Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder…also known as the book that changed my life. There have been other significantly influential books throughout the years, of course, but Little House in the Big Woods and the subsequent Little House books became a cornerstone of my childhood from the day my maternal grandparents gave me the first one.
My grandparents always sent books as holiday presents. It could always be counted on that there would be a book as part of my birthday and Christmas presents, as well as for Valentine’s Day, Easter, and Halloween. They particularly enjoyed choosing series to send, slowly but surely providing me with a complete set. There may have been series sent to me before the Little House books, and I know for a fact there were series after, but none had quite the same influence on me.
You can’t quite begin to grasp the influence Laura Ingalls Wilder’s books had on my childhood unless I publicly admit to a few things that nobody outside of my family and anyone who knew me during my younger years knows. Here goes:
Little House in the Big Woods let to a significant obsession with all things Laura Ingalls Wilder and Little House. This included celebrating a birthday with Laura Ingalls Wilder’s wedding cake, getting taffy stuck in someone’s hair at a birthday party where we tried to make a taffy recipe from the Little House cookbook, family road trips that included visits to every single related site and monument you can think of between Northern California and Chicago, a sunbonnet and nightcap made by my grandmother (worn often and nightly, respectively), and an after-school tradition of watching Little House on the Prairie TV show re-runs.
As you can tell, the adventures of Laura had a great impact on my childhood.
Aside from the obsession, Little House in the Big Woods was the book that really made me love reading. It showed me that a story just didn’t have to be words on paper, that it could be something deeper…that I could take the story and embrace it on many levels.
Even beyond that, it was the foundation of a bond, and eventual common love of reading and books, between my mom and me. While my grandparents sent the books, my mom was the one to read them to me every night before bed. Laura’s journey was a journey we shared, and I can guarantee that if I have a daughter someday, it will be a journey she will share in, too.
Friday, February 27, 2009
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Sorry Amazon, your e-mails just haven't gotten me yet!
I get lots of e-mail promotions. Most of them are a direct result of something I've bought online in the past, but so far, I can proudly say that I've never purchased something as a direct result of an e-mail promotion.
It's unfortunate for Amazon that I tend to shop for my leisure reading in person and that 95% of the book purchases I've ever made from Amazon have been school books. That has resulted in a rather skewed, and slightly eclectic, list of books that Amazon is convinced I will like.
In the few instances where I've bought non-school-related items off Amazon, I've bought a strange variety, including tire chains and a book on Christianity for my Mom. Combined with a random assortment of school books, I imagine I'm one Amazon customer profile that is decidedly inaccurate. Fortunately for me, this makes it rather easy to ignore the suggestions Amazon constantly e-mails me.
Somehow, though, Amazon has discovered my weakness for shoes and have recently begun sending me shoe-related e-mails. I've clicked through and browsed, but I've yet to succumb to the temptation...
Let's see how long I hold out.
It's unfortunate for Amazon that I tend to shop for my leisure reading in person and that 95% of the book purchases I've ever made from Amazon have been school books. That has resulted in a rather skewed, and slightly eclectic, list of books that Amazon is convinced I will like.
In the few instances where I've bought non-school-related items off Amazon, I've bought a strange variety, including tire chains and a book on Christianity for my Mom. Combined with a random assortment of school books, I imagine I'm one Amazon customer profile that is decidedly inaccurate. Fortunately for me, this makes it rather easy to ignore the suggestions Amazon constantly e-mails me.
Somehow, though, Amazon has discovered my weakness for shoes and have recently begun sending me shoe-related e-mails. I've clicked through and browsed, but I've yet to succumb to the temptation...
Let's see how long I hold out.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
The Mud Puddle That Is E-book Rights
What constitutes e-book rights? PDF distribution? Kindle distribution? iPhone app distribution? XML format distribution? Because of the recent growth of these e-book formats, the general term "e-book rights" is just not easily--or clearly--defined.
With Amazon's announcement last week about the February 24 release date of the new-and-improved, more user friendly, slimmer Kindle (known as the Kindle2) came debate over e-book rights. See, the Kindle2 has a built-in text-to-audio feature that has the Authors Guild concerned about audio rights.
The question is: where in the gray area of e-book rights does an electronic device's ability to read text aloud fall? Is it an infringement upon publishers' ability to release audio versions of their books or sell the subsidiary audio rights?
I'm not sure I see how the Kindle2's text-to-audio feature differs much from the text-to-audio available on my laptop. I doubt the Kindle2's text-to-audio software can recreate the experience of listening to a book recorded by a live person, particularly if the software reads in a similar manner as my GPS or laptop. I don't know about anybody else, but I couldn't stand to sit through an entire 75,000+ word novel being read back to me by an electronic, simulated voice.
But, I could be wrong. Maybe many people will clamor for the Kindle2 when it releases next Tuesday, and maybe they will all fall in love with it's audio feature. If that's the case, then I think the Authors Guild will have reason to warn its members about negotiating e-book rights in their contracts.
