Reading books is one of my favourite ways to relax. I’ve tried reading on my tablet, but a hard copy in my hand is my definite preference. For some years I’ve avoided buying books. Our bookshelves are already overflowing, and the library efficiently supplies my reading needs. I read reviews and order the books that attract me. Once I find an author I like I will read more. I follow the affirmative action of reading (almost) only books written by women, and I especially enjoy those by New Zealand authors.
Life in post-quake Christchurch can be challenging, and I want books that can take me away from all that. Apart from the occasional biography my reading tends to be fiction. If a book doesn’t “grab” me I have no qualms about abandoning it and returning it unfinished,
At the beginning of last year I joined a Book Discussion Group, and our monthly choices are sometimes non-fiction. I’ve occasionally struggled to finish these and given up on some. This month’s choice is “I am Malala”, the story of the girl who was shot by the Taliban because she spoke up for the education of girls in Pakistan. I’m impresssed by this young woman, but the book is full of historical background which doesn’t interest me. I was pleased to read that the local Pashto people love to sing two-line poems, just like my rhyming couplets! I’ll be choosing a novel for my pre-sleep reading, and Malala’s book will be for times when I’m having a cup of tea, or watching TV news. Do you read non-fiction or novels, or both?
“My comfort reading has to be
a book that truly enthralls me.”
It is hard to find a good book thats for sure.I am looking for one at present I have been searching through your blog for recommendations actually. I have read a good non fiction book called Nathaniels Nutmeg its a history of the spice trade in Indonesia in the middle ages. I found it riveting. It could have done with a bit of editing in the middle because it seems to go backwards and forwards but apart from that a great read about the lengths the Dutch and British went to over nutmeg which they thought could cure the plague. Have you read Gone Girl. Thats a good read
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Good to know you found a riveting non-fiction tome. I think “Gone Girl” is on our Book Group’s list so we may get it later in the year.
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OMG you should get a Kindle! Seriously, imagine paying $4 for a book, or at the most $15-18 for a new release!
I resisted getting an ereader for years because of the issues with geographical restrictions etc (which isnt fixed but is better) and once I did get one I love it.
The Kindle ecosystem is very mature and so long as you can get books in .mobi format they will work on it. You can also load some software called Calibre onto your PC which allows you to load other formats and manage and sort the books more easily.
It is SO MUCH CHEAPER than buying books in NZ, and you can access the Gutenberg library and get free out of copyright books on all sorts of fascinating subjects as well.
BTW I dropped in to say hi a couple of weekends ago but you were out, I got to meet the elegant Ziggy tho 🙂
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My tablet acts as a Kindle (and other e-readers), but I just don’t like it as much as a ‘real’ book.
I’m glad to know who it was that popped in the other week, and that you got to meet Ziggy!
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The difference with a kindle is that the screens are better for viewing, not shiny and much easier on the eyes, the new paperwhite is sidelit so you can read in the dark as well 🙂
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I’m not tempted. I’ll use the tablet occasionally while travelling, but it’s real books for me otherwise.
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A kindle is different to tablet, that’s my point
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I appreciate that, but I don’t believe any other e-reader would entice me more. I’ll stick with the real books.
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I read more fiction than non-fiction but I do like a good biography or history. At present I am reading a biography of Tove Janssen, the author of the Moomintroll books. It is a beautiful book and I’m finding it interesting but I have to admit to having a who dunnit on the go as well. I’m definitely a fan of paper books – I spend too much time looking at a screen with my Internet addictions!
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Marion, that’s how I’m dealing with “Malala” too. I’m actually nearly halfway through it, but I need a novel as well for the true relaxation.
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Fiction or non-fiction; doesn’t matter but it has to captivate me. My reading has changed completely since the earthquakes. A book must bring me joy. My ability to watch all kinds of films has gone too.
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Gallivanta, I so agree about a book needing to bring me joy. I too find it difficult now to sit through a two hour film. It’s okay at the cinema (although I’ve not been since January), but at home a 45 minute TV episode is all I can usually manage. I’ll admit though that we recently bought the first series of “Bones”, and on the weekend we’ve sometimes watched two episodes in an evening..
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We watched (at home) the Imitation Game. I wasn’t sure if I would be able to watch it, but I did and thoroughly enjoyed it.
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You and me both Ruth! No! to a tablet or Kindle; ardent library borrower; and discarding anything that doesn’t grab me, sometimes within the first 20 pages. ‘Malala’ was given to me, is waiting on the bedside pile – but not like you I’ve been reading lots of non-fiction on the region, and I know and admire Christina Lamb’s other works. Try ‘The Sewing Circles of Herat’. I read a lot of fiction too.
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I’m nearly halfway through “Malala” now and will definitely finish it (but not as bedtime reading).
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