currently available in hardcover. This series features a feisty heroine, a creepy Edgar Allan Poe-ish nightmare world and some terrific writing.

Ashes trilogy by Ilsa J. Bick. The second book, Shadows, is currently available in hardcover. This series features a world gone horribly awry, flesh-eating zombies and a fabulous main character.

6. Favorite new authors you discovered in 2012?

John Green. Emma Donoghue. Kelly Creagh. Ilsa J. Bick. Kate Morton. These are all authors I will definitely read more of.

7. Best book that was out of your comfort zone or was a new genre for you?

Because I am reading a lot of young adult fiction these days I find that I am reading genres (fantasy, for example) that I wouldn’t normally read. I still don’t think I would enjoy straight up sci fi, but who knows. I want to be able to have those discussions and if I’m gonna talk the talk, I’m gonna have to walk the walk. (Or, read the book!)

8. Most thrilling, unputdownable book in 2012?

Nevermore – Kelly Creagh

I’m not sure it was the most thrilling book, but I did have a hard time putting it down.

9. Book You Read In 2012 That You Are Most Likely To Re-Read Next Year:

If I re-read any book from this year, it would probably be The Fault in Our Stars…or I might skim through Ashes and Nevermore before I read the second books in the series.

10. Favorite cover of a book you read in 2012?

11. Most memorable character in 2012?

Samantha from J.K. Rowling’s The Casual Vacancy. I totally got her.

Hazel and Augustus from John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars. I just can’t say enough about these characters and my love for them.

Jack from Emma Donoghue’s Room. Incredible.

12. Most beautifully written book read in 2012?

Oh dear. I am going to have to go with…Helen Dunmore’s A Spell of Winter. I am a longtime fan of Dunmore; she never fails me when it comes to the quality of her prose. But I was also really surprised by how impressed I was by Rowling’s The Casual Vacancy. It was really good.

13. Book that had the greatest impact on you in 2012?

The Fault in Our Stars. I laughed out loud and I sobbed uncontrollably into my fist in the middle of the night.

14. Book you can’t believe you waited UNTIL 2012 to finally read?

I actually don’t get all hung up on not reading books when they first come out. I don’t often jump on the hype wagon. I just add books to my tbr list, purchase the books eventually and read them when I get around to it…or I am in the mood.

15. Favorite Passage/Quote From A Book You Read In 2012?

Oh dear. I will have to get back to you on this one.

16.Shortest & Longest Book You Read In 2012?

Shortest: The Uncomon Reader – Alan Bennett, 120

Longest: The Casual Vacancy – JK Rowling, 503

17. Book That Had A Scene In It That Had You Reeling And Dying To Talk To Somebody About It? (a WTF moment, an epic revelation, a steamy kiss, etc. etc.) Be careful of spoilers!

I can’t tell you of any one particular scene. I can tell you that my book club had an excellent night discussing The Slap by Christos Tsiolkas. I have also loved talking books with students in my class.

18. Favorite Relationship From A Book You Read In 2012 (be it romantic, friendship, etc).

Hazel and Augustus from The Fault in Our Stars. Just perfection on the page.

19. Favorite Book You Read in 2012 From An Author You Read Previously

Evidence of Blood – Thomas H. Cook

A Spell of Winter – Helen Dunmore

I really love both of these authors and enjoyed both of these books in 2012.

20. Best Book You Read That You Read Based SOLELY On A Recommendation From Somebody Else:

None. Other than books I read for book club, I don’t run out and buy books based on someone else’s recommendation.

Considering books w/ thanks to @suchabooknerd & @ShelfAwareness

Posted on October 20, 2012 by Christie

I followed a tweet to Such A Book Nerd‘s post answering these questions, which she got from Shelf Awareness. I can never resist a good meme.

On your nightstand now:

Kelly Creagh’s fabulous YA novel, Nevermore (which I am thoroughly enjoying.)

But my bedside table (actually a hope chest) is home to a big pile of books – some of them waiting to be read, some half read, some destined for my Book Graveyard. They include:

The Flight of Gemma Hardy (which I hope to read in the next few days as Margot Livesay will be reading at The Lorenzo Society on November 9.); Midnight is a Lonely Place – Barbara Erskine; Juliet – Belinda Seaward; Pharos – Alice Thompson; The Night Bus – Janice Law; The God of Small Things – Arundhati Roy; The Essential 55 – Ron Clark; The Tarnished Eye – Judith Guest; When I Was a Loser – John McNally; Girls in White Dresses – Jennifer Close; The Savage Garden – Mark Mills; The Hand That First Held Mine – Maggie O’Farrell and The Golden Book of Bovinities, the latest book of poetry by my dear friend, Robert Moore. Yeah, I have a small problem.

