The Perks of Being a Wallfower

A couple of years ago I found this book on the summer reading table of Barnes & Noble and thought that it looked really striking.  Lime green cover, interesting placement of the photo and author text, not to mention how the title is the smallest thing on there.  I posted it on my Facebook and several friends said how much they loved the book.  I had never heard of it before that point but made a mental note to someday read it.









Last night I happened to see the film adaptation of said novel and was thoroughly smitten.  It was a pitch perfect coming of age tale about a young High School boy dealing with the struggle to fit into a new environment all the while battling his own brand of personal demons.  It had everything that such a movie should: the power of friendships, the manic nature of first love, the loss of innocence and all the engrossing cinematics that your heart could hope for.  I was truly sucked in.

But I already knew it was going to be great.  During the opening credits I noticed that not only did author Stephen Chbosky write the screenplay but he also directed the feature.  I don't know any other adaptation that can share those characteristics.  This was completely his baby and we were going to see it exactly the way he intended it to be.

Of course, after seeing the movie I now have to read the book.  Today I went to my favorite used book seller and found myself a copy.  I was hoping to find a non movie tie-in edition but this was their only copy and it came in earlier in the day.  They're flying off the shelf it seems.  Although, one can't do much better than to have the ever gorgeous Emma Watson always gaze lovingly in your direction.

You can pick up The Perks of Being a Wallflower here or at local book sellers everywhere.  See the movie today!

The Kobo Mini

Books, books, books, we all love books.  You love books and you should know that I especially love books.  Books are everywhere, or at least they should be.  The thing about books, however, is the more that time passes, the more books I seem to have.  Three out of four walls in my bedroom are lined with books.  I'm not complaining, I want it that way.  But there comes a time in every book lover's life where they must come to terms with their collection.  When that happens, you start to think long and hard about each new addition that is made.  "Do I really need this book?" you might ask yourself, trying to qualify its purchase.  Thank goodness for the advent of the eReader, which has pushed and propagated book hoarding onto virtual realms.

I was an eBook hold out for awhile, prefering the heft of the printed page.  But then I got a Nook last year and fell in love with it.  I could buy and read books that I didn't nessasarily want on my shelf, I could carry 1,000 + page tomes around without throwing out my wrist everytime I wanted to read, but most importantly I could carry multiple books around with me at once.  A book lover's dream.

Generally I have been showcasing physical books that I find in stores or otherwise that strike me as being interesting, but when I saw this new device, I knew I had to talk about it.  The Kobo Mini is one of the newest in the line of Kobo eReaders.  Sporting a 5 inch display, this is not only the smallest Kobo, it's also one of the smallest eReaders in the market.  In the photo, you can see that I have held up a Moleskine notebook next to the Kobo Mini just so you can get an idea of how small this thing really is.

With a device this small, the desire to be a get-up-and-go reader is really strong.  The thing could literally fit in any pocket I have, making excuses to not have a book on me null and void.  There is nowhere that you can't go with this. 

The ability to tailor the look of your Kobo makes having this a very personal experience as well.  You can swap out the trademarked quilted back with 4 other color options.  Kobo has also givin users the freedom to customize the typeface in unprecedented ways.  Not only can users select the font and  font size, but there is weight and sharpness settings letting you have full control over how you want your books to read.

Kobo is also content with letting users have control over where they buy their books.  All of Kobo's eReaders are fully open, meaning you can purchase books from many different sellers while still being able to read them on your Kobo.  With Kobo, local book sellers can now get into the eReader game.  My local bookseller, Malaprops, told me that they are now set up to sell eBooks and the Kobo eReaders help consumers who want to support them as well as other local bookshops.  It's this reason that I might switch to Team Kobo for my eReader of choice.

You have to look at this eReader in person to see how cool it is.  The Kobo Mini would make an absolutly supurb gift this holiday season, and at only $79, it's a gift that won't break the bank.  Whether it'll be someone's primary eReader or a trusty backup, this one will certianly get the job done.  Get your's here, at your local bookseller or where ever Kobo's may be sold.

Quiet, the Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain

There has been a great deal of learning regarding introverts recently.  This has led to the changing of opinions and new viewpoints regarding select individuals.  Many people might have made the mistake of thinking that the defining characteristics between the two personality types are that extroverts are outgoing and introverts are shy.  While this generalization isn't false, there is much more going on in the minds and lives of individuals knows as introverts than many people aware of

Introverts are typically quieter than most people therefore it's easy for them to be misunderstood. When you're looking for studies showing the percent of the population that are introverts, you're likely to find numbers ranging from 25 to 50 percent.  If you were to talk to them, most introverts would report feeling maligned by society.  I believe this to be true due to the stereotypes that exist about this group.

The findings illustrate that understanding this personality dynamic shows traits that go well beyond a person's level of shyness.  It's all about how a person gathers energy and the way they process information.  Extroverts feel more energized in social situations while, on the other hand, introverts feel taxed when they're in those same situations.  They need time alone, by themselves to "recharge."  If you've ever know anyone who just didn't like going out very often and wondered what their deal was, it's not necessarily that the person is antisocial, they just don't have the energy for those kinds of things. It's not their fault, it's just the way they are.

I consider myself deeply introverted.  I can live in my thoughts for hours on end and being part of social gatherings can be very exhausting for me.  Again, it's not that I'm antisocial, I just need a lot more alone time than most people and I am very guarded with that time.  It's very important to me.  I also have the tendency to be very quiet.  I prefer listening to talking and if I don't have anything important to add to a conversation, I won't say anything at all.  I would make a terrible debater because I take a long time considering things in my mind and I dislike explaining myself and have difficulty with it.

I saw this book and knew  that I needed to read it.  I needed to understand myself better as an introvert as well to learn how to help change the view that the world has toward us.  Go to your local bookseller or online here to purchase it.  ALSO, Susan Cain has a great TED Conference Talk that is more than worth watching.  Check it out here.

The Star Wars Trilogy

What perfect timing regarding recent developments that have happened.  If you have perused Barnes & Noble only casually in the last three to four years, you'll notice tables that have been ever-burgeoning with collection of classics, old and modern, that are bound handsomely in stylish leather with pages gilded in gold or silver leaf.  These are part of their Leatherbound Classics Editions.  Their website touts well over 50 titles ranging from Shakespeare and Jane Austin to Douglas Adams and Neil Gaiman.  For the book lover, these books are irresistible.  If I had room and the money, I would buy them all just to have them on my shelf.

Most recently, I went to graze the familiar table and, to my surprise, found an iconic face staring right back at me.  In the quintessential font, shining brilliantly, was "The Star Wars Trilogy."  I literally gasped as I lifted the tome to inspect it.  There they were, all three books, names I don't even need to say because you should know them already.  I held the book while a blocky, monotone voice played in my head on repeat, "MUST. OWN.  BOOK."

Not only is this the most unique addition to their collection but it is also the coolest culturally speaking. Most people don't know about the Star Wars novelizations and if it's any Star Wars books people are aware of it's the many novels that range from zipped up fan fiction to quasi-canonical additions to the lore.  Originally published a few months before A New Hope arrived in theaters, the books served to introduce people to the characters that would soon become cultural icons that still loom large today. They were credited toward George Lucas but it was later revealed to be ghostwritten by Alan Dean Foster, the man who would be the first to expand the Star Wars universe in print with Splinter of the Mind's Eye.

The rest is, as you say, history.  History that many of us are well aware of.  This handsome volume would look great in the collection of your favorite Star Wars nerd or someone looking to liven up their shelf that is sagging from the weight of dark and dusty classics.  Go to your local, brick and mortar B&N or find it online here.