The first is Children's Book World in Haverford, Pennsylvania. This was just the best event ever. The booksellers at Children's Book World went all out. Also, I have family and friends in the Haverford area who were able to come. Thank you, Children's Book World, for throwing a FABULOUS party, and also for giving me the venue to perform in front of loved ones, including my parents.
 |
| At Children's Book World... |
 |
| ... I got to sit on a throne and read to the lovely people! |
 |
| Check out the spread! |
 |
| Blue cupcakes. Blueberries. Key cookies. |
 |
| Bread! |
The second is Wild Rumpus, in Minneapolis. I had a school event with Wild Rumpus, then had the opportunity to visit the store afterwards. If you're ever in Minneapolis, you need to check out this store.
 |
| Wild Rumpus has a big door for big people (which I managed to cut off on top, sorry -- it's the gray part) and an inset (purple) little door for little people. |
 |
| It also has a chicken. Two, actually. |
 |
| And (the world's most mellow) cat. |
 |
| And a fish tank in the bathroom. And other animals, too, that I didn't get good pictures of. |
 |
| It also happens to have an alternate world breaking through the ceiling. |
 |
| And a table devoted to books that have serious girls with flowing hair on their covers. |
Guys? Only independent bookstores can be this awesome.
***
Now that rant I promised. Here goes. I know there are a lot of people who love to read books electronically, and I'm really happy it works for them, but I have to say, I think e-books have a long, long, LONG way to go. The problem is quite simple, but it's also enormous: Often, in order to have a complete and satisfying reading experience, a reader wants and needs to be looking at numerous pages of a book at once. Also, often, a reader needs to be able to flip from one part of a book to another instantly, and I mean INSTANTLY, the way many people can do with fingers on paper but still not on any of our electronics. And not just flip from one place to another -- flip through one section, sometimes even while having other sections open. I use all ten of my fingers when I read.
E-readers are still too clunky and slow for me, e-readers show me too little of a book at once, e-readers are a hugely limited reading experience compared to what my eyes, hands, and fingers can do with a book made of paper. While I was on tour, I was reading The Night Circus on my e-reader. I cannot tell you how frequently I thought to myself, while reading that book, that this technology isn't worthy of the art it's trying to support. My e-reader was an insult to the book. A book like that requires and deserves a support platform that allows you to be perusing many, many sections of the book at once, instantly and easily. My e-reader traps the book too much in space and time (which is particularly ironic with this particular book ^_^). BLECH! BLECH, I SAY!!! The night I got home from my tour, I was SO RELIEVED to switch over to the paper copy of the book. Which paper copy was a gift to me, from one of the independent bookstores on my tour (thank you, Anderson's Bookshop in Naperville, IL!) ^_^.
That is all.
