UK Book Club discussion
Random Chit-Chat
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Reading time problems
I have discovered Calibre, software for organising your ebooks. you can organise, re-organise, tag and rate your books endlessly, couple that with a smidgen on OCD and you have hours of distraction! You can even read them from as long as the book isn't DRMed.
Hey Andy, I understand how you feel, I'm doing the same thing with fb games. I think though I'll probably get bored with them very soon. I have another problem though. I find myself spending so much time everyday looking for bargain books for my Kindle instead of reading the ones I've got!
Me too Andy - bejewelled and brain training are eroding some of the time I might have spent reading. Also, can get addicted to su doku puzzles
I have the same problem with Candy Crush. I also seem to spend far to much time looking at various sites that review books rather than reading the ones I've got.
Yup, by the time I catch up on Bejewelled Blitz, my scrabble games and Song Pop, I've usually killed an hour or so.. It does take away from reading time. I'm not as good at reading and watching TV at the same time as I used to be..
I'm another who is now addicted to Candy Crush, doesn't help that I've got it on my phone as well as FB!! Found it rather useful that you only have so many lives otherwise I'd never get off it ;-)
I was slightly addicted to master chef Australia...which is so much better than ours, and goes on for months...then having been out too many nights in a row I just googled to see who had won...funny how I stopped carrying when I realized it was over two years old!!!
Since I got my iphone I have been distracted, I have all good intentions to get reading but then all of a sudden an hour or two went by and I'm still on various apps on my phone !!! These things are so addictive. If we are struggling, there really is no hope for the younger generations.I need a 'technology / life balance 101' course !
Better weather means I am going out walking more; then so tired when I get home I fall asleep!
Candy Crush is bad enough - but its those 8 hours a day I spend in work that really detract from my reading time!!
I've the same problem, apparently I can't get paid without working. I like playing Mahjong on my Fire and chatting to you lot!
Yeah, it is a bit of a nuisance that I can't buy books if I don't go to work...
Mines the same, apparantly I'm meant to earn my keep...crazy!
I'm completely different...going to work encourages me to read more, in the odd quiet half hour I get....just to enjoy the peace..and then I will crack on with book at home as feel too much of my time has been spent working!!!
Sleeping, that really get's in the way of my reading time too!
Just recently I have found that when I'm falling asleep I'm narrating a story in my head - it's as if I've carried on reading but the story has gone off at a complete tangent. There are even he saids and she dids in there, that kind of thing. It is so weird... but kind of interesting, like dreaming in narrative form.
Work and then having to prepare supper for the family - so distracting!!
For me, often browsing random Wikipedia articles and watching random YouTube videos.
Packing boxes for my move is really cutting into my reading time - Angela may be able to catch up! Lol!As I am now on leave and doing my notice for work I don't get to read at night now either! Far too tired to even read at night!
Lynne - The Book Squirrel wrote: "Packing boxes for my move is really cutting into my reading time - Angela may be able to catch up! Lol!And how many boxes of books do you have, Lynne?
Andy wrote: "I've recently found myself succumbing to the dreaded phone games, playing little puzzle type games on the phone, and am finding that these are cutting into my valuable reading time.What do other ..."
I play stupid games too! And spend time knitting and doing crochet, although my latest distraction is my 10 day old son. I'm spending my time looking at him instead of reading!
Vicky wrote: "Andy wrote: "I've recently found myself succumbing to the dreaded phone games, playing little puzzle type games on the phone, and am finding that these are cutting into my valuable reading time.W..."
Congratulations Vicky - I have to admit my reading took a major back seat for a few years after my boys arrived on the scene. At 10 and 12 they fend for themselves pretty well now, so I've only myself to blame - current distraction is puzzles: crosswords, soduku and such.
Congratulations. Packing and moving house stopped me reading for over a week. Then walking to work rather than buses cut it back too. I love sleeping though so couldn't ever begrudge that.
Sudoku. Being a bit late to the party I've only just started partaking in this silly game of number feng shui. I can just about manage the easy one in the Indie, but the medium and hard ones are just silly. Perhaps I should just stick to the word ladder?
since the birth of my twins my reading time has been cut back until they have gone to bed and we have caught up on the house work, and walked the dog, and now its divided with study time!
@Jules - so far I have filled 27 boxes of books and still counting, that's not including my art stuff, needlework stuff and my knitting stuff!! And all my other worldly goods around the rest of the house!
