The Results Are In! (Poll #8)

The readers of the newly redesigned The Bookshelf have voiced their opinions; the results to Poll #8 are in! Poll #8 addressed the topic of the ever-debatable and ever-changing market of eBooks and eReaders. I imagine everyone understands what eReaders and eBooks are by now, but for the theoretical few that may not, this previous post might be handy to you. 

Amazon Kindle

My views on eReaders and eBooks are mixed. On the one side, paper will always be my most favorite form of book. I enjoy holding the book in my hands, feeling the cover, turning the pages, and easily jumping from the front of the book to a page in the back. However, on the other side of my mind, the defendant side, I truly recognize that the material, the words, and the story are not at all different in the eBook format than the paper format. I also recognize that eReaders and eBooks aren’t leaving any time soon – they’re too popular to just stop existing one day. It is my hope that the paper book will share that same outcome. I do not think paper books will become obsolete because paper books have been around for thousands of years. The Amazon Kindle, the most popular eReader, was first released in 2007, just four years ago. I believe that a world with equal parts e- and paper books would be perfect.

Time for the poll results!

The question: What are your views on eReaders and eBooks?

And the results:

• They are the way of the future! Paper books are the past! 3 votes, 12%
• They're nice, but paper books are better. 12 votes, 50%
• I think both eBooks and paper books are excellent! 4 votes, 16%
• eBooks and eReaders are horrible! 2 votes, 8%
• I've never read an eBook, so I'm not sure. 3 votes, 12%

Nook Color

The clear winner is option number two, “eBooks = good, paper books = better”. Second place, and my personal opinion, is “eBooks = paper books = excellent!” Tied for third was “eBooks > paper books” and “eBooks = ?” Interestingly, there were only two votes for “eBooks are D:< ” compared to the three votes that “eBooks are :D” received. I like that option number two won because it says that both e- and paper books are good, but that eBooks and eReaders will need much improvement until they reach the level of awesome that is reserved for paper books.

Thank you so much for the total of twenty-four (twenty-four!) votes! Unfortunately, there will be no polls in August. But don’t fear! August will be filled with a great deal of reviews, recommendations, summaries, and news! A new poll, topic yet to be revealed, will be published in mid-September.

– Jacob 

(images via and via)

Poll #8: eReaders + eBooks

It’s reward time! After Poll #7’s absolutely smashing, record-breaking results, I thought it would be fun to have another poll, because they are a great way to for you, the readers of The Bookshelf, to participate and have your voices heard. I present to you Poll #8!

I imagine everyone has now heard of eReaders and eBooks (if not, please read this post) and the impact they have brought into both the literary and technological worlds. eReaders are devices, oft called “the iPods of books,” from which you can purchase and read eBooks. An eBook is an electronic copy of a regular book. The only difference is that you don’t get the full experience of a regular book with actual pages, designs, and (with some eReaders) color. Amazon.com introduced the first eReader, their famous Kindle, in 2007. The Kindle remains the most popular eReader on the market, surpassing the Barnes and Noble Nook, Sony Reader, and the Kobo eReader (I’m not including the iPod Touch, iPhone, and the iPad, because they’re considered more than eReaders). However, not only is Amazon’s Kindle the bestselling eReader; their eBook sales aren’t too shabby, either. On May 19th of this year, Amazon announced that, only after four years of selling eBooks, their eBooks sales surpassed the sales of their hardcover, “real,” paper books.

This news is monumental, especially with people saying that one day paper books will become obsolete, and that eBooks will take over for good. I, and many others, will be horrified if paper books become obsolete. I cannot envision a world without paper books. Imagine how different things would be: Would libraries lend eBooks instead? And bookstores? Would they all be online? Textbooks? Would every schoolchild be issued an eReader instead of an armload of textbooks? I own a Barnes and Noble Nook, and I use it fairly often (I buy probably fifteen books a year on it). However, nothing is more beautiful to me than “actual” paper books, available in a wide variety of shiny and muted colors, sitting on my bookshelf. Speaking of bookshelves, if paper books become extinct, will people even use the word “bookshelf” anymore? If not, what meaning will my blog’s title have?

the original Kindle

Please, don’t miss understand me; eBooks, in certain circumstances, can be very cool and very innovative. And, despite not being in paper, is the same book in both formats. And I suppose that should be the main concern: the writing, creativity, and thought in the book, not the format it arrives in. So, without further ado, Poll #8’s question:

What are your views on eReaders and eBooks? You can find the poll, along with its answer options above the “about me” section on the right side of the page. Please vote! The last poll was so successful, and I suspect this one will be nothing less! Make your vote and let your voice be heard, because the poll closes on July 31st at midnight!

