Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Books... the many joys and uses
From the photos posted it is shown just a couple uses for books. Books are used to help us develop our talents. Books can be read for sheer enjoyment. Textbooks are used to help us learn and understand concepts. Many books are used as the basis for movies even. What other types of uses are there for books? Share your answers!
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
A library is a hospital for the mind
Sometimes life can be harsh, and at times feel impossible. It’s hard to deal with our everyday lives of chaos and work. We worry mostly because we are too busy worrying about all the things we have left to do. I know I have suffered from this kind of stress in all places in my life from school, work, and even to have a planned workout schedule. Are there any cures for those of us who can’t seem to relax enough to endure this journey we have chosen?
“Reading is a basic tool in the living of a good life” (Mortimer J. Adler). Can this be true? Is it okay for us to get lost in a world of fiction? In recent studies by the University of Sussex, they made their test subjects stress levels raise and then gave them samples of music books as well as many different things, to see if it would calm them efficiently and quickly. Researches have found that if you read at six minutes a day it will decrease your stress levels by two thirds. It doesn’t matter if you read the newspaper, picture book both work extremely faster than listening to music. However, the question arises where can you find good books, in a hurry?
Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, as well as several others have produced a bestsellers list. The Amazon, and Barnes and Noble list range from Stephenie Meyers Twilight, to John Grishams The Appeal. Regardless of what you’re looking for you can find it. Most book sale websites have a next purchase recommendation, which is a nice thing to have. Most websites will offer a preview as in, excerpts of one of the chapters you’re looking into reading. Another reliable source is going into the bookstore; many of the employees get to read the books before they come out. Also if you don’t feel like buying a book, the local library in your area would be another suggestion. And if they don’t have it they’ll ship it in and reserve it for you.
Regardless of where you get your books, or what’s hot, or not. There is something for everyone, and since its been proven to reduce stress why wouldn’t you want to grab a book and relax. It only takes six minutes, which is less time in comparison to several other relaxers. We all want to be happy, and apparently getting lost in fiction is actually healthy for you. So the next time your stressed and feel the world falling apart, remember tranquility is within a few pages.
“Reading is a basic tool in the living of a good life” (Mortimer J. Adler). Can this be true? Is it okay for us to get lost in a world of fiction? In recent studies by the University of Sussex, they made their test subjects stress levels raise and then gave them samples of music books as well as many different things, to see if it would calm them efficiently and quickly. Researches have found that if you read at six minutes a day it will decrease your stress levels by two thirds. It doesn’t matter if you read the newspaper, picture book both work extremely faster than listening to music. However, the question arises where can you find good books, in a hurry?
Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, as well as several others have produced a bestsellers list. The Amazon, and Barnes and Noble list range from Stephenie Meyers Twilight, to John Grishams The Appeal. Regardless of what you’re looking for you can find it. Most book sale websites have a next purchase recommendation, which is a nice thing to have. Most websites will offer a preview as in, excerpts of one of the chapters you’re looking into reading. Another reliable source is going into the bookstore; many of the employees get to read the books before they come out. Also if you don’t feel like buying a book, the local library in your area would be another suggestion. And if they don’t have it they’ll ship it in and reserve it for you.
Regardless of where you get your books, or what’s hot, or not. There is something for everyone, and since its been proven to reduce stress why wouldn’t you want to grab a book and relax. It only takes six minutes, which is less time in comparison to several other relaxers. We all want to be happy, and apparently getting lost in fiction is actually healthy for you. So the next time your stressed and feel the world falling apart, remember tranquility is within a few pages.
Chapter 2
By Emily Gray
Introduction
Our world is filled with so many great and glorious types of technology and media, but sometimes does it seem like just a little much. We are bombarded with commercials, YouTube videos, presentations, magazines, poster etc. Amongst all the clutter it is easy to get distracted from one of the first sources of entertainment—books. I recently have been in a Mass Media class this semester and was thinking about education and children at the current time. It seems that children have so many options for toys, games and fun. They are constantly exposed to visually stimulating material. From this I have formed some opinions through observation and from talking with individuals who are exposed to children on a daily basis (see Children, Movies, and Technology video post).
