Spoilers What Book Are You Reading?

[rhett7660]

Exactly. I resisted using the Kindle app on my iPad for a number of years, as I much prefer the feel of a book in my hands. But once I gave it a try, I was hooked. Being able to carry around a small library in my iPad has come in handy in more ways than I had imagined.
Added to text size as a benefit is the ability to look up a word by selecting it. Not as satisfying as using my SOED, but in the moment, it works enough to get by.

I still prefer the look, feel, and aroma of books. Even paperbacks. But the sheer utility of the Kindle App or Books is too much for me to pass up. So I use both.

I love books, but I am so hooked on my Kindle that is the only way I really read now. With the exception of my comic books and graphic novels, which I have started to purchase and read on my iPad, all of my books are purchased via the Kindle store. If I can't take the Kindle with me, I use my iPhone Kindle App and read while I am out. The fact it syncs across all my devices is a big plus for me!

 

[Gutwrench]

I’ve bought a few ebooks from Apple and like certain advantages they afford, but much prefer holding a hard copy in my hands.

Along with old dictionaries I collect antique versions of certain classics. The more yellowed and musky smoke impregnated the pages the better.

 

[arkitect]

I’ve bought a few ebooks from Apple and like certain advantages they afford, but much prefer holding a hard copy in my hands.

Along with old dictionaries I collect antique versions of certain classics. The more yellowed and musky smoke impregnated the pages the better.

My book collecting is for travel guides.

Pre-WWII era…
Muirhead's Blue Guides
Baedekers
Murray's Handbooks
Cook's Guides

Sometimes they contain theatre tickets, scribblings, pressed flowers and the like.

My *never to be parted with* is my Murray's Hand-Book for Egypt & the Sudan, 1918

The name on the ffep is W.E. Goodwin, Cairo, May 1918

In the pocket at the back is Major Goodwin's Grand Continental Hotel bill and Hall Porter's Expenses.
Also a Postcard photograph of a British officer, HE Baker.

So here's a British Officer at the end of WWI posted to Cairo and having some time to be a tourist.

A little time capsule.

 

[ucfgrad93]

Re tiny print. This is one advantage of e-readers. My kindle can be set to my desired text size and so every book on there is the same sized text.

Admittedly you do lose a lot of character but practically you can’t fault them.

I love my Kindle for many reasons. Adjustable font, built in light, built in dictionary, ability to carry hundreds of books just to name a few.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

My book collecting is for travel guides.

Pre-WWII era…
Muirhead's Blue Guides
Baedekers
Murray's Handbooks
Cook's Guides

Sometimes they contain theatre tickets, scribblings, pressed flowers and the like.

My *never to be parted with* is my Murray's Hand-Book for Egypt & the Sudan, 1918

The name on the ffep is W.E. Goodwin, Cairo, May 1918

In the pocket at the back is Major Goodwin's Grand Continental Hotel bill and Hall Porter's Expenses.
Also a Postcard photograph of a British officer, HE Baker.

So here's a British Officer at the end of WWI posted to Cairo and having some time to be a tourist.

A little time capsule.

View attachment 774093

View attachment 774094

Wow.

I just love this stuff.

What a wonderful keepsake, and time capsule.

What ever happened to Major Goodwin? Did he survive the war - it ended in November of that year - did her survive the Spanish Influenza which gave rise to at least as many casualties as had taken place during the Great War itself.

 

[arkitect]

Wow.

I just love this stuff.

What a wonderful keepsake, and time capsule.

What ever happened to Major Goodwin? Did he survive the war - it ended in November of that year - did her survive the Spanish Influenza which gave rise to at least as many casualties as had taken place during the Great War itself.

I have never found out where he ended up… I tried a few years ago, but no luck.

Still, maybe one day!

 

[ThisBougieLife]

I've tried ebooks several times before and always come back to physical books. This is one area where I'm remarkably old-fashioned and unlikely to change

For one, I read a lot of linguistics books, and all the little symbols and diagrams that are used in those texts tend to transfer poorly to ebook format, showing up blurred and hard to read, and sometimes incorrectly (many texts are simply obscure and not available electronically). Additionally, I like being able to feel how much I've read and how much I have to read in my hands. Plus I like the look and smell of real books, and books in good condition that I sometimes get for $1 or $2 at library book sales can be $10 or more in eBook format.

