Reading

[kerbear879]

Also e-books are way cheaper than regular books. Even the brand new hardbacks are 9.99 as an ebook where it can be 25 dollars in the store.

[~threadbear~]

It's a good point on costs.
Anything that makes readin more affordable has to be a good thing!

[Rose]

This is a great thread. I love to read but I am a slow reader and I also love to stitch so the audible-books gives me the best of both worlds.

Mauve I am sorry that peope are so impatient. It is not like you want to have trouble hearing. I can somewhat understand because in a group (4+) people I have a hard time understanding what is being said. So I have to concentrate very hard when someone asks me a question or I just say something really stupid. I have been like this all my life. My mom told me to just pay attention, but that was not my problem I just couldn't hear specific words it all just jumbles together. The ear doctors tell me that it is a comprehension thing and there is nothing to be done mechanically to help it.

[mauveme]

I remember when I was in grade school, the teachers must have had concerns cause I had to go to the public health center for a hearing test. They stood me in front of an open window facing a main street and asked me to repeat words. When I didn't get them right the tester said "Oh come on Linda. you can do better than that." The funny thing was my younger brother(by 6 yrs, the onewho is buying the reader) was telling them the exact same story only a few years later. When he had his first son they wanted to enroll him in French imersion (lives in Ottawa) but they said that he had to speak English properly first. That is when they had him tested and sure enough, he inherited it too. Fortunately his other two kids didn't. My mom and all three of us kids had it. Lucky eh??

[Fizzbw]

Mauveme - that is so unlucky - and so sad that you don't get more sympathy from other people!

I love books - I love reading - I've not been able to read for a while though, something to do with the focusing and lines, its very annoying! But I've been using audio books as well, and loving them - one thing is they stop me looking at the last page!! It is great while you stitch, and you can get some great books.

I,m still buying real books for me to read someday though!!!

Niki x

[kota]

Both my husband and I are avid readers. I love curling up with a good book but they take up space. For my husband who is in the navy on an aircraft carrier he doesn't have room to store any books. The amount of space the average sailor gets to store personal stuff in is about equivalent to a public phone booth. Having an e-reader means he can take all his books with him for deployment and still have room for some other stuff. However we still buy the actual books for our favorite series even when we have the ebook version.

[ohstitcher]

I absolutley love love love to read. I too was very skeptical about the e-readers. There is just something real about having a book in my hands. That being said I researched the e-readers and got some money for Christmas, and I too just joined the e-reader club. I bought a Kindle and I LOVE IT. I didn't think I would like it as much as I do but it's lightweight and the screen is so easy to read. The first book I got I read it in 2 days. There is no eyestrain and to download books it only takes a few seconds. I am only getting free books right now there are so many to choose from and if I don't like the book I am not out any money.

[Angel]

I used to love the library. Growing up it was my favourite place ever! I had a part time "job" in the school library when I started highschool (basically I did everything the librarian did, but got no money for it and only did it during the breaks) and I'd go to the local library on my way home from school and stay there till it cloosed! In college their libraries were HUGE! They had about three of them...maybe more, but I only found a few. And I'd hang out in those too...but I joined one when I moved out on my own and discovered...They don't stamp the books with a return date now! And...I promptly forgot when the return date was and then forgot about the books and wound up paying for them.

Chesterfield has a huge library...complete with cross stitch books...Oh yes...LOTS of them! But I'm a bit afraid of joining them now.

[mauveme]

It's here Now I have a long 3 hr wait while it recharges... (by plugging it into the computer no less--who knew)
And I already have plans to stitch an "envelope" to put it in.

[clockwork]

I have a Kindle that NEVER leaves my side. I read so much more than I used to now that I'm not having to deal with my wrists seizing up from holding a book open too long. Right when I got it I sewed a padded envelope for it which was eventually replaced by a hard case I also made and is about to be replaced AGAIN by an Oberon which is a company that makes beautiful leather cases. Mine hasn't arrived in the mail yet but I'm very excited.

http://www.oberondesign.com" target="_blank

The only thing I have to say against them is that they won't customize anything, even stuff that should be easy. A while back they changed the buttons on their cases to match the covers instead of just being the same for all of them and some of those buttons clash pretty badly (one of them is a little tree that breaks up the border of a picture of a bigger tree), but although they say they make all the cases to order (probably true) they weren't willing to use a different button for my case. It's a small complaint of course. The cases are very beautiful and worth having a button that I occassionally look at and think "What were they thinking?" It just made me a little sad that i had to go with my second choice (Avenue of Trees) because the button on the first choice was HORRIBLE.

