NFR - Books

[VicHalomsLovechild]

Six pages on "books" that's more than gets written on all matters football. No wonder the Riverside is so quiet, they're all reading!
The "Ragged Trousered Philanthropist" is a truly great book, Peabody and I think the only book he ever wrote.
I'm just finishing "Absolute Friends" by le Carre. Which I'm enjoying.

"The Antipope" by Robert Rankin. Combines humour and the darkside all set in Brentford. One of the funnest books I've read.

[Lighthouse]

As I fondled the pages of the fourth weekly news magazine I wondered what it would be like to be able to one day have all the magazines and books downloaded to a machine like a kindle. I came to the conclusion it would be pretty dull.

I can see hand held machines being useful for the classics and for reference works. But I still like feeling the pages of a book or paper. I hope it doesn't go the same way as the record. The joy of music and record shops are dead. Only the music is important now and that is mostly bland. There is still something magical about a World within the cover of a book. In the bland screen it loses somrething. So room for both please.

[finnster01]

I for one am entirely unconvinced by them and I reckon they'll die out within 2 years.

I don't know about that, I'm seeing more and more people with them on the train

I'm with Mr Eq and others on this. The reason more and more people are showing them off on the train is the pratt factor. "Look at me, I have the newest gadget and am I not wonderful?" syndrome. It was like getting the latest football boots made out of kangaroo skin back in the day when you didn't even know how to spell it or how it (the animal) looked, but the boots kicked arse in the dressing room.

My next big project in my apartment is to take a spare room and make it a library. I have it pretty much planned but because it is so old and with high ceilings I need to lower it to fit the French doors I want to put in. But when it is done, it will be a little haven of bookshelves full of books, a comfy chair, a fantastic halogen reading light, a couple of bottles of single malt Scotch and not a computer or phone in sight.  Just a place to escape to and forget about the real world for a minute.

How is a kindle or whatever they are called going to compete with that? Do they come with atmosphere as well?

[King_Crud]

it's horses for courses, people like the technology, and i think you'll find a generation brought up on laptops, mp3 players and iphones will not have any nostalgia for book reading. They will buy kindles. My 47 y.o boss bought one a couple of weeks ago because he's going on holidays and could have a number of books stored on it for holiday reading.

I'm not sticking up for them, I prefer a book myself, but to think they'll die out in a couple of years is a bit presumptious.

[BalDrick]

'How is a kindle or whatever they are called going to compete with that? Do they come with atmosphere as well?'

They don't, obviously, but there are advantages. Space being the main one. I've got huge bookcases, which I love to look at (daughter asked me for a school project what was my favourite ever book the other day, I could have been there for hours. Ended up giving her a shorlist of about 5, but she pressured me into choosing one, I prompted for Atonement but immediately regretted it).

But with houses getting smaller, there is a case to be made for the space-saving feature. But it's only really going to apply to people as they start their reading career, which counts out pretty well everyone who's replied to this thread. It's a generation thing - I'm 43 so have masses of books already, but 20 years ago I hardly had any.

And whilst I take the above poster's point re the music industry, god alone knows where I'd find room for all my CDs if they were LPs.

[BalDrick]

'...he's going on holidays and could have a number of books stored on it for holiday reading.'

That's a definite advantage - my brother-in-law is going to Aus for 6 months soon and is also getting a Kindle.

Think a lot comes down to the mentality of keeping them after you've read them; my wife fails to understand why I refuse to part with any books I've read despite it being highly unlikely I'll have time to reread any. 'It's a bloke thing' I told her. She still didn't understand.

[richie17]

it's horses for courses, people like the technology, and i think you'll find a generation brought up on laptops, mp3 players and iphones will not have any nostalgia for book reading. They will buy kindles. My 47 y.o boss bought one a couple of weeks ago because he's going on holidays and could have a number of books stored on it for holiday reading.

I'm not sticking up for them, I prefer a book myself, but to think they'll die out in a couple of years is a bit presumptious.

my little boy's going to find himself brought up in a tiny two bedroom flat with books everywhere.   I really hope that this rubs off on him as it did when I was small and browsing my parents' and grandparents' shelves.    The world he grows up in will be very different, of course, but we'll see.  

