Ebooks

There is a constant debate over whether Ebooks are “real books.” It gets pretty heated sometimes.

I’m not sure there’s many bibliophiles who would disagree with me that the best smell in the world is that of old, musty book. There’s nothing else like it. And it’s true, electronic words just cannot compare with ink on a yellowed, tattered page. Kindles, even with customized covers, cannot match the excitement of a bookshelf full of multi-colored books of every size, texture, age, author, title, organized perfectly and collected obsessively.

I am so proud of my bookshelves. You know this. I will never stop collecting REAL PAPER BOOKS. And in a fire…there would probably be a few I would have to grab.

But. All that said. I also have a Kindle. And a tablet. And I regularly use Overdrive through my library on my computer and my phone.

Why? Why do I continue to read electronically, when there are so many REAL books available to me?

Ebooks are a convenience. Every reason really comes back to that one point. I would love to buy every book, I really would. But, books are expensive. Thankfully, Overdrive has made it so easy for libraries to provide ebooks to us. I can download them to my kindle or tablet in seconds, and off I go. And I love Kindle Unlimited too! It got a lot of hate when it first came out, but I’ve really enjoyed it. And, I talked to an author the other day, who told me that after a reader gets 10% through a book, he gets paid as if they bought the book. Sounds like a pretty good deal to me!

The other great thing about Amazon…so many classics are free. I probably have 150 books from my Boxall list already downloaded on my Kindle, just waiting to be read. They are the hard ones, the books I will have to highlight and look up definitions–and guess what–I can do that just by holding down a finger. I can’t do that with a real book. And you KNOW I hate highlighting real books. Ugh. Some books I just prefer to read interactively!

Often times, I’ll use Ebooks as an “audition.” Once I read it electronically, I just HAVE to own a copy. Most of the books I own, I’ve already read. I do have a TBR Shelf, but it’s relatively small in comparison to the TBR folder on my Kindle. Which is another convenience of ebooks–storage. I can always have a book ready. When we went on vacation, I took my tablet, rather than 5 different REAL books. It was just easier.

Finally, having a Kindle and tablet makes it possible for me to participate in NetGalley and Penguin First to Read programs. I never thought I would be able to read books before they got published, and it’s so cool that publishers give us this opportunity! They’ve really taken advantage of the book blogger community to get feedback on their premarket books…and we all love it! GIMMIE THAT ARC! How cool is it that we are the first people to read the up-and-comings? I love it and certainly do not take the privilege lightly.

When you read as much as I do, you’ll take words in any format they come. Ink on a page, or eink on a tablet. Just please give me more more more. And if you haven’t picked up a Kindle or Tablet only because “well, people say that’s not real reading.” Trust me, it’ll make your reading experience even better. I’m reading even more than I did before I ordered my Kindle. And, probably reading better, because it’s so interactive.

(At this point, I should probaby say, this is not an ad for Kindle, and I haven’t been paid. I just really love my Paperwhite. This applies to any tablet or ereader.)

Where do you stand on the real book/ebook fence? Do you use both?

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TBR Pile

My TBR shelf is a thing of pride…and dread for me. It is full of classics and some nonfiction (*cough* husband’s books *cough*) that I need to get around to reading. Things that I buy because I mean it and I want them in my collection. I’ve told you before, I don’t usually buy books unless I either 1) love them or 2) feel they are meaningful additions.

But, I’m excited, because with this new cycle, soon I will get through all of them. And by soon, I mean eventually.

Justine

There are some books that we read because they are entertaining and enjoyable. And then there are some books that we read because they are important…and really really boring (and usually make no sense at all).

Justine by Lawrence Durrell is one of the latter.

It made my TBR list because it’s on Boxalls 1001 books, which means it must have SOME merit in the literature world. Really, the only thing I can figure out is because of the sexual nature of the story. This book is all about one affair after another. But that’s really all it is. The narrator gives no chronological reference to his giving–his memories are all mixed up, so there’s no point of reference at ALL. It’s so hard to follow.

The book is incredibly wordy, and the vocabulary is enormous. Which, on one hand, I did grab 3 pages worth of intriguing quotes for my journal. On the other…finding a plot in this mess is next to impossible.

This is a quartet, but one I won’t be continuing–unless the rest is on the 1001 list, but I don’t think it is. Lord I hope not!

Teaser Tuesday: 6/10/2014

 

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

 

“And that’s what he is:  a toxin. A chemical. An addictive substance wrapped up in magnificent cheekbones and a devastating smile.”

–Abby McDonald, Getting over Garrett Delaney

 

I’m totally loving this book so far. It’s just what it needs to be–just the right amount of teenage angst, with the perfect voice.

Half Broke Horses

I love Saturdays when I can lay around and read a book from beginning to end, and that’s just what I got to do today. Hubby is closing tonight, so I picked Jeannette Walls’ Half Broke Horses off my TBR shelf and pretty much didn’t move from my spot on the couch. There was a little Reds baseball in there, and after the game, I moved outside, where the light is now fading. I have about an hour left before he’s home…maybe I’ll open a bottle of something and stay out here. It’s gorgeous tonight.

My little reading corner

 

Half Broke Horses is a very sweet, semi-biography of Walls’ grandmother. She classifies it as a novel, because while it is based in fact, the stories came mostly secondhand. It is written in first-person, in very short one to two page chapters. This is a very easy, engaging book about a life ranching in the Southwestern US. I kept comparing the life to The Thorn Birds, except cattle instead of sheep. It also has some parallels to The Grapes of Wrath–you will recognize the references to the Okies taking over California.

I would definitely recommend that you add this to your list of nonfiction/memoir/biographies to read. It is a lovely story about an extremely strong woman fighting for her beliefs and her family in the face of many challenges. Lily Smith was a firecracker for sure.

TBR Pile

Even though I love my Kindle, it will never be a replacement for real books. I love going in and pulling books off my shelves, and there is nothing better than reorganizing those shelves. I’m quite anal about books–everything MUST be in alphabetical order. However, now that I’ve seen how other bloggers sort their shelves, I have been thinking about reconfiguring some of mine. That may be a project after we move in August…OH YEAH…you don’t know yet. WE ARE MOVING TO DALLAS!!!!!!!! Which means I get to unpack all my books, which I’ll be honest, is my favorite thing about moving. Expect lots of blogging that day.

I did create a To Be Read shelf the other day. I had so many I couldn’t fit them all! Guess I better get to readin’. Here’s everything that’s on that shelf, plus a few.

 

This pile doesn’t include all the “husband” books that I haven’t read. That list includes basically all of John Grisham’s collection, a good portion of Stephen King’s, and most of Tom Clancy’s too. He has a bunch of sports and political books, but I don’t care so much about those.

I also took a Book Haul picture for May. I was surprised at how big this stack was. Don’t get used to this…or maybe you should! I would like this trend to continue, but we’ll see. I would like to keep increasing my collection, but I’m also not the type of person to spend money on myself either.

 

I can’t wait to read all of these! That Raymond Chandler book is gorgeous. The cover is sort of a squishy leather, and the pages are lined in silver. The ribbon is a little frayed, but other wise it’s in fantastic condition.

Yay books! What did you pick up this month that you are looking forward to reading?