Michael Koby

Alright, I hope you are excited about using technology to help you read more. As I said in the introduction, reading is an integral part of our lives. We do it on such a consistent basis, and it’s not always what we want to read. It might be for work, or for the kids, or even for anyone else but ourselves. That’s one of the things that I hope to help your remedy today. With all of today’s technological advances you would think that someone out there would give us a better way to read using all this great and wonderful tech that we use everyday. How about a way to read an entire book through your email, for free (or a small fee depending on the book)?

This is where DailyLit.com comes into play. DailyLit.com makes reading on a daily basis a snap. You simply sign up for an account (they will send you a registration verification), pick the book (or books you want to get in your email, and the next day you begin reading the books you’ve always wanted to read. Read more »

Reading is an important part of our lives. It helps us learn new things, increase our vocabulary, and can even make us smarter in ways we can begin to imagine. Technology has only helped us read more with online magazines, newspapers offering online versions of their stories, even all the blogs out there. There really is not a moment in this day and age where we do not read something off a page, paper, or screen. People are still buying books, and some companies are working to change the way we read. No longer do you need to run out and purchase a thick, heavy hardback when a new book comes out. Instead, you can listen to an audiobook on your iPod, or buy the eBook to read on your eBook Reader. There are even ways to read books via email. It is crazy how much stuff is out there to help us read more. Some will argue that people are not reading anymore, and this is just not the case. Libraries still check out books, bookstores are still in business, and bestsellers lists are filled with titles that are purchased regularly.

I personally have recently picked up reading again. I’m currently listening to an audiobook in my car while driving, reading an eBook on my BlackBerry, reading a book via DailyLit.com, and I’m reading a physical book when I’m at home. This has inspired me to write a series of post centered around reading. Over the next week few days or so, we will take a look at things like digital audiobooks, eBooks (and eBook readers), ways to read books via email and RSS, and we will even look at a couple of social networking sites that are centered around reading. There is a lot out there in technology when it comes to reading and expanding one’s mind. Join me as we take a look at some of that technology.

I am a little late with this commentary subject, but I just found this article from Christianity Today in regards to the latest Harry Potter movie.

It seems Christians (whom I would consider “my people”) are still tackling the Harry Potter issue with every movie and book release.  Fortunately they have run out of books to complain about but we still have two more movies to get through and we can expect that Christians are going to continue to complain about them.

I want to begin by making note, that I somewhat understand these Christian’s arguments.  The Bible is very explicit about magic, witchcraft, and things of that nature.  The Bible explains that these things are very real and evil.  Okay, so they are real and we as Christians should avoid them.  Fair enough.  Does this mean that Christians should avoid good juvenile fiction on the subject?  Well I guess that would depend on how far you want to take the Bible’s view point.

I am completely okay with a Christian parent telling their children they can not read Harry Potter due to the wizards and witches in the story.  What I have a problem with is the typical Christian hypocrisies that comes with it.  If you will not allow your children to read or watch Harry Potter because its a world of magic that contains wizards and witches, then why is it okay for those children to read the Chronicles of Narnia series or even Lord of the Rings.  Certainly you would not let them watch the movies either right?  Wrong.  Most Christian families who speak ill about Harry Potter are letting their children read books by Christian authors that contain the same elements they acknowledge as evil in Harry Potter.  Chances are, they are also letting their kids (and themselves) watch movies based on these writings.

The thing is, most Christian parents do not teach their children about the concept evil in the correct way.  You teach your children that in real life magic is to be avoided and that it is not all great fun like the Harry Potter books show.  These parents do not demonstrate to their children the difference between fiction and reality.  It is a very necessary distinction that needs to be made.  Children need to be taught that fictional stories involving fictional characters are just that and have no bearing on real world events.

Another issue is that most Christian parents throwing a fit over the popularity of Harry Potter  have not bothered to read the books themselves.  The books are juvenile mystery stories where good often triumphs over evil.  The books teach the value of friendship and even respecting your elders overall.  Yes, around the end of the fourth book, the series becomes a little darker, but that is when the big evil returns completely.  They are light hearted fun, nothing more.  Also, parents in an uproar miss the fact that children are standing in line at bookstores at midnight waiting for a book to be released.  They were not waiting on the newest video game or movie, but rather a book that had actual words that needed to be read.  This is a huge deal.  Children actually wanting to read instead of play video games, watch TV, or go to a movie.

I think Christians that have an issue with Harry Potter need to lighten up in a big way.  They also need to really look at the games they probably let their kids play.  They might also want to look more closely at some of the Christian authors writing stories with similar characters before passing judgment on something as trivial as Harry Potter.  It is not like the books of Harry Potter are teaching children real magic spells that they can perform on their friends.

I just finished reading Killer Flagship Content by Chris Garrett of currently of ChrisG.com and (formally?) Performancing.com. This fourteen page ebook that comes as a free gift when subscribing to the RSS feed for ChrisG.com is a great beginning resource for any new blogger. In fact, it is probably one of newest must read resources for a new blogger.

While many will argue that what is said in Killer Flagship Content has been said before by just about every blogger teaching others how to blog, it is nice to have the high points in one fourteen page supplement that new writers can be pointed to for easy reading. Chris puts everything in very simple terms and makes it easy to understand where he is going within the first five pages. The lists, tips, and insight he gives is something that I wish was available to me before I launched this website. Granted, I am not ashamed of anything I have done so far, I just feel that I could have started out better rather than learning 4-6 months later what I should have been doing from the start.

The idea of flagship content, is something that new bloggers need to focus on. There is a lot of "doing what that guy is doing" in the blogosphere these days. Having original content to point new readers to is something that is very important for a new writer to focus on. If you are new to blogging or known someone who is thinking of getting into the market, then you should point them to ChrisG.com where they can subscribe to the RSS feed and get a free copy of Killer Flagship Content. They will definitely want to add ChrisG.com’s RSS feed to their favorite RSS reader since Chris specializes in helping bloggers succeed.

For more information on how to obtain a copy of Killer Flagship Content, please visit ChrisG.com.

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