This post is sponsored by Oyster. Not the seafood. The cool brain food.
We prepare for holidays like hurricanes–not so much the panicky board up the windows thing, but definitely a stock up of our favorite foods and anything we might need because we intend to lay low, veg out and completely recharge our batteries. In the old days, we used to head to Blockbuster Video a few days before Christmas and stock up on all the favorites. Now we “add them to our watch list”–a new-fangled term of our modern age.
If you’re a book lover, you may have great intentions in the coming weeks to similarly tackle your reading list. While this has been a really good reading year for me, it still seems that my reading list grows like the mess in my house–one step forward and two steps back. Still, I plug away and make as much time as I can for reading and, like exercising, always feel completely satisfied for doing it.
When it comes to reading, I fought technology for a long time, swearing that I needed to hold a book, smell its pages, underline passages and feel the paper in my hand. I still love to do all that and continue to buy real books that I want sitting on my coffee table or that need to be held–some just do. But, as with many other things, I’ve accepted that you don’t have to forsake one way to adopt another. You can have both. I started reading some books on my phone last year for convenience and loved having them accessible when, say, I was stuck in school car line, waiting for Lainey. This also works great for my ADD style of reading. I go from book to book to book and am frequently reading three books at a time.
So, fellow book lovers. Here’s where I get to use another new-fangled term of the modern age: There’s an app for that! Enter Oyster, a subscription based app that gives you access to unlimited ebooks for $9.95 a month. Think Netflix for books. Oyster features over half a million books in every genre from classics to new releases and everything from New York Time’s Bestsellers and Oprah’s picks to children’s titles and more. New titles are added every day, and Oyster is accessible at any time on iOS, Android, Kindle Fire, Nook HD and on the web.
Not now, Brett…it’s a good part.
Oyster has a fantastic children’s chapter book selection –great for required reading lists at school, road trips (pack 10 books with no suitcase!), bedtime and homework.
You can also share and receive book recommendations from friends on the app,
Here’s my recommendation.
I added a few Mary Oliver poetry books to my reading list (West Wind and Winter Hours) this morning as well as The Glass Castle (rereading), Brain on Fire and This Is Happening, a beautiful book of Instagram photos. That makes my current reading list about 32 books deep. Yikes.
And if you’re looking for great last-minute gift ideas, you can give the gift of an Oyster subscription–anywhere from one month to a year.
Readers who sign up for Oyster using this link will receive their first 30 days free.
Read your little hearts out this holiday.
Thanks, Oyster, for supporting this blog and thank you readers for checking out the sponsors that help make maintaining this blog a little easier.
Terra says
I will keep this Oyster option in mind. In the meantime I like to buy books, my husband and I laugh and say we are bookaholics. We have at least 100 books that we bought, waiting to be read. It is like owning treasures.
Danielle says
Ooo Brain on Fire is a great read!! I will have to look into this when my son gets his Kindle for Christmas!
Taylor DuVall says
This is great! I had wondered if this program would be a good bet for my voracious reading habits – and your post has encouraged me to try it out! Thank you 🙂
Niania Ogg says
I’m a bookaholic too but I prefer paper. I love touch book and have it in my hand. This year is full of books. I hope that in the next year there will be more.
All the best for you. 🙂
priest's wife says
…this looks interesting- we are blessed to have library to Kindle possibilities for one book at a time, but this looks like you can borrow more
Sascha says
Yes Brain on Fire is a great read! Thanks for the details on this app, I have a long list of books I want to read and I like the idea of a subscription. Why didn’t I think of the idea?
emmabovary says
I agree with you about some books needing to be held, but it is so wonderful to have the option of carrying a tonne of books with you on a tablet or similar – the more reading the better I say! I was so slack with reading this year and next year I need to get back into it, Oyster sounds like a virtual library heaven to me!
Life with Kaishon says
Oh my word. Such a great idea!
I had that book in high school. I remember begging my Daddy to take me to the Hallmark store to buy it for all of my friends.
I wonder if I still have a copy.
Argyrie says
I use Amazon’s Kindle app on both my phone and tablet. It’s just so convenient and downloads the ebooks instantly…great for traveling and late night reads before lights out!
Mrs. Rubenstein says
I love reading books on my kindle, but it is very important to support your local library and get both print and ebooks through them. Libraries need to keep their circulation high to keep their funding, and libraries are such important community centers.
Life with Kaishon says
Kelle, I just started reading the Glass Castle on Saturday morning. I must have seen this one day last week and then subliminally picked it up when I had a few minutes Saturday morning. I could not put it down. And when I was finished I just wanted to share it with everyone I knew. Did you read anything else of hers? I am going to the library before Christmas to get more of her books.
kparks says
Loved Brain on Fire!!!