A "fictional" beard.
I've consumed a lot of fiction lately. Also some non-fiction (that Steve Jobs biography is massive). I've come to a point where I am simultaneously consuming multiple forms of fiction at the same time. Digital books via the Kindle app on my iPad/iPhone, digital comics via the Comixology app on the iPad, dead tree books, and audiobooks via my Audible subscription that gets me a new book every month (plus the New York Times audio edition).
I find that my preferences tend to vary widely depending on my current mood. Lately, I've been all about the audiobooks. I've, meanwhile, supplemented with comics (mostly out of a need to keep reading and deleting so I don't fill my iPad), and I've even been reading dead tree books again after avoiding them for over a year (a parent of a student bought my classroom the Hunger Games trilogy so I'm trying to read them before I put them on the self for the kids to mangle). But I've only really been eager for the audiobooks in the last few weeks. Before that I was really into the dead tree book.
I'm trying to sort out why my mood moves. I think part of it has to do with what's convenient. Digital is more handy than dead tree. Like cameras, the best book you have is the one you have with you when you need it. I also have my phone with me, and often my iPad, carrying a novel is cumbersome. But then why, a few weeks ago was I all about the dead tree book? And why am I less engaged by comics right now and Kindle books even less?
Engagement. It's all about engagement. I was engaged in the Hunger Games book. All my students have read it and I wanted to see how it compared to the movie, which I'd already read. It's the least handy reading method I have, but it hooked my interest. Kindle books that I have available just aren't grabbing me and I haven't felt compelled to seek them out despite them being the easiest to read.
Audiobooks, however...I get one a month which causes me to be selective, I can zoom through them in 2-3 days, and I can listen while on a walk, washing dishes, driving the car, and at the gym. Engagement and convenience all in one.
What engages you? What books should I be seeking out and in which format?
And what's more, what's it going to take to make breast cancer a fiction? I know where to start...that little "$$" symbol up there where you can sponsor my beard.