The Problem
There is so much going on. The media and mass media in particular has so many mediums. I think that as a kid it could be confusing. We want to see nice beautiful forms of art that come to us in the media. There are also so many new types of video games. Movies and T.V. shows are continually becoming more real as we learn how to produce visual effects. With all of these visually appealing things in the world, books are sometimes not as interesting. They involve more thinking and have less movement. As a child, I could see how it would be hard to choose a book over other forms of entertainment. Imaginations are being lost. In their place are T.V. screens. I think a portion of this problem is parents not helping their children see the value in reading. To many parents are working late, not spending enough time with their children or pop in a movie every time they need time away from the kids or are trying to get something done. The T.V. and movies has become a babysitter.
A Solution
I think the solution for this is working with children to learn how to read and understand the great value and importance of reading. To do this, I think that parents should understand how their children learn. Some children learn through visual, auditory or musical means. There are a variety of learning styles. I think if parents can tap into how children learn then they will be able to help them understand books and how beneficial they are. For example it would be good for a parent to read with a child. Instead of looking at the pictures the parent could have the child close his or her eyes and imagine what the story looks like as they are hearing it. Parents could also encourage their children to read through incentives or reading together and limit other media time. Parents can ask questions about books like, "What is the moral of the story?" or "Why did this character do this?" Discussing a book can help with comprehension and help the child to learn to think.
Conclusion
To sum it all up, parents have a great impact on if a child likes to read or not. They can think of many ways to incorporate reading into their lives. Even going back to the old fashion bedtime story instead of a movie before bed would be beneficial. There is much offered to youth at this time, but we cannot forget to give them something as important of being able to read and to be able to understand how blest they are to have that skill. Reading can be incorporated into the lives of children. It will take some work and some action, but the effects will be far-reaching.
Introduction
Our world is filled with so many great and glorious types of technology and media, but sometimes does it seem like just a little much. We are bombarded with commercials, YouTube videos, presentations, magazines, poster etc. Amongst all the clutter it is easy to get distracted from one of the first sources of entertainment—books. I recently have been in a Mass Media class this semester and was thinking about education and children at the current time. It seems that children have so many options for toys, games and fun. They are constantly exposed to visually stimulating material. From this I have formed some opinions through observation and from talking with individuals who are exposed to children on a daily basis (see Children, Movies, and Technology video post).
The Problem
There is so much going on. The media and mass media in particular has so many mediums. I think that as a kid it could be confusing. We want to see nice beautiful forms of art that come to us in the media. There are also so many new types of video games. Movies and T.V. shows are continually becoming more real as we learn how to produce visual effects. With all of these visually appealing things in the world, books are sometimes not as interesting. They involve more thinking and have less movement. As a child, I could see how it would be hard to choose a book over other forms of entertainment. Imaginations are being lost. In their place are T.V. screens. I think a portion of this problem is parents not helping their children see the value in reading. To many parents are working late, not spending enough time with their children or pop in a movie every time they need time away from the kids or are trying to get something done. The T.V. and movies has become a babysitter.
A Solution
I think the solution for this is working with children to learn how to read and understand the great value and importance of reading. To do this, I think that parents should understand how their children learn. Some children learn through visual, auditory or musical means. There are a variety of learning styles. I think if parents can tap into how children learn then they will be able to help them understand books and how beneficial they are. For example it would be good for a parent to read with a child. Instead of looking at the pictures the parent could have the child close his or her eyes and imagine what the story looks like as they are hearing it. Parents could also encourage their children to read through incentives or reading together and limit other media time. Parents can ask questions about books like, "What is the moral of the story?" or "Why did this character do this?" Discussing a book can help with comprehension and help the child to learn to think.
Conclusion
To sum it all up, parents have a great impact on if a child likes to read or not. They can think of many ways to incorporate reading into their lives. Even going back to the old fashion bedtime story instead of a movie before bed would be beneficial. There is much offered to youth at this time, but we cannot forget to give them something as important of being able to read and to be able to understand how blest they are to have that skill. Reading can be incorporated into the lives of children. It will take some work and some action, but the effects will be far-reaching.
Monday, April 6, 2009
Chapter 1
by: Angie Hendrix
Because of the increase in technology today many books are turned into movies for added revenue. I personally don’t like to read for enjoyment so I like watching the movies. Many of the movies are written and filmed with the assistance of the author for accuracy. On the internet you will find hundreds of movies that have been based on books. Some of the books were a series and some are single novels. Many of them I didn’t even know were based on a book. In elementary school through high school we would often read a book and then watch the movie. I learned early on in my school career that if you didn’t want to read the required book there was a good chance you could go to the library and check it out on VHS or DVD.