It'll take a long time before I'm converted...

 

[Gutwrench]

My book collecting is for travel guides.

Pre-WWII era…
Muirhead's Blue Guides
Baedekers
Murray's Handbooks
Cook's Guides

Sometimes they contain theatre tickets, scribblings, pressed flowers and the like.

My *never to be parted with* is my Murray's Hand-Book for Egypt & the Sudan, 1918

The name on the ffep is W.E. Goodwin, Cairo, May 1918

In the pocket at the back is Major Goodwin's Grand Continental Hotel bill and Hall Porter's Expenses.
Also a Postcard photograph of a British officer, HE Baker.

So here's a British Officer at the end of WWI posted to Cairo and having some time to be a tourist.

A little time capsule.

View attachment 774093

View attachment 774094

Wow! Incredible! Don’t ya love their penmanship too?

 

[Scepticalscribe]

I've tried ebooks several times before and always come back to physical books. This is one area where I'm remarkably old-fashioned and unlikely to change

For one, I read a lot of linguistics books, and all the little symbols and diagrams that are used in those texts tend to transfer poorly to ebook format, showing up blurred and hard to read, and sometimes incorrectly (many texts are simply obscure and not available electronically). Additionally, I like being able to feel how much I've read and how much I have to read in my hands. Plus I like the look and smell of real books, and books in good condition that I sometimes get for $1 or $2 at library book sales can be $10 or more in eBook format.

It'll take a long time before I'm converted...

Re e-books, and Kindles, I know that some people swear by them, and I appreciate how convenient they can be; not only that, but I travel a lot for work, and am often based in places where books and music are a life-saver. Indeed, my brother has been trying to persuade me to admit ebooks to my world, arguing that I could find them very useful.

But, I love books; I love the physical sensation of hefting and holding a book, the feel of them, the thrill of the turned page, the promise they offer of losing yourself therein.

When I am reading electronically - such as online - I find that I actually read them differently (I devour the text, and try to race through the article or piece in question) - but, physically, I do not enjoy reading online, or electronically, the way I hugely enjoy reading actual books and papers.

 

[pachyderm]

My book collecting is for travel guides.

Pre-WWII era…
Muirhead's Blue Guides
Baedekers
Murray's Handbooks
Cook's Guides

Sometimes they contain theatre tickets, scribblings, pressed flowers and the like.

My *never to be parted with* is my Murray's Hand-Book for Egypt & the Sudan, 1918

The name on the ffep is W.E. Goodwin, Cairo, May 1918

In the pocket at the back is Major Goodwin's Grand Continental Hotel bill and Hall Porter's Expenses.
Also a Postcard photograph of a British officer, HE Baker.

So here's a British Officer at the end of WWI posted to Cairo and having some time to be a tourist.

A little time capsule.

View attachment 774093

View attachment 774094

That is too cool.

 

[arkitect]

Re e-books, and Kindles, I know that some people swear by them, and I appreciate how convenient they can be; not only that, but I travel a lot for work, and am often based in places where books and music are a life-saver. Indeed, my brother has been trying to persuade me to admit ebooks to my world, arguing that I could find them very useful.

But, I love books; I love the physical sensation of hefting and holding a book, the feel of them, the thrill of the turned page, the promise they offer of losing yourself therein.

Also, reading on a Kindle or iPad or such is so anonymous. Just the black or white plastic exterior.

Travelling on public transport is a much less interesting experience.
I love to see what people are reading. Wondering how they are enjoying it, what and why…
Maybe I'm just a nosy Parker…
But I also appreciate the covers — some designers put thought into it. Same with LP albums.

When I am reading electronically - such as online - I find that I actually read them differently (I devour the text, and try to race through the article or piece in question) - but, physically, I do not enjoy reading online, or electronically, the way I hugely enjoy reading actual books and papers.

Oh yes! Online reading is very different — I tend to skim while racing ahead, eyes searching for the gist. "Give me the information and I'm done!"

But a book is worth holding and thumbing.

