"There is more treasure in books than in all the pirate's loot on Treasure Island." - Walt Disney

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

A Glimpse of the Book Fetish

My husband often picks on me about the number of books I read at one time. I tend to keep a book in each room, in my purse/diaper bag and several on the night stand. I never know when I will find the time to read. Sometimes it may be only five minutes in the kitchen while I wait for dinner to come to a boil. Subsequently, I’m seldom reading only one book at a time. I can't even manage to stick to the same genre!
I also have a Nook Color (Christmas Present from my husband) that has more than one hundred downloads. While I enjoy my Nook, I tend to use it more as a tablet or notebook than just an e-reader. My children love running their fingers across the screen to turn the pages and the zoo/animal show applications. They may use it more than I do. I still prefer the tangible page turner.
My husband once asked me how I can read the same book more than once. “Don’t you sometimes watch the same movie more than once?”  Bless him he is so patient and understanding of my book fetish. Even after losing almost all of my books in a flood three years ago, I own more than I have room for on the shelves.
How about you? Do you prefer hardback, paperback or e-reader? What are you reading now?

10 comments:

shelly said...

As long as it's got words, I'll read it. Even a soup label, the back of a cereal box....

Anonymous said...

I didn't think I would ever be a convert to an e-reader. But after my wife heard me casually mention the Kindle last year, she gave me one for Christmas.
Two months later, after being frustrated that I didn't get to enjoy "my" gift, she got one for Valentine's Day.

We are both avid readers. I think she is reading Jeffery Deaver's Edge right now. I am in the middle of seven or eight books, so don't feel bad. Ha!

mooderino said...

I've just got a kindle. I have 11 books next to my bed, I'm hoping it'll help with the clutter at least.

mood

Rawknrobyn.blogspot.com said...

I was excited to recently discovered a used bookstore where I can trade in some books for a discount on new (but used) ones. Right now, I'm reading Maya Angelou.

I haven't yet made the shift to e-books.

Sorry I haven't stopped by in a while. I hope you're well, Sylvia.
xoRobyn

Rob-bear said...

It's not a fetish, Sylvia. You're a book-lover (biblophile). (Hope your husband isn't outright jealous of the books.)

Sorry to hear you lost a huge number of books. I've just been through the same thing. But it wasn't a flood here; it was a move. I have about half the shelf space in our apartment that I had before in our house. Sigh.

Lorena said...

Sylvia,

You sound just like me. I carry big purses (the Old Navy kind) with a couple of books (in case I get bored with one), one small notebook (for ideas) and sometimes my Nook (where I have my novels.) And I have two or three on my night table. I really prefer to get immersed in one book at a time and then begin another one, but lately I've been getting a lot of books from the library that people have recommended me (and since I don't know which one to start first, I check them all at once to see which one "grabs" me more, ha!)

Waiting on my nighttable as we speak: Letters for a Young Novelist (by Mario Vargas Llosa), The Mysterious Dissappearence of Irene Dos Santos and Outlander. In my gigantic purse: The Gifted Gabaldon Sisters and a copy of The Painted Veil to return to the library. (Just finished it yesterday.)

Kimmel Tippets said...

I have an e-reader on my phone, but I hardly ever use it. I much prefer holding a book in my hands while I read because I like seeing how far I've read and how much I have left to read. This is particularly true when I'm really hooked on a story and on edge from the tension and I need to know that it is going to be resolved soon.

I tend to read one book at a time, but it goes everywhere with me. I will sometimes juggle two, but I don't like confusing plot lines. :-) Right now I'm reading an ARC Mystery which has been amazing, Shut Your Eyes Tight, and it's due to be released next month. Can't wait to post this review!

Halli Gomez said...

I love to see stacks of books like that! That is how my house is too. Plus bookshelves that are stuffed to capacity.

I am currently reading two magazines, two books on writing for children, On Writing by Stephen King (again), The Defector by Daniel Silva, and The Sign of the Four by Arthur Conan Doyle on my iphone.

Lisa Ricard Claro said...

One of my Christmas presents last year was a Kindle, and I love the convenience of carrying it in my purse. I still prefer a book, hard or soft cover, either one. I love the smell of books and the feel of books, so the Kindle will never replace that preference. Right now I'm reading "Hard Laughter" by Anne Lamott.

KM Nalle said...

I read more than one at a time too. I've got a book for every mood I'm in. I looove my Kindle, but recently I've been investing in more of the physical books (that are for the moment a bit cheaper).