The Geekly Reader

About six years ago I made the jump to digital video and purchased a digital video camera.  I did this just in time for the birth of my first child.  At first I used the camera all of the time.  Shooting video here and there, then taking the time to find a Firewire cable to put the video on my computer.  I even "made" a few movies on my computer.  By the time my second child was born I was using the camera less and less.  It was just easier to shoot a little video on my point and click digital camera when I needed some video.  Once I purchased my new digital SLR camera, I started enjoying still photography so much more, I rarely used my camcorder.  I lugged the video camera and tapes down to Disney World and never used it once.  I just took a ton of still photos and shot some video with my point and click digital camera.  Now I never use the old camcorder and I am searching for some easier ways to shoot video. Lately, many individuals have started using  flip style digital

This past week while creeping around on Facebook I was excited to see so many status updates regarding the new Harry Potter Film, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.   So many friends were excited about the release of the film.  I think the movies are great.  Now, I have not seen all of them, but the films I have seen are very good.  I must admit, I have yet to read any of the novels.  Please do not judge, I do not know why I have yet to take the time to read any of Rowling's works.  I hope to read the entire series in 2011.  My own kids love the early films, however as the films have progressed they have grown quite "dark."  The newer films tend to scare them, I am sure they will want to see them when they get older.  I also hope they enjoy reading the novels. So, where there any Potter fans out there this past weekend to see the film?  Did anyone go to a midnight showing?  Maybe dressed up in costume?  I love all of this, because while it may be a movie, it all come

I love this question.  Of course, I do not think I could ever answer a question like "what is your favorite book?"  I need to be able to list at least a few titles.  I was speaking with another parent during my son's gymnastic class this past Monday.  We were both reading the same book and we spent much of the time talking about the book we were reading and other books we enjoy.  It was really a great conversation for a book geek like myself.  It was also nice because the individual I was speaking with was a classmate of mine from back in the day at good old Carlson High School.  The question came up as to what were some of my favorite books, and I had to step back and think for a minute.  My taste in books varies all over the place (much like my taste in music, but that is another story).  For the purpose of this entry I throw out five of my favorites (in no particular order) and why I enjoy them.  Of course, a list of favorites could be much longer as I could write fore

Now that it is November it is time to start thinking about the holiday season and Christmas.  I am such a tech geek I make sure to browse through the Best Buy circular every Sunday.  I guess it brings me back to my days browsing through all the toys in the Sear's Catalog.  Of course a number of things have caught my eye over the past year.  I just paid off my last major purchase at Best Buy (my Cannon SLR which I LOVE) so I guess that means only one thing.  Putting together a wish list for the Holidays. Nintendo DSi (Pink) This is what my daughter wants for Christmas.  I have never been much of a hand-held video game type of guy.  I really do not know much about it, but one thing I do like is the large amount of educational games available.  I think "Santa" will be picking this one up soon, so keep this quiet!  Not sure how my son will feel about sharing with it being "pink."  Odds That I Purchase 99% Pink Power: I love having a daughter A Low Price Not

A while back I wrote about the great site librarything.com .  A great site for book lovers to catalog their own books and share reviews of books with other members.  I have a similar site to share with you today.  Goodreads.com is a place where you can share book recommendations with other readers.  You can even form online book clubs with other readers anywhere in the world.  I was able to create an account by using my Facebook login.  It was very quick and simple.  I started playing around with the site this evening.  So far, I really enjoy the site.  Very easy to use and I really enjoy the various lists of "best" or "worst" books.  This list of top young adult books is a great resource for me to use when making purchases for our school library.  It is also amusing to go through the lists to see how many of the "top" books I have read.  Users are able to vote for books and comment on the current list.  Users can also make additions to the list.  Gre

While running some errands today I popped into Borders at good old Southland Mall to pick up some gift cards and a book for myself.  While browsing around I came across a large display of new "comic books."  Most are from the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series by Jeff Kinney.  Now these titles are not like comic books you may be thinking about (like Spiderman, Batman etc.)  These are actual novels or books filled with graphics and drawings.  The official term in the library/publishing world is "graphic novels," but you can see how that may be misunderstood at some times.  I do have some of the Wimpy Kid novels in the library at Carlson High School and they appear to be popular.  I actually started to read the first title in the series and found in entertaining, I just never had time to finish the book.  I plan to pick it up again soon. There were plenty of other similar books in the display.  The Wimpy Kid Series is extremely popular (five books with the newest title Di

I believe I have set a new record for my read of the month.  I am finished with this book and today is November 3rd.  My Book of the Month was/is The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.  I started the book last weekend, and finished it while on a bus trip to Central Michigan University with some students for a leadership conference.  Once on the bus, I could not put the book down.  It is one of the best novels I have read in years.  Should I be embarrassed about this considering it is considered a young adult/teen novel?  I sure hope not.  I know many adults that enjoy the Twilight and Harry Potter series so there is nothing to be embarrassed about.  Most people that know me realize very little embarrasses me anyway! What surprises me most about my enjoyment of the novel is that it can be considered a science fiction novel.  I am usually not much of a science fiction fan, unless I am being a dork enjoying my Star Wars DVDs.  Set in the future former United States, the novel follows m