In the last year the most popular book created into a movie was Twilight. Edward swept the country with his perfection and charisma. I swore for months that I would never read the books and laughed at all the crazy people who wanted to read about a lovey-dovey vampire. I cracked jokes and mocked it constantly. I finally promised my best friend that when the movie came out I would watch it with her. Realizing that the books always have more detail than the movies and needing an excuse not to hang out with my family on vacation I began to read it. Who knew that it was SO amazing!?! Ok, well, everyone… but I’m stubborn and tend to catch on slower than others. Opening night we went to the midnight showing of the movie and I was kind of confused. I didn’t feel like it followed the story very good because I had only finished the first book. When I finished book two I went and watched it again and loved it. It was definitely a low budget film, but that just gave me more to laugh at.
Another very popular series that has been turned into movies is Harry Potter. I think these books have probably made more money than almost any other. People are still waiting in line for the first showing, and what is it now, movie 5? My family all love the Harry Potter series. So, to please them I listened to the first six books on CD. I couldn’t bring myself to read them on my own and I lost interest before number 7 came out. So who knows how it ends? Not me. I thought that the first couple of movies were really good until they had to change the character for Dumbledore and then it jut went downhill. There also became too much information in the books to be able to portray in the movies. The next movie comes out soon and I can’t wait to see people lined up the street dressed as “he who can’t be named”.
It’s so interesting to me that some people just love to read and others don’t. It seems to me that the people who read are much more devoted fans or criticizers of the movies. They know all the fine points and analyze every detail. I feel like if you really want to enjoy the movie you shouldn’t read the book. First of all, you won’t know what happens already and secondly, you won’t expect it to be displayed in a certain way. You can just take it at face value and get what you want out of it. I think I’ll continue to enjoy the movies, and therefore, not read the book.
Because of the increase in technology today many books are turned into movies for added revenue. I personally don’t like to read for enjoyment so I like watching the movies. Many of the movies are written and filmed with the assistance of the author for accuracy. On the internet you will find hundreds of movies that have been based on books. Some of the books were a series and some are single novels. Many of them I didn’t even know were based on a book. In elementary school through high school we would often read a book and then watch the movie. I learned early on in my school career that if you didn’t want to read the required book there was a good chance you could go to the library and check it out on VHS or DVD.
In the last year the most popular book created into a movie was Twilight. Edward swept the country with his perfection and charisma. I swore for months that I would never read the books and laughed at all the crazy people who wanted to read about a lovey-dovey vampire. I cracked jokes and mocked it constantly. I finally promised my best friend that when the movie came out I would watch it with her. Realizing that the books always have more detail than the movies and needing an excuse not to hang out with my family on vacation I began to read it. Who knew that it was SO amazing!?! Ok, well, everyone… but I’m stubborn and tend to catch on slower than others. Opening night we went to the midnight showing of the movie and I was kind of confused. I didn’t feel like it followed the story very good because I had only finished the first book. When I finished book two I went and watched it again and loved it. It was definitely a low budget film, but that just gave me more to laugh at.
Another very popular series that has been turned into movies is Harry Potter. I think these books have probably made more money than almost any other. People are still waiting in line for the first showing, and what is it now, movie 5? My family all love the Harry Potter series. So, to please them I listened to the first six books on CD. I couldn’t bring myself to read them on my own and I lost interest before number 7 came out. So who knows how it ends? Not me. I thought that the first couple of movies were really good until they had to change the character for Dumbledore and then it jut went downhill. There also became too much information in the books to be able to portray in the movies. The next movie comes out soon and I can’t wait to see people lined up the street dressed as “he who can’t be named”.
It’s so interesting to me that some people just love to read and others don’t. It seems to me that the people who read are much more devoted fans or criticizers of the movies. They know all the fine points and analyze every detail. I feel like if you really want to enjoy the movie you shouldn’t read the book. First of all, you won’t know what happens already and secondly, you won’t expect it to be displayed in a certain way. You can just take it at face value and get what you want out of it. I think I’ll continue to enjoy the movies, and therefore, not read the book.
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