General Chat

It has finally dawned on me what a kindle is - am a bit slow at times. Watching a tv ad for these, I thought no that is not me.

There is something so wonderful about lifting a book (especially a new book - I usually get a few for Christmas and birthday) and turning the pages slowly until one reaches those two magic words CHAPTER ONE!

I could not be without my library never ever since my seventh birthday (you had to be 7 in ancient times to get a library card). Some 30 years ago we were moving house some hundreds of miles away and OH was already there. One phone call - he informed me he had good news for me - he had registered us with a dentist. My reply where is the nearest library?

I visit weekly and please may they continue - should they ever try to close down any one of the three within 4 miles of me, I should chain myself and walker to the railings! And the library is free.

i was talking about this yesterday Chris, with my son, and I would absolutely hate one... I love the feel of the book, the pleasure of seeing loved books on the shelf, even ( or maybe especially) the ones that look dog eared because they have been read time and again :).

I too have been going to libraries for as long as I can remember,my first memory of school in fact is the book shelves which opened up...and the story at the end of each day.

I've dropped some heavy hints that a book would be appreciated at Christmas !

I quite agree Chris. I love my books, but sometimes for ease of use and availability the kindle has its place. I am sure people like Ann in Glos will agree with me when I say that for those who travel a lot, or indeed at all, the kindle ( or any electronic library ) can hold many more books than can our suitcases.

Then there are those who are housebound....to be able to download at a click is wonderful.

I initially got mine to accommodate all those free books online, but then found that some newer books were cheaper and available in the middle of the night. As a traveller it is a boon to me.

I believe there is room for both modes :-)

My ex couldn't do without his books - and he's dyslexic!
Is he the only person who sniffs them? (he reads them as well - honest!!) LOL

Lol Maggie...I only sniff mine if the dog has been near them.

I am dreadful. I cannot part with a book and cannot borrow one. It has to 'belong' to me.

Years ago, in my early teens and when my Mother was alive, she realized my love of books and when she asked me what I wanted for my 17th birthday I asked for 40 threepenny books from the second hand shop. I knew she would have a problem deciding which books to buy so I suggested that she closed her eyes ( at the Non fiction dept) and chose books randomly.

They were brilliant and I read them all.

A few years later, after my Mother had passed away, my Father asked me what I wanted for my birthday.....I repeated the same request, but alas...he thought he would do better by buying me new and they were the Mills and Boon ilk.....I know he did his best.....but Mother knew me better than Father .....Sigh!


Not sure if this belongs on this thread....but not to worry.....life is never so serious that we cannot make silly mistakes now and then without a smile :-)

Thanks - Must admit that I had never heard the name kindle for a electronic book before

I´m a complete book addict & have been ever since I learned to read, but I must admit I have been considering a Kindle (if & when I can afford one.)
I live in Spain & trying to get hold of books in English is very difficult . New ones are incredibly expensive,second hand ones are limited in supply & the local library has less English books than I have at home, Most of them I have already read & you are only allowed 3 at a time, which means going twice a week. The librarians think I.m a bit eccentric as reading is not a popular pastime here.
Oh for the days when I could go to Birmingham Central Library & pick up 8 books.
Books & Cadbury´s chocolate are the 2 things I miss most about England.
Marion

I absolutely adore the feel of books which to me have a personality of their own once I start reading. However, I travel a lot for business I can slip me e-reader in my bag for flights etc where a book takes up weight and space.

Kindle is the brand name for the Amazon electronic book.

Wisechild I believe if you live in Spain you might be wise to steer clear of whichever e book downloads fro Waterstones as I think somebody else in Spain said that she can no longer download books because of a legal wrangle. best to check before you buy.

I love books and have loads, buying and using the kindle doesn't preclude me from buying books. I too love the feel and smell of a new book and I am greedy I read those I but and those I borrow mainly from my daughter. But, as Susan says, travelling is a nuisance when you need to take 8 books as I do to tenerife, it doesn't help the weight restrictions, this is why OH suggested the Kindle, that and the fact that daughter got one.

What is the magic of reading? Unfortunately I have never had any interest in picking up a non fiction book. In some way I envy people who get lost in a story but for me I can't remember what the story line is at the end of a page, let alone at the end of a chapter. I enjoy reading non fiction and learning new facts but so often I have tried to read, even the classics, and had so much difficulty trying to concentrate on the story. If I read a newspaper I tend to analyze the story and if I find a spelling mistake it throws my understanding out of the window.
Fortunately I have not passed this 'handicap' onto my children as they love reading but they don't seem to have grasped spelling in a way that I find acceptable. Is this just them or is it a 'generation' thing?. When I was at school it was always stressed that reading helped spelling but I have never managed to accept.-jle

Thanks for that info Ann. Haven´t heard anything about it & Kindles are being advertised here as acceptable Christmas presents.
just thought it would solve the availability problem although the thought of curling up in bed with a hot chocolate & a Kindle doesn´t have the same appeal.
marion

Books, I would,nt be without them We,ve got 4 large bookcases full of them all sorts and types,Old, New ,Classics etc. still keep going back to some I have read to re read again.Even got a couple in the car for when I waiting anywhere.**M**.