[aundria]

I'm a 'real book' person, I just love books!
Having said that, I've never tried or even seen a kindle, so maybe would LOVE it, if I actually did.

I like the thought of it weighing nothing and fit easily in your bag etc, but I just wonder if I'd get the same pleasure as I do from a book.

I am a real book person too, or at least I thought I was until I got my kindle!
It was awesome to have with me on my trip to Europe, only had to carry around a little tiny kindle for 5 weeks instead of the 4 or 5 books I read. I also find that it is very easy to read from because it is not back-lit.

There are two features that I absolutely love: First, the dictionary - all you have to do is put a curser by the word, and the dictionary definition shows up at the bottom. Second, the easy searching functions. I read a lot of fantasy books/series, many of which are thousands of pages total, and I love that if a character comes up that I can't remember, I can do a quick search for that character's name, and figure out who they are!

I also love audible, great for stitching. Kindle is paired up with amazon now, and the kindles can play audible files. I don't mean to sound like an add for the kindle, but I really just love it!

[aundria]

Two other things i forgot!

First - i kept track of everything I bought for my kindle for a while, and what it would have cost to buy the physical book - it took about 4 months to save what it cost to buy the kindle.

Second - the internet access was awesome during my europe trip! At one point, I was on a cruise, and wifi cost $.75 per minute - but i could check my email for free on my kindle!! It isn't fast, and it isn't pretty, but it does the job!

[mauveme]

Finally got the hang of it. Last nite I was ready to throw it off the balcony but in the middle of the nite I woke up with an epiphany...."oh, that's what I did wrong" Got up this morning and successfully downloaded 4 books. Just love it now... It's great borrowing library books. Kind of nervous about buying a book incase I screw up the download. (lord knows I did that enough last nite). But I have a couple I really want and may splurge on them later when I get more familliar with it...Right now I have tons of free ones to pick from.
Thought it would interfere with my stitching but instead I spend less time on the computer \.

[agi]

Glad you like it, Linda. Happy reading

[Jilly]

I just wanted to share with you reading enthusiasts what my lovely Son has found for his Girlfriend's Birthday. The complete illustrated works of Charles Dickens...printed in 1876. He found them on a stall in our local indoor market for £75.
The stall owner got them from here..http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gregynog_Hall" target="_blank
They are beautiful! also, there is an inscription on the inside of the first book dated 21st February 1876..109 years exactly to the day of Andrews Birth

[pamelam]

What a wonderful treasure! I haven't read any Dickens since I was in high school, but I loved what books of his I did read. How extra special, too, that the inscription coincides with your son's birthdate!

[mauveme]

That's a great find..

[Mabel Figworthy]

That's a lovely find! Old books with inscriptions (or any scribbles in the margins!) are so interesting. I was once lucky enough to find a Victorian Pilgrim's Progress with a leather "plate" stuck in the front saying it was a prize for Scripture Knowledge. I love the idea of holding a book that a child won all those years ago as a prize

[GreekHoneyBee]

I simply love reading and am currently into diaries from the Mass Observation during the war years, I find them fascinating.
However I have to say that these Kindles and e-books really do not attract me to them at all. I need to have a book in my hands, its easier and I love the smell of new books. I'm afraid that I'd worry incase my Kindle broke or went off and I lost all the "books" I had!

Also, do they need charging up? I'd assume they do. Bit of a bummer if the electricty is off and your kindle is almost charged down!

What sort of books do you people like reading?

[caz78]

I really can't make my mind up on this subject. Firstly i am most definitely a real book person.....but the amount I spend on books is scary (about £40/mth buying cheap on line) and I definitely can't afford to be buying like I do My husband says i NEED a kindle lol. Thing is i have a tiny house - with 3 bookcases jam packed full! I don't even like going to libraries now as if i love a book i couldn't stand to hand it back. I think I have an addiction

Also, when I am stitching I have my earphones plugged in listening to audio books. I never watch telly! People think I am nuts but that's just my thing

So, all in all I am tempted. But could I ever give up the pleasure of cracking open a new book by a favourite author???!!!

I think they are definitely a God send for people who have difficulties with text size, wrist problems etc. Or people like me who eat whilst reading and hate getting chocolate smudges on nice clean pages