Allison Symes's Blog - Posts Tagged "real-books"
Where Do You Turn First?
So you have limited time to read (it is ever so!) and you can choose between reading one hardback, one paperback, or pick one option from your Kindle? Which would you automatically plump for over the others?
I'd go for the paperback every time (partly because while I have some hardbacks, my paperback collection is far greater). There is still the element of the "go for the real book" here, much as I love the Kindle.
Where the Kindle does come into its own is when I'm away anywhere and the last thing I want to do is lug a lot of books along with me (unless they're by me and I'm trying to sell them of course!).
The other reason I'd go for the paperback first is I'd want the experience of the "whole book". You can't smell a Kindle's "pages" but you can do it with a paper book - and I have and will continue to do so.
I do like the smell of a book. I like the look of a well designed cover. I like the feel of a paperback in my hands. So there is the whole tactile experience going on here.
I do know I'm not the only reader/writer to feel that way so if I'm weird, I know I've got company. Very well read company, I should add!
So what would you pick then and why? Comments welcome.
I'd go for the paperback every time (partly because while I have some hardbacks, my paperback collection is far greater). There is still the element of the "go for the real book" here, much as I love the Kindle.
Where the Kindle does come into its own is when I'm away anywhere and the last thing I want to do is lug a lot of books along with me (unless they're by me and I'm trying to sell them of course!).
The other reason I'd go for the paperback first is I'd want the experience of the "whole book". You can't smell a Kindle's "pages" but you can do it with a paper book - and I have and will continue to do so.
I do like the smell of a book. I like the look of a well designed cover. I like the feel of a paperback in my hands. So there is the whole tactile experience going on here.
I do know I'm not the only reader/writer to feel that way so if I'm weird, I know I've got company. Very well read company, I should add!
So what would you pick then and why? Comments welcome.
Real Books
What do I mean by “real” books? I have no time for the “proper” book -v- ebook debate. Both have their merits and disadvantages.
I also hope ebooks have encouraged more reading by bringing books to a screen very near you - that is one in your own pocket!
I also want people to discover the joy of paperbacks from reading ebooks if books in general have been a closed chapter to them prior to reading on screen.
For me a “real” book is a novel that has characters who gripped me all the way through and wouldn’t let go until I did find out what had happened to them.
For short story and flash collections, I want to be gripped by the characters, but also by wanting to find out what the next story is about, the one after that and so on.
For non-fiction, I want to be gripped by the way the author is putting the information across so I have to find out what the conclusions were or, in the case of say a Ben Macintyre book, what happened to the real life character he is writing about.
The ultimate test for a “real” book is whether you can bear to put it down to do other things such as go to sleep. If you do so reluctantly, it is a great and “real” book all right!
I also hope ebooks have encouraged more reading by bringing books to a screen very near you - that is one in your own pocket!
I also want people to discover the joy of paperbacks from reading ebooks if books in general have been a closed chapter to them prior to reading on screen.
For me a “real” book is a novel that has characters who gripped me all the way through and wouldn’t let go until I did find out what had happened to them.
For short story and flash collections, I want to be gripped by the characters, but also by wanting to find out what the next story is about, the one after that and so on.
For non-fiction, I want to be gripped by the way the author is putting the information across so I have to find out what the conclusions were or, in the case of say a Ben Macintyre book, what happened to the real life character he is writing about.
The ultimate test for a “real” book is whether you can bear to put it down to do other things such as go to sleep. If you do so reluctantly, it is a great and “real” book all right!
