Victorians! discussion
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Conversations in the Parlor
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TBR Lists
Starling wrote: "I don't have a Kindle. And I'm 68 years old, so I'm certainly not in the age group that everyone expects to early adapt this technology. It is interesting to me that I have early adapted some techn..."The Kindle's price just went down again this morning, and Amazon also is taking orders for one that can download books worldwide. I am never without my Kindle. I got the Kindle 1 the third day it was announced, and ordered Kindle 2 about an hour after it was announced. Now I always have a library in my purse, and I don't have to buy a bigger house.
Lauren, I did see one, but in a situation where I didn't feel free to pick it up. It is the size of a paperback book, or a bit bigger, but thinner. And I understand that it doesn't weigh all that much.As for loving books, I do and I don't. I love reading. I don't think I care one way or the other about the books themselves.
I`m sorry.I know all the pro arguments for Kindles but to me it has to be a book,it`s just not the same experience otherwise.......
I love it when us oldsters refuse to stay stuck in the Dark Ages. Come on folks, it isn't that hard to keep up with technology - just give it a try.
Nils wrote: "I love it when us oldsters refuse to stay stuck in the Dark Ages. Come on folks, it isn't that hard to keep up with technology - just give it a try."Hi Nils,it`s not that I don`t keep up with technology(my blackberry is part of me)I just CHOOSE not to read books in this format!
I do understand the benefits for other people but to me my books hold extra memories inside of them,where and when I bought it,who gave me it and their inscription,the last time I read it.......
Starling, I just had a wee look on Google and they do look handy, but not something I'd ever even consider!
What do they cost - £200 or thereabouts? I'd rather buy twenty-odd paperbacks.
What do they cost - £200 or thereabouts? I'd rather buy twenty-odd paperbacks.
yes, I love to see all my books on the bookcases too! they're also in boxes, on top of cupboards etc.!
Lauren, they just lowered the price to $250US.
Heather wrote: "Paula wrote: "What do you think about reading books online or in electronic format? I have a Kindle, and thought I cou..."This is a question I've been thinking about a lot lately, as my good frie..."
That was a great post, Heather. Because of time problems, I listen to many books on CD format in my car, or in audible book form on my iPod. Was a time when I never thought one would substitute for the other, but necessity is the mother of acceptance, to twist an old phrase, and I now enjoy many books I didn't have time for before, and am not as bothered in slow traffic.
HOWEVER. If I love a book, I must have it physically in my house, on my bookshelf. Even if I never look at it, it is comforting to know I have it. My house has bookshelves in every room (pretty much) and they are all full. And I love the look of books in a room. And, in fact, if an old book falls apart I'll go out and buy a new copy. So the fact that I listen to books, or might even read one on a kindle during a vacation, doesn't mean I won't own the book as well.
Paula wrote: "I've always been curious about something and would like to ask everyone... When we talk about our to-be-read (TBR) lists, what size are we talking here? Is this a manageable list for most? Is this ..."Physically, nine shelves of TBR books averaging about 20 books per shelf. And I buy faster than I read. On my Amazon wish list, another thirty. On the Palm, a "to get at library or on ILL" list of sixty four.
I have promised myself not to die until I finish off all my TBR books and lists. I expect to live, if not forever, at least a very, very, very long time.
Lauren wrote: "God no, I'd never go down that route. I love books. I like lining them up neatly on my bookcase and showing them off. I don't even know what a Kindle looks like!"I love physical books too -- built a two story library for them in our retirement home and still they spill out into every room in the house. But i also have a Kindle, because I can download for free hundreds of classics (at the moment it holds about 1,300 books) and take it with me when I travel so I have a whole library in less weight-space than one hardback book.
It's not an either-or, but a both-and.
I agree that they have their place and probably if I traveled I would see an upside.Its just not for me at this stage but I'm not saying never,although it will never replace or be the same as my books.
Everyman wrote: "i also have a Kindle, because I can download for free hundreds of classics (at the moment it holds about 1,300 books) and take it with me when I travel so I have a whole library in less weight-space than one hardback book...."Totally agree with this statement - Kindles are for convenience, not to replace 'real' books. I recently traveled for work and brought along Drood which heavily weighed down my carry-on bag, while my K2 fit nicely in my purse without seeming to add any weight at all. Was also nice to have quick and easy access to a ton of old favorites!