[richie17]

'How is a kindle or whatever they are called going to compete with that? Do they come with atmosphere as well?'

They don't, obviously, but there are advantages. Space being the main one. I've got huge bookcases, which I love to look at (daughter asked me for a school project what was my favourite ever book the other day, I could have been there for hours. Ended up giving her a shorlist of about 5, but she pressured me into choosing one, I prompted for Atonement but immediately regretted it).

But with houses getting smaller, there is a case to be made for the space-saving feature. But it's only really going to apply to people as they start their reading career, which counts out pretty well everyone who's replied to this thread. It's a generation thing - I'm 43 so have masses of books already, but 20 years ago I hardly had any.

And whilst I take the above poster's point re the music industry, god alone knows where I'd find room for all my CDs if they were LPs.

Ah, that's an interesting question.  To me your favourite book has to be one that you return to, even with a big "to-read" pile.

In this sense:   The Great Gatsby, which isn't a favourite but which I wanted to get back to, "Not Fade Away" by Jim Dodge, again not necessarily a favourite as such but one that's far greater than it seems at the time, and all of Raymond Chandler's books, which are so good I think I'll keep reading them forever, mainly because I want to be Philip Marlowe.

[BalDrick]

'How is a kindle or whatever they are called going to compete with that? Do they come with atmosphere as well?'

They don't, obviously, but there are advantages. Space being the main one. I've got huge bookcases, which I love to look at (daughter asked me for a school project what was my favourite ever book the other day, I could have been there for hours. Ended up giving her a shorlist of about 5, but she pressured me into choosing one, I prompted for Atonement but immediately regretted it).

But with houses getting smaller, there is a case to be made for the space-saving feature. But it's only really going to apply to people as they start their reading career, which counts out pretty well everyone who's replied to this thread. It's a generation thing - I'm 43 so have masses of books already, but 20 years ago I hardly had any.

And whilst I take the above poster's point re the music industry, god alone knows where I'd find room for all my CDs if they were LPs.

Ah, that's an interesting question.  To me your favourite book has to be one that you return to, even with a big "to-read" pile.

In this sense:   The Great Gatsby, which isn't a favourite but which I wanted to get back to, "Not Fade Away" by Jim Dodge, again not necessarily a favourite as such but one that's far greater than it seems at the time, and all of Raymond Chandler's books, which are so good I think I'll keep reading them forever, mainly because I want to be Philip Marlowe.

You see I never have time to reread a book - I know lots of people do but I just don't have the time. Plus I've got so many I haven't yet read.

The rest of my shortlist, in case anyone's wondering:

Powder by Kevin Sampson
It by Stephen King
Country of the Blind by Christopher Brookmyre
An Ice-cream War by William Boyd.


So so many others, it's a nightmare question.

[Lighthouse]

Having just had to rid myself of over a hundred books of hard back non fiction as well as tons of magazines I have no argument visa a vie space. I think anything that makes people more interested and gives them more time to read is great. Having just looked up the Kindle again on Amazon and noticed their magazine downloads are small but improving then I can see the time when the struggling newspaper industry will love this.

If the Kindle works as well as it claims it does, download ease, battery life etc etc. Then I can see a time when I would be more than happy to have both the Kindle and real Mags and Books on the go. We will lose something but I guess we will gain something as well.

[b+w geezer]

'...My wife fails to understand why I refuse to part with any books I've read despite it being highly unlikely I'll have time to reread any. 'It's a bloke thing' I told her. She still didn't understand.

Mine now has a Kindle and vows to get rid of an old book she's re-reading (as she often does) every time she acquires the Kindle equivalent. Fly in the ointment is that they charge silly prices which especially rankle when the paper version is right there on your shelf. As a friend suggested, they should have a facility for scanning the barcode on the book and, just the once, you'd get the e-version for a more reasonable fee.
Very much agree with the generational points people have been making here. The younger generation are weaned on technology and can only afford small places to live. Doesn't mean they'll stop reading.

[King_Crud]

I read books but as I very rarely read books twice I don't have many. I tend to give them to friends or charity shops. The idea of sitting in my own library is not something that interests me, I think if I had a spare room I'd set it up for watching sport/playing PS3.