Do you think eBooks are awesome? Or do you not want paper books to become obsolete? Now is the time to let your opinion out in a peaceful way. VOTE!

– Jacob

PS: You can find just about any book in eBook format these days. Even the Harry Potter series (final movie comes out on Friday!), which J.K. Rowling once insisted not to become eBooks, will be available in eBook format in October, through a website called Pottermore. For more eBook sale stats, please visit this website.

(images via and via)

The Results Are In! (Poll #7)

WE DID IT! Or rather, YOU DID IT! Here, in all its glittery, poorly designed glory are the results to the RECORD-BREAKING Poll #7! (For those of you, do not want to suffer the pain of reading my poorly designed monstrosity, you will find the written results of Poll #7 under the picture page spread.)

If you're wondering why there is a girl shooting a shark with a...harpoon gun (?), it's because it's the only (legal) online Guinness World Record page spread that worked with the information that I had....

Easy-to-read results:

First place: Yes, I may read a few books with thirteen votes! What a wonderful first place – it's not an extreme (like, "Yes, I'll be reading five hundred pages a day!" or on the other side of the spectrum, "No. Books disgust me."); it's a perfect medium.

Second and Third Places: Yes! I'll be reading throughout the summer (with ten votes) and Maybe, it depends on how busy I am (with six votes).

Last Place: With ZERO votes, No! Why would I read during the summer? Thankfully, there were zero votes. I mean, really? Whether you're into books or not, you'll probably be reading something over the summer: newspapers, Facebook status updates, cereal boxes, etc, etc. For those hypothetical people (since no one actually vote for this option), I dare you to count how many  times per day you read something. I imagine you'll be surprise.

Add up all the votes: 13 + 10 + 6... and you get TWENTY-NINE VOTES! A new record for The Bookshelf, with twelve votes more than the previous record (Poll #5 - seventeen votes). I am so proud of you guys (and girls)! You've set a difficult record to beat, but I have feeling that we can do it again next time! Look for Poll #8 arriving around mid July!

Thank you!

– Jacob

Poll #7: Summer Reading, Revisited

About a year and a month ago, I created the first poll for The Bookshelf, titled Summer Reading. Today, June 21st, is the first day of summer, so I thought it seemed fit to have another summer reading poll on The Bookshelf – a clone of the original. That's right; I'm republishing last year's post with the same question and the same answer options. Some may call this idea lazy, others may call it genius; a brilliant way to see the growth and development of a blog and its readers over a time period of one year. I prefer the latter opinion.    

With that being said, Poll #7 is up and ready to receive precious votes! Remember that we are trying to create a record number of votes on a single poll for The Bookshelf! The current record is taken by Poll #5: Books into Movies, with seventeen votes. We can do better than that! Even if we only make to eighteen votes, we will still have accomplished something. FYI, if the record is broken, a special results post will be posted. It will be like the Guinness Book of World Records, only ten times greater.

The question, same as last year's, Do you plan to read this summer? Following the question are four answer options, also the same as last year's. GO VOTE! If you can only do one thing on this blog, that one thing should be voting on this poll (And, you know, you should appreciate books and their book review counterparts, too...). As always, the poll is located on the right side of the page, above the "about me" section. The poll closes on Thursday, July 7th, so make sure to have your voice heard before time runs out!

The time for summer is here, as is the time for summer reading!

– Jacob

P.S: You may have noticed that this post is shorter than some of my more recent ones (i.e. all posts from this year). This is because, after reading the original, short Poll #1: Summer Reading post, I realized that their can be beauty in simplistic, yet meaningful posts. However, do not expect this to happen often.

Hey! You, yeah, you! Stop reading this postscript and go VOTE! (please.)

