Get a Clue

“Napoleon. George Washington. William Shakespeare. What if all the greatest figures in history were part of one huge secret family? What if you discovered that you were one of that elite clan?”

A new obsession is about to hit the tween reading world–The 39 Clues.  It’s part-novel series, part-scavenger hunt, part-card game and all fun!

According to Amazon’s description:

The 39 Clues is Scholastic’s groundbreaking new series, spanning 10 adrenaline-charged books, 350 trading cards, and an online game where readers play a part in the story and compete for over $100,000 in prizes.

The 39 Clues books set the story, and the cards, website and game allow kids to participate in it. Kids visit the website - the39clues.com - and discover they are lost members of the Cahill family. They set up online accounts where they can compete against other kids and against Cahill characters to find all 39 clues. Through the website, kids can track their points and clues, manage their card collections, dig through the Cahill archives for secrets, and “travel” the world to collect Cahill artifacts, interview characters, and hunt down clues. Collecting cards helps: Each card is a piece of evidence containing information on a Cahill, a clue, or a family secret.

The series is written by four different authors. The first book The Map of Bones is written by Rick Riordan, who is the author of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series.  The next book One False Note will come out in December and is written by Gordon Korman.

This series really goes the extra mile to incorporate reading fun with an on-line experience. Clues are hidden throughout the Internet and the prizes are real. 

This looks like great fun for the whole family. I’m going to have to read these even though my little ones are quite old enough yet to appreciate them.  Have you started yet? Tell me what you think.

Weekly Links–Great Books edition

There are so many wonderful book-related sites I can only scrape the surface, but here goes.

Like GoodReads, Shelfari is a social network for book lovers. Keep track of what everyone is reading. My favorite feature of Shelfari, however is a very nifty widget for sharing your “bookshelf” with the world.

Paperspine is the Netflix of books.  For a monthly fee $9.99 and up, you can rent books, keeping them for as long as you want before returning them and receiving the next book on your list.  If you don’t live near a good library or don’t like late fees, this could be a really nice option.  You get to enjoy the book, but you don’t have to front the full cost.  Booksfree is a similar service.

If you don’t want to go the monthly fee route, you can get books free, for the cost of postage, at PaperBackSwap, an on-line lending library of sorts.  Learn more about how you can join the community and get credits for lending out your books. 

Open Books Radio is a weekly conversation with authors. You can download interviews from the website to learn more about your favorite authors or ones you’ve never heard of.

Librivox  volunteers record chapters of books in the public domain and release the audio files back onto the net. Their goal is to make all public domain books available as free audio books.  Download mp3 or podcasts of classics and listen in your car, at home or while you workout.  Also great for students who need reading support to follow along in their book while they listen to the story.

I could go on and on, but that is probably enough for now. Enjoy!

Book Week–Kindle

I can’t let my “book week” pass without commenting on Amazon’s Kindle . I’m sure in the future we may all get our books this way, but for now, I think, I still prefer good ol’ ink and paper.
The Kindle is a hand-held device that allows you to download more than 140,000+ titles directly via its 3G network. No hotspot needed. Subscribe to your favorite newspapers, read your favorite blogs and catch up on the latest bestseller all from its 6-inch “electronic-paper” display.
I have to say I am intrigued to see how the display looks. It isn’t backlit like other electronic screens, which supposedly cuts down on the glare. The closest I have gotten to one was Jeff Bezos on The Martha Stewart Show a few months ago.
However, they do have a community called “See a Kindle in Your City” to help you connect with others who have one and might let you take a look. I couldn’t find any takers in my neck of the woods.
At $359 a pop, I’m certainly not going to run out and buy one without seeing it in person. Honestly, I love books, but I don’t buy that many. That hasn’t always been the case, but now I am in the library with my kids so much I don’t really see the need to. It would take me a long time to recoup my costs at $9.99 a book, but finance website Wesabe has done an interesting analysis to see how long it would take to make your money back.
The Kindle has six different font sizes so those with vision difficulties might benefit, however that might mean your fingers tire of scrolling. I’m curious if the text looks as it does in the printed book or if it is standard Times New Roman or something.

In other pros, there is the environmentally-friendly aspect in that it isn’t using paper to print all the books, newspapers, etc. you might read. Also, if you are a traveller or you have a commute by train or bus, this may be a great way to take your reading materials without having the extra weight.
Do you have a Kindle? What do you think of it? Why did you choose to buy it?

Book Week–Read any good books lately?

Want to keep up with the best books, see what your friends are reading, and track your book history? You can with Goodreads.

When I was in middle school, my best friend and I were on a reading team together at our local library. From then on, we would often share great books we found. As we grew, years and distance kept us from sharing until recently when she introduced me to Goodreads.  Now I get updates as she adds new reviews to her “now reading” list or updates to her “must-read” shelf.

What’s more you can explore what the community finds interesting, join a discussion group, start a book club, chat with authors and more.  Now you can search by the most popular, most read and even unpopular books. You can also explore listopia with lists like “The Thickest Books Ever,” “The Worst Books of All Time, and “The Best Books of 2008″.

Want to learn more? There is a video tour posted on the goodreads blog.

Book Week–Looky Here

I love books, and I love teaching my kids to love books. We’re big friends of our local libraries, but cyberspace offers some help, too.  Let me introduce you to my friend, Lookybook.

Lookybook has been making a splash on parent blogs and for good reason. It’s awesome!
 

Ever wanted to peruse children’s book selections before plunking down the $15-25 they run these days?  If you are like me, there is no time with kids in tow to really explore the book before you buy. Lookybook has solved the problem by making it possible to view entire books from cover to cover “in all their splendor.”

Not only that, but every book can be reviewed, rated, shared, put on your bookshelf or purchased. See what other parents think are the best books and learn about titles you didn’t know existed.

While it isn’t quite the same as snuggling with your child and a book in your lap, you can still enjoy the experience together as you digitally turn the pages of new books and discover new ones to bring home.

Have fun!