Something I’ve done the past few years is engage in a reading challenge. I documented 2010’s on this blog, but left it to GoodReads to handle the bookkeeping exclusively for me for 2011 (41 books read and counting on a challenge of 35. Yeah, baby!).

Reading challenges serve a couple of purposes. Most notably, it allows me to track what I’ve read in a fairly unobtrusive and sometimes fun manner, while also allowing me to gauge progress over the course of the year. Of course, it also makes it easier to write a “Favorite Reads of the Year” post, something which has become an annual thing for me.

So,... [More]

In what can only be seen as a sign of the times, Borders is closing its remaining 399 stores. Last ditch talks that would have brought in additional financing have failed, leaving the company with no choice but to liquidate.

This news makes me neither sad nor happy. I'd always been more of a Barnes & Noble shopper, before Amazon came along anyway. In comparison with Barnes & Noble, Borders always seemed to have higher prices, and, for whatever reason, Barnes & Noble was always just more convenient for me. It helped that B&N from early on had an alliance with Starbucks, where Borders had… I don't know. Seattle's Best? (Seattle'... [More]

Most of the time when I finish a book, I'm ready to buy the next one on my wish list right away. Since I own a Kindle, my preferred reading format is digital. The problem of late is that too many of the eBooks on my list are, in my opinion, over-priced.

Amazon ignited widespread interest in eBooks with the introduction of their first Kindle eReader. As prices for the device came down, and the device itself got better (smaller, faster, crisper display, smaller form factor, etc.) , more and more people joined the eBook revolution. Unfortunately, with the success of the Kindle came increased scrutiny from the Big 6. In particular, publishers we... [More]

I think everyone who loves books has an inaugural series in their background that opened their eyes to a wider world of reading possibilities. For me, that series was Lloyd Alexander's Chronicles of Prydain. If you want to read a quick history of Lloyd Alexander, check out this post. It's nicely done.

I've had this series on my re-read list for a long time now. At one point, I owned all five books in the series; somewhere between the age of 10 (when the editions I own were published and presumably about when I first read them) and 40 (my current age), 2 of those books were lost. I still have books 3, 4, 5, and remedied the missing novels with... [More]