The Library Makes The Man

I am a big fan of books.

I consider E-readers to be a pox. Works of literature are meant to be held and caressed like a beautifual woman. The e-reader is nothing more than a symbol of the slavery that is modern tech. A hunk of metal you hold at arms legnth, completely disenganging oneself from the act of reading

The nerds and science geeks got together and decided prose and romance could be killed. They have nearly done it with this kindle abombanation.

164 dollars can buy 20 works of mistakable beauty. Or a hunk of polished scrap metal

Bottle of Gin
The Sound And The Fury By Faulkner
Granpappys Colt 1911

It's in a box labeled "Emergency" :book:

With you all the way. I have hundreds of books and whats more, I've read them all.

(Well there was chuffing else to do in the 70s on a Sunday)

Meh, I've embraced the revolution.

Well I mean with my PC, I do not have Kindle, besides computers I am technologically illeterate.

I read a ton of stuff online, I use the Puritan library site, read Calvin's Institues elsewhere. Right now I've embarked upon John Milton's 'Paradise Lost'.

All for free on my PC.

And I can have my music vidoes blaring on youtube while I'm doing it. Again not costing me a penny, cause its not like I'm going to by them for an iphone or something.

You know when the stingy Scotsman has entered the thread...

Only 20 books? The local used book store must be spoiling me. I'd expect at least twice that many for that amount. They've got some well taken care of older books as well.

Don't go blaming us science-inclined folk for that kindle abomination. Some of us enjoy our Asimov in paper form.

I use something called a library. A quick check determines I have rented 79 books since last july.

Note: I go to Uni over a hundred miles away from my home.

Also I prefer the actual book to this rubbish e-reader nonsense. Nothing like smell of a new book the feel of its paper the crispness as you turn the page......

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Originally Posted by woad&fangs

Only 20 books? The local used book store must be spoiling me. I'd expect at least twice that many for that amount. They've got some well taken care of older books as well.

Don't go blaming us science-inclined folk for that kindle abomination. Some of us enjoy our Asimov in paper form.

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I have a perchant for hardcover

Sue me

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I use something called a library. A quick check determines I have rented 79 books since last july.

Note: I go to Uni over a hundred miles away from my home.

Also I prefer the actual book to this rubbish e-reader nonsense. Nothing like smell of a new book the feel of its paper the crispness as you turn the page......

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I mark up my books, Highlighter and notes all over them

Reading is not a passive act

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Originally Posted by Strike For The South

I have a perchant for hardcover

Sue me

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But they are awkward to read if you're lying in bed or whatever...

Im with you on this. I dont get the whole Kindle thing. I mean, you just cant curl up with a good Kindle. Plus scrolling is annoying. Id rather turn a page.

Men were meant to curl up with two things: women and real book.

Not going to read from iPad either, I like to shelve my stuff. Books are also furniture.

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WTF IS A BOOK???

E-Books are more fun if you stop using your finger to scroll and use another body part instead. Makes reading more interactive.

STFS you also forgot phenom that is toiletry bookery. Taking E Books in the bathroom is disgusting, its like brushing your teeth or drinking coffee while pooping, and thats disgusting, because I have done it. Bathroom books stay forever in the bathroom, and being able to "curl up" on the toilet and take a big lumberjack crap while reading the George W Bush biography is not only poetic, but also something I would not trade for anything. Well, I'd trade it for the Iraq War, but nothing else.

i like the kindle. i wish i had one. i must admit i am addicted to technology. e-reader might make it easier for me to read.

i think paper works for some, others need an electronic reader to get into it. i think the option is great because it helps promote reading in some that otherwise wouldnt pick up an old book from a shelf.

i dont get the hate going on here.

What hate, most of us just love books. iPads are cool but reading a book just feels more like really taking the time for it

You can't hide nudie pictures of Bea Aurthur in the pages of a Kindle for "use" at a later time. You also cannot rip out the pages in times of emergency to smoke drugs

The kindle is the way of the future. Time to give up nostalgic memories of "books" - electronics will rule all. Kindle is cheap monetarily but not cheap qualitatively, the best combination.