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Dave wrote: "I have the same problem with Candy Crush. I also seem to spend far to much time looking at various sites that review books rather than reading the ones I've got."Me too! I spend a lot of time reading about reading! Lol. And candy crush.... Well, where to start?,
Liz wrote: "Lynne, I'll be packing too from next week. The mover suggested 60-70 boxes, which is scary considering we arrived in Singapore, four years ago, with 2 suitcases and 4 cardboard boxes!"I found it easier to move to and from Germany so much easier we had a date for the removals way in advance and large tea chest boxes. I have been at it for 3 weeks now and still haven't packed everything as I can't get any more boxes from the packing company until we have a day to more moving! It is now driving me crazy....attic and garden shed being sorted over the weekend, along with trips to the household tip to get rid of stuff I am not wanting any more!
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The worst move of my life was when we moved from Germany to England. We didn't know how big the lorry was going to be (my family drove it over from England) so hadn't a clue how much we could bring back with us. I was prepared to give up just about anything but my books and DVD collection had to come with us. By the way, if you are doing a move yourself rather than getting anyone in to do it, we found that cardboard crates that bananas and other fruit come in in the supermarket are ideal for paperbacks!
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Ian wrote: "The thing I've found most frustrating is that cos I'm disabled and thus mostly reliant on others to do packing, it's taken weeks to pack up, so cardboard city living has been rather prolonged........."Hope the move is going well Ian and the culture culling isn't too traumatic, its a shame your not nearer as I'd be high tailing it straight to your local charity shop for a good rummage! The box set dilemma always cuts into reading time I'm just in the middle of series 5 of the Wire before I ask love film to start sending me The Killing 2.
Our local hospice shop has done well so far this weekend and there are more things for them too. Spent most of the day sorting out attic stuff with all the kids stuff too. Still have some books to pack!
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The local TV is terrible out here in Singapore, so we're great box-set watchers. We did series 1-5 of 'The Wire' from 2011-12; I was so sorry when we finally got to the end, what a brilliant series!
I'm currently immersed in 'Homeland', Series 1 and 'Breaking Bad', Series 2. Any good UK shows I should be looking out for? (the last one I enjoyed was 'Parade's End').
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My boxes arrive tomorrow. Let the packing commence! (Wish me luck.....)
Liz wrote: "Andrew wrote: "The box set dilemma always cuts into reading time I'm just in the middle of series 5 of 'The Wire' before I ask love film to start sending me The Killing 2. ..."The local TV is ter..."
If you haven't seen, you could try Call the Midwife; it's been excellent. Or maybe Silk, also a pretty good series.
Liz wrote: "Andrew wrote: "The box set dilemma always cuts into reading time I'm just in the middle of series 5 of 'The Wire' before I ask love film to start sending me The Killing 2. ..."The local TV is ter..."
This will sound bizarre but since we got a Tivo box I've watched less TV. I seem to store series and never end up watching them, so I have all of Broadchurch which was meant to be good, and I've only watched one episode of Restless which was on at Christmas, and there have been a few others I've recorded but not watched!Nor have i seen call the midwife or Silk Bill!
However my reading has increased. Happy moving Liz and Lynne.
My laptop charger has stopped working so I can't read any of my e-books. I *need* and e-reader :(
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Ian wrote: "TV all bubble wrapped so looking forward to an evening's reading for once."Seriously thinking of getting rid of my tv when I move! There seems to be less and less good programmes to watch these days it's hardly worth packing!
Cora Linn wrote: "My laptop charger has stopped working so I can't read any of my e-books. I *need* and e-reader :("Yes, you do Cora Linn, they are an absolute must, I love mine.
Lynne - The Book Squirrel wrote: "Ian wrote: "TV all bubble wrapped so looking forward to an evening's reading for once."Seriously thinking of getting rid of my tv when I move! There seems to be less and less good programmes to w..."
I mostly watch tv on my iPad these days, on the BBC I player......it's great to be able to choose when to watch things....I found an interesting book programme yesterday, and loved listening to PD James talk about her favourite books....I ended up watching the whole series so far....
Susan wrote: "Lynne - The Book Squirrel wrote: "Ian wrote: "TV all bubble wrapped so looking forward to an evening's reading for once."Seriously thinking of getting rid of my tv when I move! There seems to be ..."
I have to say that I don't watch much live tv these days. When I switch the television on, I end up by scanning through the channels then switching it off again! If I'm lucky I might catch a history programme on catch-up but even they are all repeats now. I mostly watch DVDs, if at all.
What do other people do which detracts them from reading?