(image via)

The Results Are In! (Poll #6)

The readers of The Bookshelf have voiced their opinions – the results for the sixth poll, the enjoyment/unenjoyment/neutrality of graphic novels, are in! Graphic novels, known as comic books to many, are stories that are told with pictures. They come in many different forms. There is the original comic book with panels and speech bubbles; manga, which is a Japanese variation of the comic book that reads back-to-front and right-to-left (con.fus.ing); the average novel, with black and white pictures interspersed within the text (examples would be Diary of a Wimpy Kid or Happyface, a book I have reviewed); and there’s the simple picture book. 

Manga

I typically prefer the words of a story over the illustrations. However, the graphic novel is an ever-growing form of literature, art, and fandom. Graphic novels have created new readers and art addicts alike. Due to all the hype and all the expansion of graphic novels, I decided to challenge myself by reading one this month. I chose a graphic novel that would be of interest to me: Anne Frank, the Graphic Biography. Earlier this month I reviewed the original heart-breaking and inspiring novel. I decided that I would like to experience the wonderful tale of willpower and resilience in a different format. A review of Anne Frank, the Graphic Biography will published later today.

On to the results!

The question: Do you like graphic novels? The answer options and results:

• Yes! They are the only books I read! 2 votes, 15%
• Yes, I enjoy both novels and graphic novels. 4 votes, 30%
• They’re OK. The pictures are nice, but I prefer the words. 5 votes 38%
• No, I don’t read books with pictures. 2 votes, 15%

A collection of comic book onomatopoeia

I’m happy to see that all answer options were voted for; a great sense of a variety of different readers is found on this blog. I’m also happy to see that the third option won because that is my views on graphic novels also! Thirteen votes were recorded for The Bookshelf’s sixth poll. Thirteen is the second highest amount of votes on any poll on The Bookshelf – only to be beat out by Poll #5: Books into Movies, with seventeen votes. Thank you, thank you (thank you) so much to everyone who voted, but I know we can do better! I’m offering an opportunity for us to make a record number of votes on the next poll. That’s right; on Tuesday Poll #7 will be published! It will be open until early/mid July – plenty of time for us to establish a new record for The Bookshelf!

(images via and via)

Poll #6: Graphic Novels

The graphic novel is an ever-expanding form of literature. Originally only available in the form of the comic book, graphic novels were typically only read by “nerds” and “geeks” and the occasional “dweeb.” However, now the term graphic novel has expanded its definition. Many people, new to both graphic novels and reading itself, have recently discovered the joy of graphic novels and the different varieties in which they are presented. Of course, there’s the original comic book, but there’s also manga, a Japanese form of graphic novels, read from back to front and right to left (talk about confusing…); there’s the novel with pictures, usually black and white, interspersed (think Diary of a Wimpy Kid or Happyface, a book I reviewed); and lastly there’s the picture book – the simple story with simple sentences with simple words. As you can see, graphic novels are a growing form of both literature and art; a storm that has gripped people of all ages.

Manga

I have mentioned previously that I do not care for this form of literature. I greatly prefer words, and the power and wisdom that they offer, over illustrations. After reading Happyface, by Stephen Emond, my stance on graphic novels changed slightly. But Happyface was an exceptionally written novel, with pictures added here and there. So, I suppose I will be able to tolerate the novels with added pictures from now on.  But what about the comics and manga? Unfortunately, I do not see myself liking those types of graphic novels; too many pictures, not enough words.

However, I am always open to new ideas and formats when it comes to books. So for this month of June I, and you, the readers of The Bookshelf, hopefully alongside me, will be reading one graphic novel. Since this is going to be tough for me – I have a difficult time focusing while reading an uninteresting book – I have chosen to read a graphic novel that might appeal to me: Anne Frank, the Graphic Biography. It is an authorized, sponsored the Anne Frank House, edition of The Diary of a Young Girl. I thought it would be appropriate to choose Anne Frank because I just recently reviewed the original edition of the inspiring, heart-stealing diary. This edition of Anne Frank is written/illustrated as a comic book; it has panels and speech bubbles, but still reads front to back, left to right. I will be publishing a review on this edition of The Diary of a Young Girl, however, the review will not focus on the content of the story, but more on the illustrations, the imagery, and how it compares to the original. 