What's this elitist nonsense again?

If we're meant to read so many books, why do most people need glasses after doing it for a while?
And if it's about gathering information and gaining knowledge etc. then why does the medium matter?
It's fine if you like to read books but all these nonsensical "rules" about how to read and them etc. are just a matter of taste and a way for people to feel superior. :thumbsdown:

I like how the paper of old book smells.

Get with the times gramps!

I've never used a Kindle or any other similar device for reading. I can see the convenience of having one though. I don't understand what you are so upset about.

Real books. If I wanted to rent a book, I would go to a library.

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Originally Posted by Husar

What's this elitist nonsense again?

If we're meant to read so many books, why do most people need glasses after doing it for a while?
And if it's about gathering information and gaining knowledge etc. then why does the medium matter?
It's fine if you like to read books but all these nonsensical "rules" about how to read and them etc. are just a matter of taste and a way for people to feel superior. :thumbsdown:

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Why does it matter to you that we prefer a certain medium, got no idea where the percieved hostility is comming from.

Books suck, period.

I guess there is some nostalgia involved when moving away from the dead tree versions.

OTOH there is no horrible smell from used books, no despair over running out of room on the bookshelves, no annoying tall books that forces you to put it somewhere else, less time spent when going through multiple books for a particular reference and when encountering one of those of oh so uber academics who insist on "Verba Obscura" the iPad is handy for the quick lookups,

Apart from that, paper is great!

I completely agree with the OP. I can understand the appeal of e-readers for 'throw-away' fiction that you'd be embarrassed to have displayed on your shelf anyway, but the only way I will ever switch away from paper for my non-fiction reading is if I simply cannot get paper copies anymore. In addition to simply enjoying the feel of a book, I very much like the visual appeal of a home library. It looks good, and you can't have a room like that if you've only got e-books. Plus, it's kind of hard to collect and display rare books in electronic form, which is another one of my side-projects.

E-books are preferable (though on the PC; I don't have an E-reader). There is nowhere comfortable for me to sit while reading a book, and reading in bed is impossible: I fall asleep immediately.

Books are for when I want to read outside the house. Otherwise they're only good for endnotes. Going from page 20 to an endnote in a non-bookmarked pdf is a monstrous ordeal.

Finally, physical copies are too rich for my blood. I have no idea where to find these used book stores, so it's either Amazon or the library for non-digital.

I hate reading from an electronic page.

I don’t know what it is but if it is over two pages I just leave it. It is like I get some kind of claustrophobia.

I like being able to hold the book. See the whole thing, turn it over and see the back cover and thumb the pages.

Scrolling just does not do it for me.

My favorite room of the house. One thing ebooks do have going for them is ease of storage space. My late wife was a highschool English Lit. teacher, and with both our collections it feels like I have almost as many books as the town library. I can't imagine having to move them all.
Nothing beats a leather chair, glass of cognac, and a good book.


https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v...84/library.jpg

Hosakawa, what's on the shelves between the two bookshelves, if you don't mind sharing?

I love the idea of being an avid reader and owning lots of books, but realistically, most of my reading is done online. Wikipedia, TVTropes, and these forums provide pretty much all recreational reading I do now.

Any literate Alabaman should be commended

LOL, this from a Texan? But I suppose you're from one of them big cities you fellas got out thar.

Oh, and it's "Alabamian", though I don't blame you for either not knowing or caring.

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Originally Posted by Fragony

Why does it matter to you that we prefer a certain medium, got no idea where the percieved hostility is comming from.

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Tsk, honey, the hostility was overdone, but I was mostly referring to the OP, who calls e-readers a pox etc. I mean, where does that hostility come from?
I don't mind if someone prefers to read books, but to say it like people who prefer e-readers are somehow inferior and "doing it wrong" is quite conservative-elitist IMO.

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Originally Posted by Husar

Tsk, honey, the hostility was overdone, but I was mostly referring to the OP, who calls e-readers a pox etc. I mean, where does that hostility come from?
I don't mind if someone prefers to read books, but to say it like people who prefer e-readers are somehow inferior and "doing it wrong" is quite conservative-elitist IMO.

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