Back when I was in school and had to read Shakespeare, we really had to read Shakespeare (we also had to walk to school in 5 feet of snow, uphill both ways. Kidding, I’m not that old). The most help I had was the Cliffs Notes. Definitely no internet. The text was also given to us by the school and we were required to read that specific edition.

Today is a different story. Kids who are required to read Shakespeare have the internet and many editions of the text they can buy (schools seem to make kids by their own books these days). One of the editions is called No Fear Shakespeare (aff link), which has the Shakespeare text on one side, and then a modern-day English translation on the other. From my own observation and estimate, this is by far the most popular version of Shakespeare out there.

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This always annoys me – every time a movie is released that’s based on a classic book, the respective book suddenly skyrockets in popularity. It’s not surprising that the same thing has happened with Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (aff link). Ever since the movie had been announced, sales of the book have shot through the roof. My local bookstore even has a special ‘Alice in Wonderland’ display.

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The largest book retailer in the United States is making the bold move of considering bundling ebooks and print books. Barnes & Noble, who came out with their own ereader Nook last November, will begin testing the idea within the next few months. This is according to a recent article on Publishers Weekly and the Teleread blog.

I’ve been advocating for this type of bundling for a while now. The obvious advantage is that you can read the print version in the comfort of your own home, and then take the ebook version with you while you’re on the go. This would work especially well with dinosaur-sized books like Stephen King’s Under the Dome (which I’m currently reading as an ebook). If I had bought King’s latest magnum opus as a hardcover, you certainly wouldn’t see me lugging it around so I could read a few pages in the doctor’s office waiting room.

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I give my parents a lot of credit for encouraging me to read at an early age. They also taught by example – reading every night before bed. That early habit my parents instilled in me continues to this day. I have a hard time falling asleep if I can’t read for a good 15 minutes before lights out.

Reading during those early years must have made a big impression on me, as I can vividly remember a lot of the books I’d read multiple times. By contrast, I remember few, if any, television shows. So I thought it’d be fun to list some of my favorite childhood books here. After all, those books were the foundation for my love of literature today.

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It’s hard to ignore an author like James Patterson. His books, an estimated 14 million copies sold, are everywhere from airport bookstores, in the supermarket and featured on prominent shelves in bookstores like Barnes & Noble and Borders. I’ll confess that the only Patterson book I’ve read is Sail (aff link). The novel was okay. At best it was entertaining. But I’m unlikely to be buying another Patterson novel in the future.

However, being a mega-selling superstar author, James Patterson is someone all struggling novelists should pay attention to and learn a thing or two.

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I just returned from spending a few days in San Diego on family business (hence my lack of posts this week). While my reason for going there was quite sad, it was nice to get away from the cold Chicago winter and spend some time in the warm California sun and visit with my extended family.

There are a two bits I wanted to share with you regarding my trip, both dealing with ebooks.

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I love books. I love reading books. There’s nothing more satisfying than finishing a good novel, especially one that keeps me thinking about the plot and characters long after I read the last page. But sometimes I like having more than just the story. I’m always pleasantly surprised when the author includes notes, written interviews or any other ‘extras’ that can illuminate the story even more.

On a simple level, all of you have seen this before (especially those with young kids). When you buy a kids book, the book has the written story, but it also has illustrations that complement the story and bring it to life in a way not possible with just words. Some childrens books even have accompanying stuffed animals and other toys (sold separately, of course).

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At my local B&N store there has been a lot of interest in the new e-reader Nook. I’ve heard more about this device since it has been announced than I ever did about any of the Sony Readers or the Amazon Kindle. Something about Nook is resonating with the reading public and the device won’t even ship until the end of November.

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Now that 2009 is coming to a close, we’re going to start seeing a lot of lists: Top books, top movies, top websites and so forth. I’m not a big fan of these kind of lists because my personal list for any given year would be a lot different than the lists that some of these literary organizations release at the end of each year.

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This is an update to an earlier post I wrote Race to the bottom: Amazon, Wal-Mart see who can sell the cheapest books. Now Target has entered the game and a lot of people aren’t happy about new release hardcovers being priced so cheap at these retailers. The first sign of protest comes from the American Booksellers Association (ABA), who wrote a complaint to the antitrust division of the U.S. Department of Justice.

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