They are a great item for people who travel for work a lot but they are still quite expensive for people to keep one just to take around with them.Very glad that you enjoy and benefit from yours.
DJ, I have decided I want a Kindle. I also need to replace a DVD player. It hit me that I was talking about the same amount of money for either of them because I felt the same way you did about the cost. Which would I use more frequently? Almost certainly the Kindle. I'm currently reading Under the Dome in a library, hard cover, copy. And it weighs a ton. And I found myself thinking how much happier I'd be if I was using a Kindle to read it. One of the main reasons I didn't buy the book was that I didn't want to store it once I was done reading it.
Looks like I'm almost at the buying stage.
Starling wrote: "DJ, I have decided I want a Kindle. I also need to replace a DVD player. It hit me that I was talking about the same amount of money for either of them because I felt the same way you did about the..."I would go for THE KINDLE before DVD,and that is saying something as you know my view but you have to buy what you will get the most pleasure and use out of!!See I am actually quite practical LOL!
After I posted my previous comment last night I got to thinking of this weeks schedule for myself and I realised that I do not want to carry my copy of DROOD about to possible get damaged(its the first one I bought for this group and that makes it special to me)plus the weight factor and so I have come to the conclusion that I am no longer just going to read one book at a time,here is my plan
MOBY DICK for Friday nights(Husband out)(from January)
BOOK CLUB BOOK for reading in afternoons/evening at home
HANDBAG BOOK to carry with me so that it won`t be anything precious
BEDSIDE BOOK something designed to calm me at the end of the day..
I have always been of the opinion that I should devote myself to one book at a time but recently reading the threads I`m thinking that maybe I`m wrong and would actually benefit from mixing things up a bit i.e not reading anything too intense before trying to sleep etc,
Wish me luck to try and I would welcome any imput....
Help please! Would the Kindle be suitable for someone with sight problems?
I used to be an opportunistic book buyer, picking up anything of even remote interest mainly from second-hand bookshops. However I live in a small flat and had to call this habit to order a year ago when the books in my kitchen cupboards left no room for my groceries and books were beginning to creep up the walls like rising damp !So I got rid of 3/4 of my books ! I worked on a TBR principle in reverse … what did I really need to have near me physically ? This usually meant beautiful or rare books and books with an association in memory. I gave all the other books to charity shops and set myself a shelf limit. If I exceed the shelf limit – I must chose a book(s) to go on my book “out-tray” which is by my front door. Books in my out-tray end up with friends or charity shops.
I'm still a book “junkie” but I have a trick to prevent me buying too many … I buy Antiquarian books … less books, more expensive, but lovely ones (however these are growing at an alarming rate too !). Anything for plain reading I try to borrow from the Library so I don't have to store it or try to buy it second-hand and then pass it on.
I only keep a list for books which are very unusual, rare, odd, eccentric, have funny titles or so obscure I might forget them. For example :
Raphael's Witch or the Oracle of the Future By the Author of the Prophetic Messenger and a Piece of Music By Blewitt (1830s)
The Scouring of the White Horse; or the long vacation ramble of a country clerk. (1859)
The Phantom Bouquet, A Popular Treatise on the Art of Skeletonizing Leaves and Seed Vessels and Adapting them to Embelish the Home of Taste. (1862)
Maggie, my understanding is that you can change the print size, and one of my online buddies bought the bigger version of the Kindle (DX) because of sight problems. The screen is bigger and she wouldn't have to "turn the page" as often with the bigger one.I suggest you go online and look and see what people have said about your issues. I found a blog by an eye doctor who is telling his patients who need large print to buy a Kindle. He likes the black print on a white screen with no back lighting and the fact that you can increase the size of the type.
Hmmmmmm interesting question. Kindle or DVD player? I think I would go for the DVD player, I love the tecture of books to much they way they feel in my hand and the way it feels when it turns a page. I know they are more convient and understand why people would go for it travelling, I can not live without my Ipod. But I still have a very growing pile of dvd's I need to get through. Spooks, Wuthering Heights (book and mini series), I recently bought Mary Poppins and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang which were my all time fav as a kid and haven't watched them yet. I like reading with back ground noise, so sometimes I will have a dvd playing and read at the same time. And have been know to read harry potter or pride and prejudice while the corrosponding dvd. Sigh maybe that is something I should have taken to the grave :).