Though I am severely tempted by a Kindle Paperwhite — in fact there is one in my Amazon Shopping Basket right now — together with a slicing mandoline and a couple of Stick-on LCD Homebrew Thermometers — I may just have it in my grubby little hands by tomorrow.
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That is too cool.

I was very chuffed to find it when I opened the covers — many years ago.
[doublepost=1533300110][/doublepost]

Wow! Incredible! Don’t ya love their penmanship too?

Indeed. Also the scribblings and marginalia.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Also, reading on a Kindle or iPad or such is so anonymous. Just the black or white plastic exterior.

Travelling on public transport is a much less interesting experience.
I love to see what people are reading. Wondering how they are enjoying it, what and why…
Maybe I'm just a nosy Parker…
But I also appreciate the covers — some designers put thought into it. Same with LP albums.

Exactly!

I love to see what others are reading, too, and sometimes am dying to ask them what they think of a book I loved.

And agree about book covers; some of them are so interesting, enticing and downright intriguing. Ans some are simply stunning.

Actually, I love the thought and effort - and quality - put into hardbacks; a former student of mine (ex-clergy, gay and male) set up, or rather, resurrected an old well respected but somewhat obscure feminist imprint and published (and ins poem cases re-published) some extraordinary - and exquisitely beautiful - books.

Design, appearance and beauty mattered to him - he wanted the books he published to be as attractive as possible, and for people (readers) to feel a thrill of pure physical pleasure when holding (and reading) these books.

Oh yes! Online reading is very different — I tend to skim while racing ahead, eyes searching for the gist. "Give me the information and I'm done!"

That is exactly how it is with me, also, when reading electronically, or online.

Reading electronic sources is, in some ways, almost like ravening the text or source - and, candidly, it is not at all an enjoyable or pleasurable experience.

 

[Gutwrench]

But a book is worth holding and thumbing.

A book is a garden I carry in my pocket.

(I had to have read that somewhere long long ago because I couldn’t be so creative. Ah, it’s an adaptation of a Chinese proverb; makes sense.)

 

[LizKat]

I must say I'm also a fan of having physical books and papers in hand.

But, aging eyes long since converted me to the joys of being able to jack up the font of whatever I'm reading to be able to finish a chapter before heading up to bed. And I love being able to haul so many books and papers around in something no larger than a little notepad in my totebag.

A telltale sign of preference does still emerge when I'm looking for a particular book online: when I click on "all formats" and see only hardbound and paperback, I invariably think "oh good, a real book... " even if there's slight disappointment over not seeing an ebook option.

As ebook production values improve I have to say I enjoy using them more. That latest Steve Coll book, Directorate S, is an example. Very nicely done at back of book with links so one can toggle from text to note or page numbers and back.

(In some earlier ebook nonfiction renditions, one was lucky if they even included the index; they hadn't yet figured out how to deal with repagination when one changed up a font size, so the index was more or less just an alphabetized list of topics that had been mentioned at least once in the book.)

Another thing about ebooks and that it pays to investigate before purchase is how images are handled. Earlier photos and especially maps or charts were rather useless as they could not be resized. That may have a way to go yet for optimum utility but at least now many ebooks will enlarge the image in a popup although I've not seen any that can be scrolled around in yet. There are still some books where after examining the sample ebook contents, I elect to get a physical copy instead and, it's often about how the graphics are presented.

 

[Gutwrench]

But, aging eyes long since converted me to the joys of being able to jack up the font of whatever I'm reading ...

Funny you mention this, but when reading something like a book or magazine I feel an occasional and momentary tug of instinct to pinch or spread my fingers to adjust size...or tap on a word for a definition. It makes me chuckle.

 

[yaxomoxay]

My book collecting is for travel guides.

Pre-WWII era…
Muirhead's Blue Guides
Baedekers
Murray's Handbooks
Cook's Guides

Sometimes they contain theatre tickets, scribblings, pressed flowers and the like.

My *never to be parted with* is my Murray's Hand-Book for Egypt & the Sudan, 1918

The name on the ffep is W.E. Goodwin, Cairo, May 1918

In the pocket at the back is Major Goodwin's Grand Continental Hotel bill and Hall Porter's Expenses.
Also a Postcard photograph of a British officer, HE Baker.

So here's a British Officer at the end of WWI posted to Cairo and having some time to be a tourist.