Until then, the Kindle2's voice simulator is simply another uncertainty in a developing tenet of publishing that only time will be able to answer.
With Amazon's announcement last week about the February 24 release date of the new-and-improved, more user friendly, slimmer Kindle (known as the Kindle2) came debate over e-book rights. See, the Kindle2 has a built-in text-to-audio feature that has the Authors Guild concerned about audio rights.
The question is: where in the gray area of e-book rights does an electronic device's ability to read text aloud fall? Is it an infringement upon publishers' ability to release audio versions of their books or sell the subsidiary audio rights?
I'm not sure I see how the Kindle2's text-to-audio feature differs much from the text-to-audio available on my laptop. I doubt the Kindle2's text-to-audio software can recreate the experience of listening to a book recorded by a live person, particularly if the software reads in a similar manner as my GPS or laptop. I don't know about anybody else, but I couldn't stand to sit through an entire 75,000+ word novel being read back to me by an electronic, simulated voice.
But, I could be wrong. Maybe many people will clamor for the Kindle2 when it releases next Tuesday, and maybe they will all fall in love with it's audio feature. If that's the case, then I think the Authors Guild will have reason to warn its members about negotiating e-book rights in their contracts.
Until then, the Kindle2's voice simulator is simply another uncertainty in a developing tenet of publishing that only time will be able to answer.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Want to e-mail me? You've got a few options.
We've been discussing e-mail marketing campaigns in class and in order to blog along those lines, we have been challenged to think about the different e-mail accounts we each have and what we use them for.
There's my Gmail account that I snatched up when you still needed an "invite" to sign up. This is the address I use for both personal and professional e-mails and has become my primary account over the last several years. It's the address my family and friends use. It's where my daily publishing news and New York Times arrive. It's the account attached to bills and the one I used to send out resumes before I decided I'd rather go straight to graduate school than work for a few years. It's kind of my multi-purpose address, and it works well because Gmail has an excellent spam filter that I just skim once or twice a week to make sure nothing important was flagged. While I know lots of people with many e-mail addresses for different purposes, I'm all about the convenience of keeping it all in one spot.
I also have a Yahoo! account that I've had since middle school. I used to check this frequently, even after it was no longer my primary e-mail, but it has become the spam account and now gets checked and cleared out once a month or so. This account used to be associated with several online networks I'm still active on, but I just recently switched all of those to a different account. I think I'm subconsciously preparing to stop checking my Yahoo! address and will just let it expire. Sorry, Yahoo! I just haven't been a fan of your newest redesign.
There's also my Portland State University Webmail address. If you have not had the pleasure of using PSU's Webmail system, consider yourself lucky. It is worthless and archaic, yet I have to use it because I do get some important e-mails there, especially because it's where I'm granted access to the account I need to do my job as Marketing Co-Manager for Ooligan.
PSU IT...if you come across this, please give us an upgrade. Please.
I also have my newest e-mail, the Gmail account I created specifically for this class. So far it's only purpose is to use Blogger and other Google business tools that we've discussed in class.
I did have to really think about this, probably because I have several institutions I'm not affiliated with anymore and thanks to mail forwarding, I'm just not sure which are active and which aren't. Mail forwarding made it so that I haven't had to log into them in a very long time; it all goes to one place...What would I do without my trusty, all-purpose Gmail account?!
There's my Gmail account that I snatched up when you still needed an "invite" to sign up. This is the address I use for both personal and professional e-mails and has become my primary account over the last several years. It's the address my family and friends use. It's where my daily publishing news and New York Times arrive. It's the account attached to bills and the one I used to send out resumes before I decided I'd rather go straight to graduate school than work for a few years. It's kind of my multi-purpose address, and it works well because Gmail has an excellent spam filter that I just skim once or twice a week to make sure nothing important was flagged. While I know lots of people with many e-mail addresses for different purposes, I'm all about the convenience of keeping it all in one spot.
I also have a Yahoo! account that I've had since middle school. I used to check this frequently, even after it was no longer my primary e-mail, but it has become the spam account and now gets checked and cleared out once a month or so. This account used to be associated with several online networks I'm still active on, but I just recently switched all of those to a different account. I think I'm subconsciously preparing to stop checking my Yahoo! address and will just let it expire. Sorry, Yahoo! I just haven't been a fan of your newest redesign.
There's also my Portland State University Webmail address. If you have not had the pleasure of using PSU's Webmail system, consider yourself lucky. It is worthless and archaic, yet I have to use it because I do get some important e-mails there, especially because it's where I'm granted access to the account I need to do my job as Marketing Co-Manager for Ooligan.
PSU IT...if you come across this, please give us an upgrade. Please.
I also have my newest e-mail, the Gmail account I created specifically for this class. So far it's only purpose is to use Blogger and other Google business tools that we've discussed in class.
I did have to really think about this, probably because I have several institutions I'm not affiliated with anymore and thanks to mail forwarding, I'm just not sure which are active and which aren't. Mail forwarding made it so that I haven't had to log into them in a very long time; it all goes to one place...What would I do without my trusty, all-purpose Gmail account?!