Favorite book when you were a child:

I have a lot of favourite childhood books. Going WAY back: Uncle Wiggly, which I remember my mom reading to my brothers and me. I was a huge Bobbsey Twins fan. I always got a couple new books for birthdays and Christmas. I loved Trixie Beldon. I loved A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett

Your top five authors: (subject to change, of course)

I love Carolyn Slaughter, Helen Dunmore, Helen Humphreys, Thomas H. Cook, and Lisa Reardon

Book you’ve faked reading:

Sometimes I just say…I read it a long time ago; I don’t really remember it. Ha!

Book you’re an evangelist for:

Sorry – I pimp lots of books.

The Knife of Never Letting Go – Patrick Ness (so far I have two girls in my grade ten class reading through the Chaos Walking Series)

The Book of Lost Things – John Connolly

The Book Thief – Marcus Zusak

Book you’ve bought for the cover:

While I do enjoy a good cover, it’s rarely the sole reason I buy a book. There are too many books I want to read (too many on my physical shelves waiting to be read) to waste a purchase on a pretty cover.

Book that changed your life:

Jane Eyre changed my reading life at a young age, but lots of other books have impacted me in positive ways. For example, Carolyn Slaughter has written a couple books – The Banquet & The Story of the Weasel – which showed me a fearlessness that has stayed with me. And the book I’ve reread the most, Velocity by Kristin McCloy, continues to speak to me in ways I can’t explain.

Favorite line from a book:

I love this line from Thomas H. Cook’s novel Breakheart Hill: This is the darkest story that I ever heard, and all my life I have laboured not to tell it.

And from Velocity: Sometimes in my dreams you rise up as if from a swamp, whole, younger than I remember, dazzling, jagged, and I follow you into smoky rooms, overwhelmed by the sense of being in the presence of an untamed thing, full of light, impossible to control.

I would quote more, but the question asks for a line, so I’ll resist.

Book you most want to read again for the first time:

Jane Eyre – but it’s been so long since I first read it, that it would probably feel like the first time.

If you could encourage any beginning writer, what would you say?

Just write. Don’t edit yourself; don’t second guess yourself; don’t censor yourself; be fearless.

If you answer this meme, be sure to let me know; I’d love to read your answers.

#WhatIwrite and #whyIwrite it

Posted on October 19, 2012 by Christie

The National Writing Project is once again sponsoring the Why I Write project. If you are at all connected to social media, you’re likely aware of this initiative. Professional and amateur writers are posting their responses to the question using hashtags #whatiwrite, #nwp and #dayonwriting.

As a teacher, I believe wholeheartedly in getting students to write. Getting them to believe in the value of the written word is often slightly more problematic. But of course, they don’t realize how much real-world writing they actually do: the texts, the blogs, the emails, and the FB status updates are all examples of writing and have as much value as the literary essay my grade ten students are currently writing.

I’ve been a life-long writer. Ever since I figured out my parents’ little blue Brother typewriter and could start typing out my stories, I’ve been hooked on words. I love their power and their potential to create a world; I love the music they can create, the emotional impact they can have. Even when they frustrate me, I love them.

Like many teens, I wrote a lot of sappy poetry in high school. I wrote short stories about boys who broke my heart. I wrote hundreds of letters to pen pals all around the world. Perhaps I wouldn’t have considered those letters ‘real writing’ back then, but each epistle honed my ability to commit thoughts to paper coherently and creatively.

When I graduated from high school, my parents gave me an electric typewriter. Don’t mock me; it was 1979. That thing weighed about 50 pounds and the correction cartridge was bigger than an 8-track, but still – I felt I now had the potential to write the next great Canadian novel. Because that’s what I wanted: to be a writer.

Oh, I know.

Still…I do write. A lot. I’ve written hundreds of pages of fan fiction. I’ve written dozens of newspaper articles. I’ve written feature stories for magazines. I’ve written half of a really dumb novel. (And rewritten that half a zillion more times.) I have close to four hundred posts here at The Ludic Reader. I am inching up on 1000 tweets.

I do love that the Internet offers writers the opportunity to share what they’ve written. Community is important. But even without it, I think I’d still write. It helps, sometimes, to just listen to my thoughts and then try to sort them out on paper – or in cyberspace. Writing gives me the opportunity to be more than I am.