Finding solace in books

Last week was chemo appointment two. I ended up arriving early at the cancer agency with an hour to kill, so decided to check out their information centre on the first floor. Basically, it's a small library with free hats.

After nabbing a couple of new skull caps and discussing the merits of doing the head-shave with another cancer warrior, I asked the volunteer working that day if she had any books for children she could recommend.

Lo and behold, she found Where's Mom's Hair? If you read last week's post, you'll know talking to my son about the whole cancer thing has been weighing heavily on my mind.

All about timing

Even though I had already shaved my head, this book landed in my hands at the perfect time. Not only does it go through mom's shaving her head (at a head-shaving party, no less!), but it also walks through mom's experience going to chemo, with photos of her with the IV in. It talks about dad feeling sad when mom doesn't feel well after treatment. And it ends on a hopeful note.

I brought it home and that night, my son and I read Where's Mom's Hair? He was curious about the IV and wanted to know if my treatment was the same as the mom's in the book. And then he got very quiet. We finished the book and he gave me multiple hugs before bed.

He has no interest in reading the book again. And that's okay. I'm pretty sure it served its purpose.

Watching the movie before reading the book

It's always a hard call for me: do I read the book first or watch the movie? If I read the book first, I'm the better writer. You know, the one who cares more about literature than the quick fix a movie will give me.

But if I watch the movie first, I potentially save myself from spending two hours muttering under my breath:

"The author captured that way better."
"Why did they cut that scene?!"
"What was the screenwriter smoking?"

There are no hard and fast rules when it comes to deciding book vs. movie, or TV series as the case may be. For instance, I've read several books in The Walking Dead series. However, I started them so long ago that I don't remember them with the clarity I once did. So the TV series makes me re-read the books and I get to enjoy them again.

This question comes up because I received the first four books in the Game of Thrones collection for Christmas. The temptation is to read them all. Why not? But a friend who has read the first one warned me that I may be disappointed if I read them all before season two starts.

So for now, I'll try to stick with the first one, and read the next three books as their respective seasons end. What do you think? Do you have rules on this sort of thing?

Why I don't want an eReader for Christmas

Every year, my husband asks me for my Christmas list. The last couple of years, I have considered whether or not I want one of those newfangled eReaders. Perhaps I'm getting curmudgeonly, but I'm going to pass.

I have heard plenty about the merits of eReaders - purchasing eBooks is cheaper and they're easier to cart around than a hardcover. Meanwhile, libraries have taken a hit in the news, with many cutting their limited funds for new books in favour of eBooks. And, yes, I did read about bedbugs being found in library books.

Let me count the ways I love books
I'm still not sold. I love books. I love the feel of them. I love the smell of them, both new, and old and musty. I love sharing the books that I have enjoyed with friends. I love browsing the shelves of a bookstore and hemming and hawing over what I want (see my latest selection in the photo). I love getting second-hand books and finding the previous reader's old shopping list which was used as a bookmark.

Generational or hereditary?
Indeed, it could simply have to do with my generation. I grew up reading books, listening to records, and hearing my dad hammer out stories on his old-school typewriter.

It could also be hereditary. My dad clung to that old typewriter until his employer forced him, the last employee not on the network, to start using a computer.

Then again, maybe not. After all, I'm not afraid of technology (no offence, Dad). I work as a web writer, so wouldn't do all that well in my profession otherwise. I own a smartphone. I tweet, I Facebook, I Skype. But until further notice, I don't eRead.