The review for the graphic novel edition of Anne Frank will be published June 18th, the same day that…wait for it…Poll #6 ends! Yes, the wait is finally over (and I know some of you have been waiting a long time)! Today, I present to you a new poll, one that will be asking your opinion on graphic novels! Don’t worry if you’ve never read a graphic novel before, or if you’ve only read one specific type, or even if you are just learning about graphic novels; everyone’s opinion is valuable. 

The question: Do you like graphic novels? You can find the answer options – and vote too! – above the “about me” section on the right side of the page. Vote now! The poll closes on June 18th!

(images via and via)

The Results Are In! (Poll #5)

The readers of The Bookshelf have voiced their opinions, and the results of the fifth poll are in! After reading and reviewing I Am Number Four, which is now a movie, I was inspired to create a poll to see how other people like their favorite (or even not so favorite) books being adapted into movie form. I believe it is safe to say that no one thinks the movie adaptions are better than the books, but there are a few movies that stay pretty truthful to the book counterpart. However, in my opinion, the number of movie disasters that don't stay truthful to the books greatly outnumber those that do. Head on over to this post to read more about a very fragile subject, deep and personal to me...

On to the results! The question: What's your view on books being made into movies? And the results:

• They're great - I love seeing my favorite books on the big screen! 0 votes, 0%
• They can be pretty good, but often don't stay truthful to the book. 11 votes, 64%
• I don't watch them because I know they won't be good. 4 votes, 23%
• Two words: absolutely horrible! 2 votes, 11%

As you can see, option numero dos is the winner, with well over half of the votes. This is how I, and according to this poll, everyone else, think about books being made into movies; they can be good, but only if the Hollywood puts in the effort to stay truthful to the book. Thankfully, no one voted for option number one (it pained me to type that option). Second and third place were I don't see them at all and horrible!, respectively.

And the biggest win, well at least for me, was that seventeen people voted - a NEW RECORD for The Bookshelf. Thanks, you guys. I just may have to publish an extra, reward poll sometime soon (hint, hint).

Poll #5: Books Into Movies

Since reviewing I Am Number Four, which is being adapted into movie to be released later this month, I’ve had the concept of books into movies in my mind. I think it’s fair to say that the book is almost always better than its movie counterpart, but some movie adaptions hold pretty close to the original book. And there are those that are so far away from the book, it might as well be a whole different story.

The Harry Potter film series is a great example of how a movie can be truthful to the book. They’re not entirely the same, but awfully close. And with the release of the last Harry Potter movie this year, Harry Potter and Deathly Hallows Part II, it’s going to be sad to know that there probably won’t be any more truthful and accurate adaptions for a while.

A good, or bad, example of bad movie adaptions of books is last year’s release of Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief. I really shouldn’t talk about this because I’ll just rant on forever, never stopping. Let’s just say I, and millions of others, were greatly upset by the direction they took with the film. And it shows in the critics’ reviews, too. What was really upsetting was that it was directed by Chris Columbus, the same guy that directed the first two Harry Potter films and produced the third (however, he did not discover the New World). I just guess I expected more.

So, you get what I’m saying? Books into movies can be really good or really bad. And I suppose I can see why; most move scripts are 90-175 pages, not like books which are, typically, 250-800 pages. Also, movie producers want to try to make the story their own, unique and special, so I can see how that would cause some changes in the movies, too.

Anyways, let’s get to the main point of this post: the unveiling of a new poll! This is the fifth poll on The Bookshelf, and it’s about the adaption of books into movies and what you, the readers of The Bookshelf, think about them. The poll, as usual, is located on the right side of the page, under the “about me” section. Please, please, please vote! There’s no reason not to – you don’t have to be eighteen to vote here! So far there’s no official, set in concrete, poll closing date yet, but I’m thinking maybe March 12th?

To thank you for reading this unnecessarily too long post, I have included some info about upcoming books into movies release dates in 2011:

I Am Number Four, Feb. 18

Beastly, March 4

Water for Elephants, April 22

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II, July 15

The Help, Aug. 12

Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part I, Nov. 18

Hugo Cabret, Dec. 9

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Dec. 21 (this is actually the second adaptation of this book)

...

And just because I’m excited about this one,

The Hunger Games, March 23, 2012!