Starling wrote: "Maggie, my understanding is that you can change the print size, and one of my online buddies bought the bigger version of the Kindle (DX) because of sight problems. The screen is bigger and she wou..."Thanks, will do!
DJ wrote: "I have always been of the opinion that I should devote myself to one book at a time but recently reading the threads I`m thinking that maybe I`m wrong and would actually benefit from mixing things up a bit i.e not reading anything too intense before trying to sleep etc, Wish me luck to try and I would welcome any imput.... ..."I can't just read one book at a time; I'm sure this says something about my ability (or inability) to focus, but I read at such different points throughout the day (morning before getting ready for work, lunch, before bed, randomly throughout the day) that one book doesn't always fit each mood. Another reason the K2 comes in handy; it lets my scatterbrained mind bring along multiple books for multiple moods!
Currently reading Drood, LesMes, Don Quixote, Terry Pratchett's Discworld series, and a few others; there is just no way I could bring those with them everywhere; I have a hard enough time leaving Drood behind when I go to work!
Maggie wrote: "Help please! Would the Kindle be suitable for someone with sight problems?"Hi Maggie - I guess it depends on what kind of sight problems you have? There is an option to increase the font size, to a size that is roughly the "large print" size found in real books. There is also a text-to-speech option, for weary eyes, but please know the voice on the T-S sounds very robotic.
EDIT: Saw Starling's post after Maggie's original question - seems my advice is a bit repetitive but well-intentioned! :)
Lindz wrote: "have been know to read harry potter or pride and prejudice while the corrosponding dvd. Sigh maybe that is something I should have taken to the grave :)..."Oh no, by all means, share away! We all have quirks and habits that some may find odd, but it's even more odd to find out how often one of your 'quirks' is shared by someone else!
LOL thanks, at least I am not the only one then :).
So - on the heels of all the references to TBR piles in various discussions... what are thoughts on a little bit of a book challenge next year? Say - choose 'x' number of books from your TBR pile, and see if you can get through them in 2010? Or... too repetitive with challenges from other sites? Or... too much to read already, no extra pressure please!?
I'm in! I had already planned to create a little victorian challenge for myself in 2010. I may pick 5 or so that I already have and definitely want to read and then have the luxury of picking another 10 or so at will. I had been thinking that my goal may be about 15 which is just over one per month and still leaves me time to read other stuff. Great idea, Paula. We could create a challenge thread if people are up for it so we can update our progress.
Like Paula says, though, please let us know your thoughts first as I know that we all belong to other groups and it's always challenges gallore on GR.
No I like this idea. The only challenge I had set myself was to read, Canterbury Tales and Paradise Lost. Ok those are going to be weighty and I haven't read anything with metre for ages. But I have been watching the first few episodes of Little Dorrit. And with finally getting up to Woman in White (I know a little behind) I can feel myself getting another Dickens kick. For some reason as soon as the temperature goes up here all I want to read is Dickens and his cold foggy London!
Boof wrote: "I'm in! I had already planned to create a little victorian challenge for myself in 2010. I may pick 5 or so that I already have and definitely want to read and then have the luxury of picking anoth..."Sounds like a great idea, Boof. I have a list of 112 TBR's. I've read a little over 100 books so far this year, so perhaps I could do all of those TBR's next year--but there are always other books I want to read again, so the list would be longer.
Would we require that they be Victorian or neo-Vic? Or just general TBRs? I have at least 300 TBRs, many of them Victorian, but wouldn't mind including non-Vics in my challenge.
I would suggest that it is up to the individual to set their own challenge and chart their own progress. If we set up a challenges folder then anyone who wants to join in can create their own thread, starting with what their own personal goal is (whether it be vic or neo or both) and keep updated as they complete.
Paula wrote: "So - on the heels of all the references to TBR piles in various discussions... what are thoughts on a little bit of a book challenge next year? Say - choose 'x' number of books from your TBR pile, ..."I am delighted that you have suggested this as I was hoping someone would......
Laurele wrote: "Boof wrote: "I'm in! I had already planned to create a little victorian challenge for myself in 2010. I may pick 5 or so that I already have and definitely want to read and then have the luxury of ..."My TBR is 650!!!!
I envy you
OOOoo I think I`ll put both down,be adventurous!!!
