Not strictly Victorian: M.R. James

[Carly]

Hi, I just brought a anthology called Curious Warnings, the 150th anniversary edition of ghost stories by M.R.James. I haven't previously read any books by this author, but he is apparently a good ghost story writer.

Are there any similar authors, that are from the 19th century that write about vampires, ghosts, dopplegangers etc?

[Deanne]

Sheridan Le Fanu's In a glass darkly is one of my favourites and Bram Stoker wrote some good short stories.

[Carly]

Cool, I just brought the book Carmilla, by Sheridan Le Fanu

[Marialyce]

Carly, If you have an electronic reader like a Kindle or a Nook, you can get the classics for free either from amazon or Project Gutenberg to name a few.

[Carly]

I don't have one, I can't afford to buy one. I like having a real book in my hands, it's not the same if it's an electronic version. Although I like horror audiobooks Spinechiller-read by Doug Bradley and Dreadtime Stories-read by Malcom Mcdowell.

[Marialyce]

Carly, You can get them on your computer for free although I do know of what you speak holding a real book in your hands.

[Lily]

But it is so nice to go anywhere and have x number of choices to fit any mood all on this slim little device that fits easily in a purse of any quasi-generous size. Especially as one's eyes appreciate larger size text.

[Carly]

How many books can you store on them? I already have over 100 real books.

[Everyman]

Carly wrote: "How many books can you store on them? I already have over 100 real books."

I have well over a thousand on each of my Kindles (I have an original model and a more recent model), and they aren't close to full. Most of my books are classics downloaded for free from Gutenberg.

While the machine isn't cheap, it's only the cost of five or six hardback books or a dozen or so paperbacks. So over a fairly short period of time, if you're into buying books at all, it turns out to be economical.

Another great thing is that more and more libraries are providing free loans of e-books, particularly new books, and they have a much bigger selection of new books than our small library can buy.

I agree with you about preferring a book in my hands, as long as it's a hardback -- I don't really enjoy reading paperbacks. And the Kindle is nice and light to read in bed, where a heavy hardback book gets tiring to hold, and is hard to read just propped on my stomach.

But nothing beats going on a trip and in a package lighter than a single paperback having the complete works of Shakespeare, Austen, Dickens, Kipling, Hardy, and many other authors at my fingertips to pick and choose from as the mood strikes me.

The major downside is that Gutenberg isn't that good on translated titles, since they can only use ones that are out of copyright, so don't have any of the newer, and often better, translations.

It's certainly not a substitute for real books, of which I have plenty (as the photos on my profile page show), but it's a nice addition to my library options.