The first article I read was one that was recommended by Professor Pentlin on the Discussion Board (it actually may have been on the board for the other class I'm enrolled in). The article, "Darkness Too Visible", was from the Wall Street Journal's Bookshelf. It talked about how many YA books focus on very dark topics. This is something that I have noticed as well. Now, I did (although I vowed not to) jump on the vampire bandwagon, but I feel like many popular titles focus on much darker realities. The first series that comes to mind is the Crank series by Ellen Hopkins. I first became familiar with this series when my husband's teenage cousin asked for the books for Christmas. Her mother didn't know anything about them, so she asked if I had heard of them and what I thought. I researched the titles and I was very disturbed by some of the topics. I passed on what I had found on the books and I'm not sure what the mother decided for her daughter. I have also noticed some of the students at my school reading these books. They are not available in our school library, but still popular amongst the middle school girls. The article even mentions one of the most popular books of the year, The Hunger Games. As much as I loved this series, there really was quite a bit or violence and gore. The whole idea is violent, put 12 teens in an arena until all but one is living. In my opinion, the darkness trend is just that, a trend. As long as the readers can differentiate between fiction and reality, I don't necessarily see a problem with the darkness.
The next blog posting that I read actually was a response to the article I wrote about above. This post, "YA Saves, But..." is from the Bib 2.0 blog. The author wrote about the article and the huge backlash that has come from it. I totally agree with what was said. Instead of banning these dark books, just be sure to have the conversation about fiction and reality. This author even brought up the fact that the wildly popular Twilight series revolves around a teenage girl willing to die for her boyfriend. It's funny because when I hear people raise concerns about the series, it is always because of the vampires, not because a girl gives up her life for her boyfriend. I also liked what she said about how this backlash does prove that devoted readers do still exist! (Side note - the author is this blog kept referring to Gossip Girl and how she despises them. This made me giggle because Gossip Girl is one of my guilty pleasures! I've enjoyed the books for years and now even the tv show! My husband always gives me a hard time about it!)
Another blog post I read was titled "The FBI Opens Its Vault". The FBI opened an electronic reading room featuring over 3,000 documents. This is where the future librarian and former history teacher in me come together. What a wonderful resource for research!
The next blog I went is called The Social Networking Librarian. The post that got my attention was called "21 Things that Will Disappear from Education in the Next 10 Years". This post was actually written in response to a post on another site. The author addressed five items from the list. One item listed that really stood out to me was paperbacks. I have mixed feelings about this. I understand that e-readers are all the rage right now, in fact, I own one myself. However, there is just something about books that I cannot seem to let go of! My in-laws wanted to get me a Kindle for Christmas last year, but I told them I didn't want one. They asked me again on my birthday, and my answer was still no. Then this past Christmas I finally gave in, and I have to admit, I do really enjoy it. I like that if I'm going on a trip I don't have to load an extra bag down with books to take. And I like that I seem to read even faster on the Kindle. On the other hand, I don't like that I can't go to the library and check out books. I mean, I guess I still could, but not for the Kindle. I do miss turning actual pages, so I try to mix it up - a couple of e-books, then a couple of real books.
The final blog I visited was Free Technology for Teachers. The title of the blog alone is what drew me to it. I love using technology in my classroom and of course I love free resources! I liked the review that Richard Byrne wrote about the note-taking apps. I see so many uses for this in a classroom. Cell phones are not allowed out of lockers in my school because of misuse, but I think it would be great to be able to use them for something beneficial such as this.
I had to laugh at your comment about "Gossip Girls." Naturally, I've never read them but you're right about Jeri Hurd not liking them at all. I have to admit to not liking "Hunger Games" at all and as a result I haven't made myself read the other two in the series.
ReplyDeleteFrom you experience with the Kindle do you think that it has the potential to turn a non-reader into a reader? I think this is one of the big issues for students. People like you who are readers will continue to read no matter what the format is. But is it enticing enough for Johnny who doesn't want to read "a book?"