A little time capsule.

View attachment 774093

View attachment 774094

I love this stuff!

 

[ucfgrad93]

The Bible, NKJV

Today's reading...Isaiah 13-18

 

[yaxomoxay]

The Bible, NKJV

Today's reading...Isaiah 13-18

How are you reading? Are you doing a lectio divina? Or just reading the text?

 

[LizKat]

Funny you mention this, but when reading something like a book or magazine I feel an occasional and momentary tug of instinct to pinch or spread my fingers to adjust size...or tap on a word for a definition. It makes me chuckle.

What's really alarming is seeing a toddler do that to a magazine... I'd draw the line way after that for how old a kid should be to have an iPad in hand. Never forget that engineering schools still do like to see applications from kids who grew up on a farm: they got a good sense of spatial relationships from the get go, handing their dads the right size wrench when they were 18 months old...

 

[arkitect]

Funny you mention this, but when reading something like a book or magazine I feel an occasional and momentary tug of instinct to pinch or spread my fingers to adjust size...or tap on a word for a definition. It makes me chuckle.

Thank you for that!

I do it far too often.

 

[yaxomoxay]

What's really alarming is seeing a toddler do that to a magazine... .

That’s not really alarming; if you give me a tool from the XIX century I’ll probably try to use it as I use tools now. Obviously, once he learns the “old” tool the kid should be able to use it correctly quite rapidly.
What’s concerning to me is how many kids ONLY use iPads, iPhones, or smartphones in general. Heck, yesterday I was shopping for some grocery at Kroger and in the span of twenty minutes I have seen at least three kids ten or younger walking with their phones in front of them, playing videogames while walking. One of the kids was probably five yo. (Let alone all the kids that don’t even walk but are in the cart, playing videogames).

And one new tool is now insidiously becoming extremely popular, probably dooming humanity:

 

[Mousse]

I just read Aristophanes' The Birds. I keep referring to some of our Government leaders as Cloudcuckoolander and the term was rooted in Aristophanes' play. Well... Now I appreciate the reference even more, because one of the main theme was the Cloudcuckoolanders building The Wall™ around their country.

It's a funny play. Some very low brow humor, funny nonetheless.

 

[LizKat]

That’s not really alarming; if you give me a tool from the XIX century I’ll probably try to use it as I use tools now. Obviously, once he learns the “old” tool the kid should be able to use it correctly quite rapidly.
What’s concerning to me is how many kids ONLY use iPads, iPhones, or smartphones in general. Heck, yesterday I was shopping for some grocery at Kroger and in the span of twenty minutes I have seen at least three kids ten or younger walking with their phones in front of them, playing videogames while walking. One of the kids was probably five yo. (Let alone all the kids that don’t even walk but are in the cart, playing videogames).

And one new tool is now insidiously becoming extremely popular, probably dooming humanity:

Actually the toddler needs tactile experience in three dimensions at that age because of how the brain is wired for activation of assorted other skills. Grasping and manipulation of objects in three dimensions is important to have on board early to pave the way for developing fine motor skills a bit later on. There are some other kinds of learning -- multilingual skills are another as I'm sure you're aware-- that also come more easily when one is very young, but some of them like the 3D navigation appear to have an optimum and early window for the foundations of related skills. Curiously, development of earliest language efforts by infants is often preceded by sudden advances in control of arm or leg muscles. LOL everything getting connected to everything else... is tricky!

 

[ucfgrad93]

How are you reading? Are you doing a lectio divina? Or just reading the text?

Just reading the text. I'm reading through the Bible in a year.

 

[Mefisto]

I just started reading A Perfect Union of Contrary Things, the authorized biography of Maynard James Keenan. Now, for those unfamiliar with the man, he's a musician (vocalist for bands such as Tool and A Perfect Circle to name a few), and a vintner. I've been a fan of both of the aforementioned bands for quite some time, and have always thought that Keenan as a person is a quite interesting character.

Obviously, as I just earlier today started reading the book, I'm not that far yet, but it does seem very interesting. Especially because up until today, I haven't really immersed myself in the person Mr. Keenan is, just his musical exploits.

So yes, a glass (or a few) of red wine and a good book what's on the docket for tonight.