SPRING/SUMMER 2023!!...Share your sales & solutions!!!

Do any of the games have novels that expand on the lore of the games he's playing? Are there any historical events he's expressed curiosity or interest in? Is there a local librarian who could probably give you some great answers and has access to cheap books?

I don't ever remember discussing books in college applications or interviews but maybe I've forgotten that or they've changed. I think being able to demonstrate proper grammar and solid writing skills are more important.

Personally I lost my passion for reading during high school and college when I had so much mandatory reading as part of school. My social life was also expanding and I'd argue you can't get back some gaming experiences. I don't regret postponing reading in pursuit of other activities. I also don't think I'd have appreciated many great books that I later enjoyed.

During this time my mom would often put things out at the breakfast table, in the bathroom, etc. with lots of options from readers digest and news clippings (attached to a little magnet board) to comic books and longer novels. Me and my brother ended up reading fair amounts of that and would often get sucked into a novel by a cool description or cover. She'd rent library books as well and just ask us to glance at them. I refused most, but occasionally something would grab my interest. I assume a librarian was helping her with the selection. Maybe you can't cite these on an application but you are still reading words and learning how to spell, sentence structure, the distinction between their, there, & they're, etc.

My brother was hanging out with us in May, and tossing out some college interview questions to my son. Like, "what's your favorite book? Why is it your favorite?"

I don't regret postponing reading in pursuit of other activities. I also don't think I'd have appreciated many great books that I later enjoyed.

That's an interesting point. Does your enjoyment of a book depend on your own life experiences and if you read the same book later on in life would you feel the same way about it?

That's an interesting point. Does your enjoyment of a book depend on your own life experiences and if you read the same book later on in life would you feel the same way about it?

IMO, yes. Life experience makes a huge difference in the enjoyment of books. There were many books that I was allowed to read that I was not mature enough to understand. It's kind of like some of the adult jokes in animated films, kids don't even notice them, but the adults are

I think it is impacted by that and it's suggested/theorized/discussed in developmental psychology. A mix of life experiences and how the brain develops at different ages.

I've gone back and read childhood favorites and now I often will side with the views of the adults rather than the teenagers. Some books become "better" while other seem almost formulaic and childish where even if I enjoy the theme/plot I just don't like the writing style. They are more kids books but I loved Animorphs and Redwall as a kid but never finished either. I thought I'd dip back into both to see if there was some interesting lore and could barely get through a book it was so juvenile and formulaic.

Harry Potter and LOTR/The Hobbit were both series I enjoyed at a very young age and have reread a few times (usually like every 5 years I get a craving for one or the other). Each time I read them I discovered new things I missed before because my focus was elsewhere. As a teen I was interested in the Hermion-Ron-Krum love triangle because I was also in teen relationships but as an adult it just doesn't garner the same interest. Snape, Dumbledore, and Sirius all weren't as black and white as I saw them as a young reader. When I look at LOTR I loved the songs and Tom Bombadil as a kid but now I almost feel as if those are a distraction.

However, even just going back and reading a book where you know what is going to happen can be a different experience as you are looking for things you wouldn't have known to look for the first time. For example, as a kid the explanations at the end of HP books were sad because it meant the action was over. At the time the books weren't all out yet so a long wait until the next one and then I had to get through the "school" stuff before I'd get to the Voldemort/main plot stuff that was my real interest. As an adult I spend more time on long conversations at the end of books as they have such implications for what is to come and share so much information. Sorry my examples aren't great. I had some better ones but didn't want to include any spoilers.

I encourage anyone to grab some headphones and put on an audiobook of one of your childhood/teen favorites the next time you're doing some work around the house. It's been a mix of disbelief at how bad some of my old favorites were and falling in love with some great series all over again. I do think part of the experience that makes it enjoyable is reminiscing on my former favorite passages while also enjoying different parts of the book and seeing characters in a new light.

That's a trick question if there ever was one. The interviewer is looking for a certain answer and you have to say what he wants to hear.

I don't know, maybe. My brother said not to pick something obvious or over-hyped. He also said that it really didn't matter what you said (with the exclusions of things that are too well known). He said what is important is to have an answer ready and to be able to talk about it. It could be a very obscure book that the interviewer has never heard of, just as long as you can speak about it.

Husband has a deal question. He has a Walmart credit card, and earns some kind of points on that. He wants to know if he will earn points if he buys Disney gift cards with the credit card.