I cannot wait for The Hunger Games movie, if you can’t tell.

Well that’s it, now go vote!

The Results Are In! (Polls #3 and #4)

The polls are closed, and the results are in! There was two polls this time, each receiving the same amount of votes. The questions for the two polls were very similar, while also being very different at the same time. Poll question #1: What is your favorite genre(s) of fiction?, and #2: What is your favorite genre(s) of nonfiction? Both polls received twelve votes. This is a new record for The Bookshelf! This is great, but I believe that we can do better! On our next poll (which will be coming soon), let's strive for over twelve votes. Even if it's only thirteen! :) Now on to the results...

Romance was the big winner among the genres of fiction, and biographies/memoirs dominated the genres of nonfiction. You can view the rest of the poll results on the polls themselves (right side of the page under the "about me" section). They show the amount of votes each answer option received, and its percentage out of the total votes placed.

I would like to give big THANK YOU to everyone who voted, and to remind everyone to look forward to a new poll coming soon!

Polls #3 and #4: Genres

Wow, it's been a while since the last poll (June 12th)! Due to the vast amount of time since the previous poll, I have decided to publish two polls, poll #3 and #4.

I was originally going to post only one poll, What is your favorite genre(s) of book?, until I realized how many genres of book there are, especially genres of nonfiction. So, I have decided to post two polls: one genres of fiction, the other genres of nonfiction. This means that my unawareness of the amount of genres out there has given you two polls. :)

Another good thing about these polls, is that you can choose more than answer. This is great for people, like me, who enjoy more than one genre. The polls are under the "about me" section, on the right side of the page.

If you don't see your favorite genre on the poll, I'm sorry. You can add it into the comment section, and if I get more than one request for that genre, I'll add it into the results on August 1st (the day the poll ends).

Thank you for your patience, and please, please, please vote!

Long Time, No Post

Hi everyone,
I'm sorry that it has been so long since the last post, but I have been very busy, and very tired the past five days. Since it has been so long since the last post, I have decided to make one big post with everything I've been meaning to tell you. I will number each new topic:

1. My trip to Europe:
As I mentioned in previous posts, I was on a school trip to France and Spain from the 19th to the 28th. While in France, I traveled to Paris and Provence. Provence is located in south France, and is known as a region or department (these are similar to states). Our group then traveled to Barcelona, Spain. I enjoyed visiting all of these places in Europe, and will talk about them more (and add more pictures! :D) in later posts.

2. What I read in Europe:
Nothing. Of course, I read signs, menus, and price tags, but I did not have any time to enjoy a book. Two posts ago, I told you about two books that I was going to read on the trip. Unfortunately, I never picked one of them up, because we were waking up at 6am, and going to sleep at 11pm. With this busy schedule, we were happy if our feet didn't have blisters. We wouldn't know what to do if our tour director told us to take an one-hour break. I'm not saying that we didn't have fun, but there was never a moment when our group had nothing to do.

3. What I've been reading:
Since getting home, I've read Android Karenina, one of the two books mentioned two posts ago. It's the same as Anna Karenina, but with added robots. It's published by the same people who created the Jane Austen mash-ups (remember Pride and Prejudice and Zombies?). I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys sci fi, and anyone who is skeptical to read the 800+ page, soap opera-like original by Leo Tolstoy.

4. Book Ends:
Recently, my gifted teacher has started a summer enrichment program. One of the options to choose from this program is a book club, called Book Ends. I was unable to attend the first meeting, because I was on my trip, but I plan to attend the next on Tuesday, the 6th. The first book that the club will be reading is His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik. Click the link to learn more about the book. While I don't think that I'll be able to finish the book by Tuesday (since I only have three days, one of which is a holiday), I will certainly start it, so I know what my classmates are talking about. I will publish another post on Tuesday, after the meeting.

5. What I'm reading next:
A little bit of His Majesty's Dragon, the next Book Ends book, and Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin.

6. Three Cups of Tea:
Published in 2006, this book became a worldwide phenomenon. It tells the story of Greg Mortenson, and how after he made a failed attempt to climb K2 (second highest mountain in the world), found his way into a Pakistan village. He made a promise to come back to that village and build a school for the villagers. After completing that school, Greg went on to build 54 more schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan, many for girls. I plan to write a review for this book once I finish it.

