Today’s guest post comes from Madislandgirl.

Like many Baboons, I am a reader. I almost never leave home without something to read in hand, the local librarians know me on sight. Finding a new author I enjoy is like making a new friend. I have raised a son and heir to be a reader too.

But at least for the foreseeable future, we won’t be investing in an e-reader. Yes, there are great features on the various models-you can make the font change, you can take notes, look up words and most tempting of all, you can be carrying around over 100 books in the physical space of one book-no mean consideration in a household that is chronically short of shelf space and long on book bags with torn seams from carrying around too many books.

When you check out an e-book from the library, you never need to worry about returning it on time or losing it, it simply disappears when it is due. For my friends whose hands now have trouble holding books over a certain size, an e-reader is a gift from heaven. All great stuff, but we aren’t getting one.

I’m not even tempted. In fact, the only reason I have done any research on e-readers is to write this piece. The reason I give is that I just don’t want one more thing that has to be “charged”-I’m bad at remembering to do it, and can only imagine the screen going dark, just as I am getting to the best part. But I know that isn’t the real reason.

The answer came to me while sitting next to a fellow fencing mom, both of us reading away, she on her e-reader, me with my book. I glanced over and my unbidden thought was, “I don’t want to do that!” What would I be missing if I were doing what she was doing? Why is important to me that my hands as well as my mind know what I am reading?

I like the covers of books. When I go to the library, I tend to use the computer to direct me to the general area I am interested in, then I stand before the shelves and scan for something interesting. My hunter instincts have been honed to identify at a glance which non-fiction books are probably meaty affairs, which are too thin to be satisfying, which are going to be tougher than I want to chew on right now. In fiction, the publisher has often gone to great trouble to design a book’s appearance to let me know what kind of reading experience I can expect. I am greatly grieved when I find I have been deceived.

The book I was holding on the night of my epiphany had an embossed dust jacket that was a particularly good tactile experience. The graphic layout depicts a quilt border I might someday like to make, and the author’s name is in gold letters. It must be rather grand to see your name on a book cover in gold letters. Inside the cover are the end papers. I love end papers. In the case of this particular book, the end papers show quilt blocks from the story that could easily be crafted into a real quilt. Other favorite end papers have maps of the locale of the story, or genealogical charts of the families in the story. The marbled endpapers of old books are often almost meditative in their undulations of color.

I suppose it is possible that e-books include endpapers, but they would look like just another page, and you would have to click or scroll to them, just like any other page. It’s just not the same.

Then there are the “bragging rights”. I suppose there may be some advantage to being able to read Fanny Hill in public without having the whole world know it, but if you are the sort of reader my son is (and I am), you kind of want the world to know if you are reading War and Peace, and not the latest installment of Diary of a Wimpy Kid. A friend who is often on the light rail purposely seeks out books with titles like The Hollow Chocolate Bunnies of the Apocalypse, just for the amusement of her fellow travelers.

I thought this might just be a generational thing, but as the son and heir has not so much as suggested we get an e-reader, I asked him what he thought. He had no interest in getting one, so I asked him why.

“I like the ‘bookness’ of a real book. I like turning the pages, clicking to turn the page would be so lame.”

Not to mention, scrolling through pages makes me nauseous, flipping through pages doesn’t.

And where do the readers of e-books look for misplaced Important Pieces of Mail?

Do you have a favorite book cover? Is it an accurate indicator of what is inside?

Today’s guest post comes from Beth-Ann

My son received his diploma from the University of Minnesota this December-after a mere 7 and a half years. This was not the speed at which I imagined his academic journey would proceed. It certainly wasn’t the speed that my journey took.

Before you ask, it wasn’t because the classes weren’t available, or that he changed majors (note to Ben and Anna – A few semesters were trashed when he built sets instead of doing classwork), or even bad advice or financial problems that slowed him down. This past September my son called me after he ran into the Dean and Chancellor of his college along with the new president of the University. They asked him why it had taken so long to graduate and with total honesty my son answered, “If you don’t do the work, you won’t pass the classes, and you can’t graduate.”

When I heard these words I knew that the Maturity Fairy was at work. You may not have encountered her but after this 7+ year slog I AM a believer in this force that brings growth from out of the blue.

In addition to his academic under performance my son was a jerk for a good part of the time. You can imagine the various forms of irresponsibility his behavior took (and no, you cannot substitute spraying Febreeze on your dirty clothes for doing laundry). More heartbreaking was his rude behavior to me and all those who loved and supported him.

