Friday Five - books
1. Are books losing importance as a source of information and entertainment?
Depends who you ask. It's definitely easier to google for information. But tons of people I know still read, A LOT. They are definitely still good for entertainment.
2. Are e-books the death of paper books? Will paper books disappear?
I hope not! I don't have an e-reader and probably never will. I've read a couple of classics online that I started as audio on a road trip but then wanted to finish, and I can read faster than the audio plays. Online, though, you have to keep scrolling down, which drives me nuts. Yes, e-readers you go to the next page, but still. I like paper books.
3. Should libraries focus on improving their technological resources rather than building a larger collection of paper books?
No.
4. How important are early reading skills in a child’s academic performance?
Ha. As a former teacher I should have more of an opinion on this. It's not as important as most schools make it seem these days. Pressing 5 year-olds to be at a certain level (usually letter recognition and letter-sound correspondence) by the end of kindergarten is ridiculous. Expecting 3rd graders to critically analyze passages and answer questions that take ME a good deal of effort to answer, then possibly hold them back based on results...I'll just get off my soapbox now.
5. Are people who spend a lot of time reading fiction wasting their time which could be better spent doing more useful activities?
More useful activities like what? If you read so much you neglect other responsibilities, then that's a problem. Reading fiction isn't a problem. Fiction can give you a glimpse into the minds of characters, their thoughts and actions, that are completely different from your own. Is there trashy fiction? Yes, just like there are trashy movies. I feel like no matter what you read, you can learn something from it.
Depends who you ask. It's definitely easier to google for information. But tons of people I know still read, A LOT. They are definitely still good for entertainment.
2. Are e-books the death of paper books? Will paper books disappear?
I hope not! I don't have an e-reader and probably never will. I've read a couple of classics online that I started as audio on a road trip but then wanted to finish, and I can read faster than the audio plays. Online, though, you have to keep scrolling down, which drives me nuts. Yes, e-readers you go to the next page, but still. I like paper books.
3. Should libraries focus on improving their technological resources rather than building a larger collection of paper books?
No.
4. How important are early reading skills in a child’s academic performance?
Ha. As a former teacher I should have more of an opinion on this. It's not as important as most schools make it seem these days. Pressing 5 year-olds to be at a certain level (usually letter recognition and letter-sound correspondence) by the end of kindergarten is ridiculous. Expecting 3rd graders to critically analyze passages and answer questions that take ME a good deal of effort to answer, then possibly hold them back based on results...I'll just get off my soapbox now.
5. Are people who spend a lot of time reading fiction wasting their time which could be better spent doing more useful activities?
More useful activities like what? If you read so much you neglect other responsibilities, then that's a problem. Reading fiction isn't a problem. Fiction can give you a glimpse into the minds of characters, their thoughts and actions, that are completely different from your own. Is there trashy fiction? Yes, just like there are trashy movies. I feel like no matter what you read, you can learn something from it.