7. My messed-up sleeping and eating schedule:
There's a six hour time difference between here and France/Spain. Since returning to the States my sleep and appetite have been very strange. On the first day that I arrived home, I went to sleep at my normal time (10pm,) and woke up at 11am! On the following day I went to sleep at 7pm, and woke up at 3:45am! Since I woke up at 3:45am, that meant I was hungry for breakfast then, and wanted dinner at about 3:30pm. Luckily, after five days, my sleeping and eating schedules are becoming more normal. There still not normal, just more normal. :)

8. Poll results:
You can see them under the "about me" section. There not exactly accurate (read previous post), but they're close enough. Remember that's only the results from "part 2" of Poll #2.

I think that is all I have to say for right now. I'm sure I'm probably forgetting something, but I'll just have to put that in another post. Wow, this is probably the longest post I've ever wrote (2nd being Enter the World of eReaders)! Be on the lookout for posts about my trip to Europe, the Books Ends book club, and Three Cups of Tea.

Thank you for your patience on the length of time between posts!

Poll #2...again

Hi everyone,

Since updating my blog to this new theme, my latest poll has been acting strange. I've been receiving tons of error messages, saying that "this poll cannot be found of this server", and other things like that. So, I'm not very happy right now. I will be republishing the poll, with the same question and same answer options. I have recorded the previous votes/percentages, so you can vote again if you wish, but you don't have to (but if you vote again, it makes my blog look more popular :P).

The poll is located on the right side of the blog, under the "about me" section.

I am very sorry for this inconvenience, and will make sure that it will never happen again. Thank you for your understanding on this subject.

*sigh* technology...

- Jacob

Poll #2: Reading in the Skies

In less than one week I'll be aboard an airplane, traveling to Paris. It's going to be a long flight (depart at 7pm, arrive at 8:30am), and for the few hours when I'm not asleep, I'll need something to do. Usually when going on an airplane, I bring my ipod, magazines, and, of course, books. However, despite my love for books, I sometimes find it difficult to read on an airplane. Maybe it's the loud, roar of the engine, or the distracting view outside the window. Or maybe, it's the movie playing during the flight. The movie, while silent to those with no headphones, can still be distracting. The last time I was on a plane, Spider Man was playing, and I couldn't help but look up at the screen every 2 or 3 minutes.

All this talk of airplanes leads to my poll question: Do you read on an airplane? The question is followed by four answer options. Like last time, you can find the poll under the "about me" section. Please vote; I enjoy seeing how my readers' opinions differ from my own.

As I said earlier, I'll be vacationing in Paris. I'll also be going to Provence, France and Barcelona, Spain. I'll be going with my French teacher, and some of her other students. Unfortunately, I'll be gone from the 19th to the 28th, so there will be ten days with no posts! I promise to publish double my usual amount of posts when I return! :)

The Results Are In! (Poll #1)

Readers have voiced their opinions, and the results to The Bookshelf's first poll are in! The topic was summer reading, and the question: Do you plan to read this summer? I really enjoyed seeing the responses from the people who are reading my blog. The poll had a whopping number of 10 votes-a pretty good amount for a new, virtually unknown blog. Here's the results:

• Yes! I'll be reading throughout the summer. 6 votes (60%)
• Yes, I may read a few books. 3 votes (30%)
• Maybe, it depends on how busy I am. 1 vote (10%)
• No! Why would I read during the summer? 0 votes (o%)
  

I was very happy to see no votes for the last option. And, being the book lover that I am, I was ecstatic to see the first option had the most votes. I hope to put out more polls soon. It's interesting to see other people's relation to books.

On another note...I have finished Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, and plan to post a review for it tomorrow. (It was really good!)

Poll #1: Summer Reading

I've been in the summer spirit lately, so I decided to make a summer reading poll. This is the first poll on The Bookshelf, and hopefully many more will come. The poll question is Do you plan to read this summer? Following the question are four answer options.

Please vote. The poll is located on the right side of the blog, under the "about me" section. The poll closes June 5th, so enter your vote soon! I would very much like to hear the responses of my readers.

Summer isn't far away, and neither is summer reading!