I am another bookworm, started when I was very small and I taught both my younger brothers to read as well. We had a small library at the bottom of the road altho I had to cross a busy main road to reach it but I went there often and chose new stuff to read. I even used to take all the women's magazines out of the wastepaper my brother collected up and down the road for pocket money and he couldn't sell them till I had read them cover to cover, altho I was only about 10 or 11 - I read all sorts of things lol I have hundreds and hundreds of books, many of them I get secondhand at the charity shops etc but o.h complains if he spots me buying so I have to be sneaky about it. He has never enjoyed reading, it just sends him to sleep altho he will pore(?sp) over a manual for a new tv etc for ages. I couldn't believe it when I first met him that his house contained no bookshelves or books, seems his boys didn't read much either, only the books they were sent home from school with when small. My son reads a lot too and I still have shelves full of his children's books hoarded up, sadly once his dad encouraged him to watch videos so I was co rced into hiring a player and that slowed down his reading for watching films etc. I could never be without a book on the go, and love all sorts, gone off Mills and Boons years ago when I realised life just wasn't like that lol
I suppose if I could afford one a Kindle would be handy sometimes but I would miss the colour of the cover and the joy of reading just a few more pages before I reluctantly put down the book for a little while.

I did point the Kindle out to o.h. when it was advertised the other day on tv and he said Oh good, no more books laying around, but I would miss my old favourites and don't think he will buy me one anyway.

I know my Dad read when he got time, mostly when he had spare time at work as he was a gatekeeper/timekeeper at a brewery for most of his working life so had times when he was just sitting waiting for someone to call at the gate or whatever. My Mum got hold of a set of Bindle? books that she said she remembered from her childhood, not sure if she re read them but sadly they got taken away when my brothers helped clear the house and I didn't get a chance to acqure them and read them.

Rita - can beat you - OH always commented that I had 3 books on the go at any one time. Dining room, lounge and bedroom. My defence - I had a book whereever I sat down for a cuppa downstairs and ready for bed upstairs. Until son left home he slept in a library - every inch of wall space was covered with shelves - all non--fiction and mainly mitilary history. I now have computer and a bed etc in what was his room (still is when he stays overnight) - however two walls are covered with shelves. One lot is 6' long and 4 shelves deep from ceiling. Boxes in loft and books on two shelves in unit in lounge. Dau used to say when she married she would not have a bookcase in her house and she hasn't. Genes will out - her dau is a history grad and bookworm! Love biographies, social history, and crime. Like Katie Flynn, Lyn Andrews, Lillian Harry, Maureen Lee, Catherine Cookson etc.

It appears that our tastes are similar - I love stories based on cities and areas I know well and heaven help the author if they have not done their research well - I mutter and mutter. Know I have 2 books coming from son - he always does and have a biography from OH of the most decorated soldier of WW2 - still alive and aged 90 - for life of me cannot recall his name but will Christmas morning. Not only will I be reading it, son will, gdau will and her boyfriend a history grad also! OH may dip in in but he usually prefers biographies of golfers/jockeys and trainors!

I have found that genealology has led me down reading paths I would not normally have gone. The first was the Titanic some 20 years ago (before the hype) when I discovered OH's g.uncle was a passenger and died.
Immerse yourself in a book and one is in another world.

Wisechild the Kindle would be OK in Spain. It is the Sony/Waterstones that is not so easy although son informs me there are American sites where you can download for the Sony.

Rita, I too find a good book helps me forget my worries and lets me drift off to sleep.
I just came down to get a new one I bought as I finished the other one and still wasn't tired.

Lizx.

Did you know that if there are two (or more) Kindles in your family or amongst your group of friends you can share your books? Daughter and I have just set up our Kindles to share our books so we get twice as much for our money.

nudge for those who missed it.

Give me a library any day. I much prefer the feel of a real book in my hand & am a regular user of my local library.
When I was in the other day I mentioned to the librarian that 3 shelves of books (about 70) in English could do with an injection of new reading matter & offered to donate some that I have finished with. She said that they have the offer quite regularly & would love to accept, but the Local Council dictate the amount of space they can use for "foreign "literature.
If the Spanish were big readers I could understand but in this town of around 26,000 inhabitants, the majority don´t or can´t read & many don´t even know where the library is.
Can´t see e books catching on, except for the fact that the Spanish love gadgets.
Marion