I prefer a book in my hands, but there is also the reality of reading advanced copies of books both because of professional reviewing responsibilities and my own obsession with keeping up with publishing through sites like Edelweiss Plus and Netgalley.
This means a few apps for my phone and tablet and an eReader (a Nook).
However every now and then I am frustrated by these digital copies, especially graphic novels which are hard to read on smaller devices like my phone and that don’t always swipe properly because of the monstrous size of the file on bigger ones like the Nook. And other times it’s the file itself which ties me to the computer to read the book for easiest access because I’m easily frustrated with the readability through the app. It is absolutely a problem that in the grand scheme of things is not important, just inconvenient. Maybe it’s because reading on a computer rather than a device feels less like a book and more like work. And reading is never really work.
If you have to read a book digitally, do you prefer the computer, a device, or an app on your phone?
Thanks for Edelweiss, I read a digital advanced copy and implore Balzer + Bray to fast track this book’s publication because I can’t possibly wait until September 1st to share Punching the Air with the teens (and staff) at our high school library. I think I have 12 copies on our order list and am debating whether to add more. Likewise, I’ve already mentioned it to a few art teachers about doing a collaboration using it.
In January 2019, I was in Seattle, Washington attending the Youth Media Awards as a member of the William C. Morris Award Committee. The winner was Adib Khorram’s Darius the Great Is Not Okay. Fast forward to May 2020 and I had the distinct pleasure of reading an advanced copy of its sequel, Darius the Great Deserves Better. If it was still winter, it would be akin to sipping that morning hot cocoa while watching the fluffy snow fall but since it’s spring in our little area of upstate New York, reading Khorram’s follow up felt like the blooms of a magnolia tree. Brightness and beauty. 
Darius’s grandfather might not survive after their trip to Iran last year, the family’s financial situation sends Darius’s father to a project out of state, and the dream internship turned job that Darius has coveted might not be what he really wants. This is the backdrop where Darius’s romantic predicaments set the wheels in motion while he keeps up with school and soccer. The story is wholehearted. It’s big love. 
Readers Be Advised 