Just cluckin' away ("book book")

I was glad to see that Io9's post on Geeky Gifts for Kids included plenty of fine books, and that same fine site also pointed me to 5 Sci-Fi Children's Books (which aren't real but maybe should be for the jacket art alone - check out Goodnight Dune and Kirk and Spock Are Friends).

Although Betsy Bird's reports on publishers' librarian previews are always fun, I was particularly taken with her description of one book in the Simon and Schuster spring 2011 line-up, which uses the phrase, "I hear you cluckin', Big Chicken." I can't quite imagine uttering that to any of my bosses, but surely just thinking it will improve the day.

Even if you don't use bookplates (and I don't, since I mostly read library books), you may well be tempted to purchase some of these desirable Etsy creations, as chosen by Carolyn Kellogg of Jacket Copy.

I've been going back and forth about whether to buy an e-reader. An upcoming trip abroad had me considering the benefits of being able to carry travel books, a German/English dictionary, and any number of novels on one slim, light device. But on the other hand, I want to catch up on all the great children's and YA novels I've been stockpiling, and what better opportunity than that long, long flight? Better yet, I've been saving my ARCS, which I can leave behind as I read them (leaving room in my suitcase for souvenirs).

I'm sure I'll buy an e-reader sooner rather than later, though. A Kindle seems like the best bet, but it's frustrating that I won't be able to read Google books, much less library e-books. I'm telling ya, I'm used to getting my books for free! Anyway, I'm grateful that Bookshelves of Doom recently addressed the question of which e-reader to buy - check out the extremely helpful comments on her post.