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Post by usedtobeneat on Jul 24, 2010 17:25:32 GMT -5
I love books. I have more books than anything else, actually. Even more than clothes. I'm one of those people who won't throw books away either. I do have a lot that I have bought to put on BookMooch, and some that I have read and put on there, but when I read a book and enjoy it, I will keep it and read it again. I have some that I read once a year, every year and I always find something new in them every time.
I also like learning about religions, and have an entire section of my book shelf wall unit that is full of books on religions, mainly Paganism. I have another section that is full of books on magic as well (Hoodoo, Witchcraft, etc). Another section is nonfiction and biographies and then I have the fiction section. These are 8 feet tall, 4 feet wide sections. (BTW I got most of the books in the entire shelf from BookMooch by trading yard sale paperbacks - so it's definately something to consider for book lovers). One of my favorite shelves is full of books of short stories. I have some American Lit collections of short stories (textbooks) and some compilations by publishing houses, and some short stories by author, but my favorite is John Irving's "Best American Fiction of the 20th Century". It's a huge book full of short stories. Some are really good, some not so good, but I can always find something to read in it.
I don't think anything can replace curling up with an actual book on a rainy winter afternoon, with the bedside lamp on and the "good" blanket over my legs and a plate of cheddar cheese and summer sausage and a Dr Pepper on the night table and just reading for hours. A Kindle is a really cool gadget but nothing replaces the feel of a book in your hand, at least in my opinion.
In a similar vein, there is a group that I used to belong to called 'The Letter Exchange' which was founded to encourage snail mail. This was about 18 years ago when I was a member, but it was a backlash group because email was beginning to take over. Folks got a booklet in the mail with peoples names, addresses and interests listed and you wrote to people whose interests you shared or that you were interested in learning about. I looked it up recently and now the listings are online. Go figure.
Mary
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Post by CourageouslyLion SeeksSerenity on Jul 24, 2010 19:36:32 GMT -5
an unfinished project is a BIG WEIGHT on a person. you forget its even there, but it silently drains energy for other things. Wise words, puppybox! -
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Post by ClutterBlind on Jul 24, 2010 20:02:56 GMT -5
MiSC, I would agree except for two things. One, no computer like gadget is ever going to replace the feeling of curling up in front of a fire with a good book. Two, the ruckus over Amazon deleting books people had bought because they decided no one needed to read those books will always remain in my mind as a possible danger of not having my own hard copy. If I have the book, they can't censor what I choose to read unless they physically come here and get it.
messymimi I don't know about that particular Kindle issue, although it does sound familiar. Yes, I would be infuriated, too. I just want to point out there are other eReader devices, in which the books are kept directly on the eReader's hard drive, and not in at the site's remote archives. So you CAN have direct control of the books you buy or keep. Make sure you keep good back-ups. As for curling up with a book, the first time I ever saw an electronic reader device, it was on Star Trek. I thought, "No way am I ever going to be doing that as long as a piece of real scrap paper is left on the planet. That is just too cold, impersonal and well - electronic for me. I am a die hard paper book reader." I still thought the same thing when I saw an actual Sony eReader, although I was intrigued at changing the font sizes. (Which has since become invaluable to me as my eyes go.) But then, one day I realized, I spend an incredible amount of time online: surfing & reading the web, doing research, shopping online, emails, and posting in forums. Obviously I don't have a problem reading off an electronic device. In the end, I realized reading is reading.Basically, other than those first few moments of holding a book, feeling it, smelling it, and opening those pages, it becomes about the experience of actually reading. What you're reading on is actually besides the point, unless it interferes with reading. If I'm so focused on the feel of each page instead of being engrossed in what I am reading that I don't even notice what I am reading off of, then it's just not an engaging enough story period. When I'm engrossed in a book, I don't notice what I'm reading off of, except when pages get stuck together while flipping them. Then the paper becomes an annoyance. I'm not thinking, "Oh, yay, I'm reading on paper," as I flip each page. A book is a symbol. Picking up and clutching a book is really about the feeling and experiences we have about the stories inside. It isn't about the actual physical format. Before you read on an eReading device, you think it's about paper, but soon realize, it's not about that. The paper is only associated to the wonderful experiences we have reading and in the end. It's the same reading off an eReader or the computer or on paper.
