I have become an avid reader of books. Both types, Kindle, and the old-fashioned sort. I’ve always enjoyed reading, and have never strayed much, despite the sweet seductive beckoning of television and/or the Internet. But in the last 12 months or so (ever since I gave up work as a poor way to spend my time) my appetite for reading has dramatically increased. I seem to be gobbling up the most enjoyable ‘trash’ SciFi on Kindle. A couple of months ago I started a Kindletrilogy (yes, I think that’s a proper word) and, in the most Douglas Adamsesque way possible I’m now reading book five in the series. Prior to this series I read a long line of other ‘trash’ SciFi Kindlebooks. I’m not using the word ‘trash’ to denigrate – very respected SciFi authors from the 1960s and 1970s were once termed ‘trash’ SciFi authors. I’m including such luminaries as Arthur C Clarke, Isaac Asimov, and Robert Heinlein; were all lumped together as ‘trash’ SciFi authors. The term ‘trash’ was more about the pulpy comics and cheap magazines they were published in.
Anyway.
I’ve discovered that if I look really carefully I can pick up Kindlebooks for nothing, as Amazon occasionally releases them under various special offers. As a result of careful hunting about I’ve picked up some venerable classics (‘Emma’, ‘Accidental Death Of An Anarchist’, and ‘Three Men In A Boat’ to name but three, which all cost me the sum of £0; an unbelievable bargain. Yes, I realise these three aren’t SciFi of any description, but they are Kindlebooks.
In hardcopy I currently have a few books on the go: John Grisham’s ‘The Client’, Stephie Chapman’s ‘Call Me, Maybe’, Lin Pardey’s ‘Storm Tactics: Modern Methods of Heaving-to for Survival in Extreme Conditions’ (the absolute go-to/must-have heavy weather bible for any sailor), ‘Stress-Free Marine Engine Maintenance’ by Duncan Wells, and Lee Child’s ‘Tripwire’. I typed that as Tripwife, but that’s a whole different story.
I do use Goodreads but only in a half-hearted kind of way. It takes more admin keeping it up to date than a light-hearted app should do. So people who follow my Goodreads progress see nothing for weeks or even months and then suddenly there’s a massive burst of reading activity which seems most unlikely. But it isn’t. For example, according to Goodreads my ‘want to read’ list is 20 books long, but there are at least another 50-70 books around the house that are in my ‘to be read’ (or, ‘I know this isn’t my usual cup of tea, but try and read it’) piles.
A couple of months ago I bought an orange-box of paperbacks from a lady who runs the bookstall at the village fete. For a fiver. A couple of days ago someone popped up on the village FB page and offered a large carrierbag full of books. Free of charge. Of course I said I’d have it. Then there are all the books the 16yo brings home from the Oxfam bookshop where she works. I pay for them, obviously. But she keeps WhatsApping me and I keep saying yes. So… What is a chap to do? Buy books, obviously. And read them.
Sounds like you’ll be able to start a lending library in the village, before long!
Yes, some real bargains can be had on the kindle, if you are prepared to go a-hunting.
I like that many of the classic works are available for next to nothing, or even free of charge.
There’s an informal library in the village, the old phone box has been turned into one. It’s been shelved out to fit more books in, and it’s always full – and reflects a very varied reading taste in the village.