Monday, February 9, 2009
A Final CPSIA Update
This morning's PW Daily finally gave the answer to the question children's book publishers have been waiting for since August. On Friday the Consumer Products Safety Commission gave its final ruling on book publishers and the Consumer Product Safety Information Act, an act that would potentially render thousands of books unsaleable because of its strict lead testing requirements.
Fortunately for publishers, the CPSC decided that "ordinary" books will be exempt from the stricter testing requirements, given that they were published after 1985. According to the CPSC, an "ordinary" book is one that is ink-on-paper or ink-on-board. As of this most recent ruling, it will only be publishers of "special" books that involve plastics or other novelties who will need to prove their books' safety before sale.
This is wonderful news for publishers considering three weeks ago they were wondering if they were going to have entire warehouses of books that were unsaleable, but I can't help but ask the CPSC: why 1985?
Now instead of delving into the issues for publishers, we can attempt to answer all kinds of questions about the law's impact on the used bookseller...will used bookstores be a thing of the past in the near future?
Fortunately for publishers, the CPSC decided that "ordinary" books will be exempt from the stricter testing requirements, given that they were published after 1985. According to the CPSC, an "ordinary" book is one that is ink-on-paper or ink-on-board. As of this most recent ruling, it will only be publishers of "special" books that involve plastics or other novelties who will need to prove their books' safety before sale.
This is wonderful news for publishers considering three weeks ago they were wondering if they were going to have entire warehouses of books that were unsaleable, but I can't help but ask the CPSC: why 1985?
Now instead of delving into the issues for publishers, we can attempt to answer all kinds of questions about the law's impact on the used bookseller...will used bookstores be a thing of the past in the near future?
Friday, February 6, 2009
Ooligan Press Commemorates Oregon's 150th Birthday With Upcoming Release of Oregon at Work: 1859-2009
On April 8, Ooligan Press will celebrate the release of an exciting new book commemorating Oregon's sesquicentennial (150th birthday). Written by Tom Fuller and Art Ayer, both Oregon Employment Department employees, Oregon at Work: 1859-2009 explores the role that work has played in shaping the state's history. The book is a partner project of the Oregon 150 Commission and features a foreword by Oregon governor Ted Kulongoski.
Fuller and Ayer tell Oregon's work and economic history through the stories, photographs, memories, and momentos of real Oregonians. Some of the stories have been passed down from generation to generation and begin with Oregon's statehood in 1859. Other stories are more recent, highlighting Oregon's growth from farming, mining, and logging country to include high tech businesses, earning parts of the state the nickname of Silicon Forest.
For more information on Oregon at Work: 1859-2009, other Ooligan Press titles, and Ooligan Press Oregon 150 events, please visit http://ooligan.pdx.edu
Fuller and Ayer tell Oregon's work and economic history through the stories, photographs, memories, and momentos of real Oregonians. Some of the stories have been passed down from generation to generation and begin with Oregon's statehood in 1859. Other stories are more recent, highlighting Oregon's growth from farming, mining, and logging country to include high tech businesses, earning parts of the state the nickname of Silicon Forest.
For more information on Oregon at Work: 1859-2009, other Ooligan Press titles, and Ooligan Press Oregon 150 events, please visit http://ooligan.pdx.edu
Sunday, February 1, 2009
CPSIA Update
Finally, a bit of good news for the publishing industry!
Remember my post from two weeks ago detailing the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act and its potential impact on publishers?
On Friday, the Consumer Product Safety Commission approved a one-year delay to the testing requirements that threatened to render warehouses of books useless.
According to a PW article announcing the delay, all items on store shelves will need to be "safe" as of the February 10 deadline, but proof of third-party testing will not be required until next year and, at that time, may or may not include all books.
The question of requirement has still not been answered for publishing companies, but at least pallets of books will not be tossed to the dumpster come February 10. It's a small victory, and an uncertain one, but it's one that the publishing industry desperately needed amidst news of slow sales, layoffs, and closures.
Now I just hope the CPSC gets their act together sooner rather than later so we aren't faced with the same questions and dilemmas next January, and so that publishers can get forget thinking about potential testing costs and can get back to doing what they do best: publishing safe books for kids.
Remember my post from two weeks ago detailing the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act and its potential impact on publishers?
On Friday, the Consumer Product Safety Commission approved a one-year delay to the testing requirements that threatened to render warehouses of books useless.
According to a PW article announcing the delay, all items on store shelves will need to be "safe" as of the February 10 deadline, but proof of third-party testing will not be required until next year and, at that time, may or may not include all books.
The question of requirement has still not been answered for publishing companies, but at least pallets of books will not be tossed to the dumpster come February 10. It's a small victory, and an uncertain one, but it's one that the publishing industry desperately needed amidst news of slow sales, layoffs, and closures.
Now I just hope the CPSC gets their act together sooner rather than later so we aren't faced with the same questions and dilemmas next January, and so that publishers can get forget thinking about potential testing costs and can get back to doing what they do best: publishing safe books for kids.
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