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Post by usedtobeneat on Jul 24, 2010 20:13:34 GMT -5
I understand and agree completely Clutterblind, I was just saying that I like the whole 'trappings' of the book, my favorite blanket, my snacks, etc. I would definately take a Kindle somewhere that I wasn't able to take several books, like on a vacation. I understand that it can hold several books at once, and it takes up a lot less space. It would be a Godsend to people who only have room for a limited amount of books.
My 13yo daughter wants a Kindle so bad she can taste it. She loves those vampire books and we have to buy her a new book every week. She reads them until they are falling apart, and then she wants a replacement of the same book. Also, where we live there isn't a book store and the Wal Mart doesn't have very many new books. She has to wait until someone can drive her into the city or her sister is going there and can get it for her. With a Kindle, we can buy her a refillable Visa at Wal Mart and she can use it at Amazon to get whatever book she wants instantly. I am so very glad that she loves to read and want to encourage that any way I can.
Back to the whole "trappings" issue though, about how I like the feel and the weight of a good hardback book printed on good paper. I'm the same way with my telephone. We have a cordless phone, like everybody else on the planet, but I like to use the old, black, rotary dial desk phone that I found at a yard sale and had my husband fix for me. It's in my room, and I have it on a vintage early 60s bi-level chair side table beside a pink velvet wing chair and I love to sit there and talk on that telephone. It's so retro! However, I usually make my calls on the cordless as I'm running around the house doing what I have to do.
Mary
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Post by dtesposito on Jul 24, 2010 20:43:01 GMT -5
Well, everyone on the planet except me! I have an old-fashioned, heavy, push-button desk phone, with the cord attached to the wall. AND no cell phone! How's that for retro?
UsedToBeNeat, you should check out the thread in byways for us booklovers, we tell about what we're reading. (I think it's skipped past page 1 at the moment.) I am a total book freak, and have thousands of them. It's my one category that I'm still completely in denial about and feel like I'll never get rid of. I read every chance I get, and I too, love the feel and look and smell of a real book. The e-readers look like fun but I won't consider one until my eyes get bad enough to need the larger print--then I will probably consider it a necessity. Not that I could come near to affording one now, but you know what I mean.
Diane
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Post by ClutterBlind on Jul 24, 2010 20:43:17 GMT -5
I understand and agree completely Clutterblind, I was just saying that I like the whole 'trappings' of the book, my favorite blanket, my snacks, etc. I'm the same way with my telephone. We have a cordless phone, like everybody else on the planet, but I like to use the old, black, rotary dial desk phone that I found at a yard sale and had my husband fix for me. It's in my room, and I have it on a vintage early 60s bi-level chair side table beside a pink velvet wing chair and I love to sit there and talk on that telephone. It's so retro! However, I usually make my calls on the cordless as I'm running around the house doing what I have to do. Mary I don't have a Kindle or eReader yet. I do have the various free programs downloaded on my laptop to read eBooks. I have my laptop propped up on a "breakfast in bed" lap tray, so it's totally off my lap. I don't even have to hold the screen up or hold a device, the way the Kindle readers do. I only have to have a finger available to scroll pages. I can now eat messy foods, like Buffalo chicken wings, while reading and leave the edge of my pinky free to scroll pages. I do know what you mean about phones. I realized I'm one of those awful people who talk loudly into their cellphones. It's because they are so dang small! I feel like, if the microphone is over by the side of my ear, there is no way the sound is going into the mic and into the phone, so the listener can hear. I prefer a nice long phone which actually ends up in front of my mouth. The last two cellphones I got, I've been using the speakerphone on them, almost exclusively. I can hold the phones directly in front of me to talk, and the speaker is loud enough to hear, so I don't have to keep moving it to my ear.