I turned to a mantra that got me through a rough stretch of potty-training – IF he wears diapers to Kindergarten it will be his issue not mine. I stopped trying to train him and waited for the Maturity Fairy to inspire him. One day she waved her wand and my son asked for Mickey Mouse underwear and never was wet again.

This Fall my son actually called home to ask for advice. With silent gratitude I provided 2 sentences of guidance and said that I was sure he could figure it out because I was busy. The change was out-of the blue and defied rational explanation The Maturity Fairy is still my heroine and I love it when my son notices his cousin is a brat on Facebook and says, “Was I that obnoxious at 14?”

I feel the Maturity Fairy waving her wand over me as I decide NOT to cite chapter and verse.

I hope she sticks around for a little while longer. He still doesn’t have a job …

Have you seen the Maturity Fairy at work in your life or in the lives of others you know?

Today’s guest post comes from Jim in Clark’s Grove.

I like to explore nature and it has occurred to me that it would be interesting to study and document the animals than can be found in my yard or near the place where I live. So far I haven’t put a big effort into studying this nearby fauna, although I have noticed some things that I found interesting. Also, there were some creatures, which would not usually be thought of as wild life, which made an unexpected effort to populate my yard.

I am always amazed at the wide variety of birds that can be found in urban areas. My bird feeders, like most bird feeders, attract a fairly wide variety of birds. I am especially pleased that the number of Chickadees has increased this year. Many years ago there were large numbers of English sparrows coming to the feeders and now they seemed to have been replaced by House Finches. I don’t like seeing large flocks of either of these two kinds of birds because they are aggressive and are more or less an invasive species. I’m glad to report they haven’t been able to push out my more preferred visitors.

In the spring I see birds that are brief visitors as they migrate through our area. I particularly like seeing the tiny Kinglets that seem to like to rest in our yard on their way north. Of course, spring also marks the return of local birds that live in the south during the winter. I especially like to hear the singing of Wrens and Chipping Sparrows that ring out as they come back to their nesting areas. In the summer I sometimes see flocks of Cedar Wax Wings that move through our neighborhood looking for fruit. I have even had a visit from a Yellow Bellied Sap Sucker that I saw drinking sap from a hole it made in a tree.

We have a fairly large number of squirrels. I spread some bird seed on a picnic table for the squirrels to keep them from attacking my bird feeders. Our yard is also the home of Short-tailed Shrews. Short-tailed Shrews have a somewhat poisonous bite. Mice are included as one of their prey. I saw these shrews for the first time when I was cleaning out my compost pile and one of them gave me a painful nip, but I guess I was just too big to bring down. I’m glad we have these mouse predators in our yard because mice occasionally invade our garage and damage stored items.

Finally, we had a tree house in our yard that was used by our daughters. Neighbor kids also played in the tree house and I was glad that they could make use of it after my daughters grew up. One day I saw two young girls there that were not from our neighborhood. They had apparently decided this was now their “nest” and had even started to freshen it up with some paint. Since I had no idea where these two “birds” lived and they hadn’t asked permission to redecorate, I told them that they should find another place to do their nesting.

Have you noticed any interesting or unusual local fauna?

It’s Spring vacation time, and so I have sprung. Just in time to escape Minnesota’s oppressive May-in-March loveliness for something hotter and more humid. In my absence, a Congress of Baboons has stepped forward to fill in. Thanks, gang!

Today’s guest posts comes from Aaron.

Hey Baboons,

I know it has been a long while since I was last here, but yes I am still alive and well. I hold no grudges against anyone here I assure you, it was nothing anyone said.

I am working on how not to procrastinate, and this blog entry is a good example. I am writing this early on Tuesday morning, before I get distracted with the hustle and bustle of the day. I am a serial procrastinator. I was the one who would wait until the last minute to do a big project in school (a history day project on Elvis comes to mind, it was fun, it just took a while to get there). Writing letters to relatives is another thing I put off, just because I HATE writing letters, I rather just send an email and be done with it, but recently I put a kind note to my grandma in the good old US mail, and you know what? It felt great to finally send it out.

Maybe that is why I haven’t been on here, I was procrastinating on being a brilliant creative person (I kid, this is not my big ego talking, heck I don’t have that big of a ego, although some of you would beg to differ). I think my method of not procrastinating is thinking about what the end product would do for the greater good, and also when people depend on me to actually follow through on something by a certain date or time (Dale needed this by Friday the 16th, and I didn’t want to find out what the Wrath of Connelly is like). So it’s good to be back here, and hopefully I won’t procrastinate on my Baboon duties (much).

What are some ways you fight the urge to procrastinate?