[TonyGilroy]

I'm a record collector and can't comprehend downloads. I have a massive collection and fully understand that I'm gripped with the collecting bug and that the acquisition is at least as important as the music. Probably more so.

As more arrive daily I explain carefully to my wife that they're an investment and are therefore adding to our wealth but she knows that we'd have to be homeless and starving before I'd sell any of them.

With books though I'm indifferent. Apart of course from my music books which are part of my collection. I've always got a book to read and a stack of 100+ acquired but as yet unread. I buy books I know I'll never read but that's shopping not collecting.

I never re-read a book, frequently give them away and have been known to take rubbish bags full of books to the local tip.

A kindle would definitely be one of the few modern gadgets I could embrase. Never an I-Pod though.

[finnster01]

I read books but as I very rarely read books twice I don't have many. I tend to give them to friends or charity shops. The idea of sitting in my own library is not something that interests me, I think if I had a spare room I'd set it up for watching sport/playing PS3.

As you said earlier Mr Crud, it is horses for courses.

I have had a stressful life and find reading a (real) book in peace and quiet a wonderful means of relaxation. In fact, I still do, hence my desire to build a temple to that end. It does not mean I will give up on my telly or watching Fulham at any point, but escaping into my book-cave ever so often appeals to me and would probably even extend my life expectancy.

By the way my daughter has a Kindle (that I gave her) and swears by it.  

[AlFayedsChequebook]

My father got a kindle for xmas. He is a voracious book reader and absolutely loves the Kindle - ease of use and ability to buy books when he feels like it are big plus's. The amusing thing thing is that my parents just had book cases finally put up to house the library of books at their house - so I guess you can have your cake and eat it?

[The Equalizer]

I'm a collector in general. I have a largish DVD collection (around 400), a large CD collection (around 500) and an ever growing book collection. I used to have about 300 books, but ended up giving them to charity when I moved flat a few years ago, been growing them ever since.

Once upon a time I also had a massive LP collection - about 3000 of them. Sadly, they all flooded and I wasn't insured at the time.  

I also own a PC and an iPod and often play music on both, but this is because I've spent time copying music from my CD collection onto my PC and iPod. I always prefer playing music on my stereo though, it'd be a massive waste of a nice pair of speakers if I didn't!

[WHITEwitch]

Loved the Millenium Trilogy which I just finished on my new Kindle - oh goodness I love my kindle!

As I get get older, the more opposed to gadgetry I seem to become. I really cannot understand this fad of having a machine to read books on.

The the about having a book is, it feels nice flicking through page at a time. I can flick back a few pages, or chapters, very quickly in order to remind myself of something that was referenced earlier. And they look great when they're stuck on a book shelf.

A couple of the selling points of the Kindle:

1. You can now read it in direct sunlight - something that books have been able to do for centuries.
2. You can store up to 3,000 of your favourite books on the device - how many books can you get through?
3. The battery lasts a month - battery?

I for one am entirely unconvinced by them and I reckon they'll die out within 2 years.

You got it in the first five words!  You arent quite old enough.  You'll soon be able to appreciate being able to  convert any book into larger text or different font.  :029:

[King_Crud]

You'll soon be able to appreciate being able to  convert any book into larger text or different font.  :029:

finally, a book I can read in wingdings!  :011:

[Burt]

Just started "A Week in December" by Sebastian Faulkes. It follows the lives of a dozen differnt Londoners over a week during the credit crunch. Only a few chapters in, but it is shaping up to be a good read.

Music wise, I am completely iTunes. Everything on my computer (57 GB of music, and climbing daily) and iPod. There are some cheap MP3 downloads to be had on Amazon, and I spent a happy month a few years back burning my CDs on to my PC. Happy days!

[mrska]

My favourite book is 'Where did it all go right"...  by Andrew Collins..

it's an uplifting book about his childhood.. growing up in the 70's and 80's with tales of playing out,bikes, telly, sweets, good health, domestic health and happy holidays..

Not terribly PC  but told in a way and in a time when it didnt really matter..

Comic Gold..