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Post by ClutterBlind on Jul 24, 2010 20:54:13 GMT -5
The e-readers look like fun but I won't consider one until my eyes get bad enough to need the larger print--then I will probably consider it a necessity. Not that I could come near to affording one now, but you know what I mean. Diane Yes, that's what forced me into starting to read eBooks. My sight is going. Now I LOVE the larger fonts. I globally changed all the settings on my computers to nice big fonts. I realized, fonts were only in 12 pt. to save paper. But, on a computer, I don't have to worry about that. I can set my fonts for whatever size is comfortable to read. I'm also waiting for eReaders to go down in price. Borders recently advertised their own generic eReader for about $120. Still too high for me. When I finally got in on the MP3 music craze, which had been going on for years already, it was only because I was staring at all my shelves full of cassettes, and thought, "There must be a better way to store these." Then a light bulb went off. My first generic MP3 player was about $25. My most recent model, I got for $12. It does what the $400 iPods do when they first came out, without shelling out all that excess money. I'm going to wait for when the generic eReaders are the same way.
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Post by usedtobeneat on Jul 24, 2010 20:57:42 GMT -5
Diane, you should look at BookMooch.com I think I gave the information about it on this thread. You would love it if you love books, and it's completely free.
Mary
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Post by bigtimetroubles on Jul 25, 2010 0:03:02 GMT -5
I have been dumping the textbooks from college that were stashed in the basement....they went to the trash can because I did not know how fast I could get rid of them any other way. Those books are from Pre 1988 and from pre 2002.....those were when I got my BA and MA....
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Post by bigtimetroubles on Jul 25, 2010 0:15:58 GMT -5
me for reading nothing yes nothing beats a Audiobook....love to listen not to scan my eyes...yes I love audiobooks.... has anyone read this book? Pillars of the Earth....and its companion World without End? did you like those books? I loved them.....read on audiobooks...got so enthralled I missed my exit on highway at work one night and on another night got so enthralled in Pillars of the Earth ...I got speeding ticket
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Post by zen on Jul 25, 2010 8:52:58 GMT -5
I have had my Kindle2 for almost a year and it is great! Now they have the phone apps - I have a little Kindle app that I can read my book collection on my android phone - which is awesome, and another one for the pc if I want a really big screen. I don't know if ebooks will completely replace books (most likely book stores) - but perhaps they will, or something like them will eventually. I think that the ebook format and the ability for folks to self publish is HUGE - I have friends that make a nice living from the sales of their little e books, projects that cost them next to nothing to put together. with that said I still buy books made of paper, just not so many
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Post by Rory on Jul 25, 2010 10:22:54 GMT -5
Today Sunday I'm rereading this thread and note:
'You were that person once, and you are not now'
and
'an unfinished project is a BIG WEIGHT on a person'
These are very helpful thoughts for me to have
With regard to books well I'm a published author and my book* was available for many years in hard copy and is now available as an ebook. Secondhand copies are offered for sale at much more than the price of the ebook.
There was going to be a paperless office once and there generally is not.
*I want to preserve my anonymity so would rather not say what the book was about.
Thanks Everyone Rory
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Post by Rory on Jul 25, 2010 10:33:13 GMT -5
Also I've been at it again today and have thrown out, more psychology notes (which I did not think I had), yet another telephone book, two catalogs which were hiding and a file of notes on adjustments to an old computer programme. I've cleaned the bookcases and rearranged everything.
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Post by bluefrog on Jul 25, 2010 11:38:51 GMT -5
Well done, Rory! I've sent DH off to the book exchange with another couple of totes full of books. More next weekend, I hope!
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Post by Rory on Jul 25, 2010 13:02:59 GMT -5
Oh and I don't have a cordless phone, a cell phone or a TV.
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