November 2013 The Book Feed The Book Feed

Sunday, November 17, 2013

Sunday, November 17, 2013 -

Share a Though Saturday (3): Visualization

Yep, it's not Saturday, but I've been researching the net for insight on a question that's been nagging me. So, I figured I would create a post and get some information from people who also love reading.

Question:

How do people visualize when reading?

My Experience:

I remember reading when I was little and I would create settings, scenes, and characters with relative ease. Yet, now I find my visualization lacking. Although, it could be because I'm over thinking it. For example, when I'm reading, most of the characters/scenes/settings are hazy. Sometimes, I feel like I need to stop and actively create a crisp image, to then become frustrated, because the process is supposed to be passive (right?). However, once I've finished reading, I can play back what I've read without a hitch. Could it be that I'm too conscious when reading? By too conscious, I mean that I'm overly aware of trying to visualize and thus interrupting the passive ability. For now I'm convinced that my method of visualization is collecting data as I read the book and letting it "sink in". If this is true, it still explains why I can remember characters from years ago, just not when they became crisp in detail.

What's your experience with visualization?

Sunday, November 10, 2013

Sunday, November 10, 2013 -

8 comments

Paradox Child

For those who enjoy my normal review font (Apple Chancery), I'm sorry to inform you that I will not be using it for this review. However, it's only because I'm writing it from another computer. Normally I would just wait, but I've been wanting to do this review for a while now.

Rating: 3 Stars
Version: eBook
Author: Jane Yates

Amazon Summary:
Set in the 1980’s most of the drama for this time traveling adventure is set in the Pitt Rivers Museum Oxford UK.

Lilly's family has an extraordinary secret, one they have kept for four generations. Lilly's proud to be different and special. At Halloween she's happy to stay at home and cast spells with her mum and her gran rather than go out trick or treating like the other kids. At 12 years old, she thinks she knows it all.

But then Lilly becomes unsettled by odd events, like seeing the sinister man in the white shoes staring at her while she walks the dogs, and then local children start to go missing. When her mum doesn't come back from one of her regular night-time jaunts, Lilly's gran thinks it's time to tell her the whole story. Lilly has second thoughts about whether her family's secret is a blessing, or a curse...

Review:
Normally I don't gravitate towards science fiction and even though this book isn't science fiction per say, the aspect of time travel would still turn me away. Yet, I ran across this copy on Pixel of Ink, which means it was free, plus the central theme is about magic, so I decided to give it a shot.

The story is a bit on the long side (554 pages) and packed with grammatical errors/typo's, but the plot was interesting enough to dissuade me from giving up. I read this copy on my iPhone and saw as many as 3-4 errors per page with an average of about 1 per page. Under normal circumstance I would just put the book away, so the fact that I finished this book, not because I had to, but because I wanted to, should underscore how much I enjoyed the plot. As I've said before, I don't want to give the false impression that my grammar is perfect, but the mistakes in this book were prominent. It should be noted that the author describes herself as a "dreamer and a dyslexic", which helps provide a bit of insight and understanding to what I referenced above.

The story is definitely geared towards a young audience, but it has bits and pieces for all ages. For example, there's magic, romance, death, mystery, and science. Of course dealing with time travel, it's not hard to guess where the title paradox child comes from or where the book may lead you. However, I really enjoyed learning just how and why Lilly became one. If it had not been for the numerous typos/grammar issues, this book would definitely have earned 4 stars. So if you're borderline about reading this book, I suggest you give it a chance. After all, you can always get a sample from Amazon.

I've read that Paradox Child is only book one in a two-part series, but that information could be mistaken. Hopefully I will get back to you guys soon with an answer from Jane.