I like the TBR Vistorian challenge idea - As some of those Victorian volumes are quite lengthy I think I'll stick to around 10 - 1 Victorian classic per month with two months spare for 'catch-up' time!Love it!
Ally
Boof wrote: "I would suggest that it is up to the individual to set their own challenge and chart their own progress. "I would consider it a great success if I didn't add any more books to my TBR list during the year than I read from it.
I am with Ally I like the idea of 10. Also I like the idea of the individual challenge. I like to read other stuff in between the Victorian tomes. But really looking forward to it!
DJ wrote: My TBR is 650!!!!I envy you
The 112 are just the short-term TBR's that I've committed to writing. There are many others, of course, and new ones keep popping in.
What might be fun would be if each of us would agree to post our complete TBR lists on in the to-read sections of our bookshelves, so we could see what others' lists really look like.I don't want to be the only one to do this, but if others do, I'll work on mine, too. If I can list ten books a day, I should be done before the end of the month.
Hey guys! I've been on such a Victorian kick this year (classics, neo-Victorian, true-crime, biography...)that I've decided to plan a blog Victorian reads challenge starting in January. Anyhoo, I'll participate in a TBR challenge on here as well. I'll keep y'all posted on my blog challenge plans in case any of you bloggers would like to participate.
I'd be up for the TBR challenge too! I'll start getting my list together.
I think my TBR shelves are pretty up to date (although I do forget to add some so I probably have way more books that I own and haven't read than the number on there.In my shelves there are:
Own but haven't read - 316
To buy/borrow - 222
Victorians - 110 (this is a mixture of read and not read and includes the neo's too).
I have created a challenge folder at the bottom for anyone to create their own challenge thread.I am still pondering mine and will update in the next few days. :o)
I`m going to have to check my shelves.......Definately POSSESION though as I just missed it....
Paula wrote: "1727075 I've always been curious about something and would like to ask everyone... When we talk about our to-be-read (TBR) lists, what size are we talking here? Is this a manageable list for most? Is this a "fit into one backpack" group of books? Or do you have an overflow of books tumbling off bookshelves in an effort to gain your attention? Do you have just one TBR list, or multiple? How do you determine which one you'll read next?"I can't remember if I've answered in this thread but yeah, usually when I talk about my TBR list, I'm specifically talking about the books I've recently bought and that are sitting on my shelf (or desk) waiting to be read. I don't think it's ever gone more than about 30, I think (that was a scary time, lol) and right now it's in a managable state, I think (about 14 given that I'm reading 3 at the moment). Those that I want to read but don't physically have in my room I put under the category of "want to read" (that one's a lot bigger; about 155 right now, I think). Choosing which one to read from my TBR list usually depends on my mood, if I'm in the mood for a classic, a short read, etc. =)
Like Li, above, I typically have between 10-15 books in my mental TBR list. I created a shelf here on GR that I call my "In the Queue TBR" shelf. This is where I tag those books that I plan to read in the near future; and right now it contains 15 books.
My 'to-read' list is all the books that I want to read sometime in my life, probably in the near-ish future (within the next 3-5 years). I keep it pretty realistic, I currently have 197. I do like the idea of a "in the queue" list that Chris uses though. I do keep a mental list of those, but it would probably be a good idea to keep a physical one too in case anyone may want to join me in reading one of those. Thanks for the good idea Chris!
Personally, I'm not disciplined enough to have a queue list. My next reads are often determined by mood or by what comes up next in group reads. This weekend I had to re-arrange my library, to make room for my future sister-in-law, who is moving in for 4-6 months and should be here on Thursday. I gave up my library, and stubbornly refused to put books in boxes. The end result is bookshelves that are a bit overflowing and a realization that I need to stop buying and start reading books I already own!! Too bad my reward for getting everything done today is to go to B&N where I got two new books. Oops!
Paula wrote: "Personally, I'm not disciplined enough to have a queue list. My next reads are often determined by mood or by what comes up next in group reads. This weekend I had to re-arrange my library, to make..."Unfortunately, I am not so much disciplined, but more anal-retentive. And really the idea to make an additional queue TBR list just helps me to justify one more list in my compulsive desire to make lists. It's kind of a sickness ;)
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Paula--so awesome that you drove two hours to get a copy of LAS. I'll think of that next time I hear someone complain about the state of reading in the modern age!