Books

[Yumunum]

Do you ever read them for your own enjoyment? For school? Where do you purchase books (physical or non-physical? And if you get them digitally, what devices do you use?

And lastly, what kinds of books do you generally read?

I don't feel this topic is touched on very often. But here we go!

 

[Caliber26]

All electronic - on my iPad. Some I've purchased thru the iBookstore (last one being "The Litigators", by John Grisham -- courtroom drama is the only fiction I care for) and others (mostly Freemasonry related) I obtain from different sites that focus on The Craft.

However, I also love audiobooks when I'm in the car by myself. It makes my 40-minute commutes to/from work a lot quicker. Sometimes, I find myself arriving a little too soon and wait for a chapter to end. 😎

 

[miles01110]

I read paper books and books on the Kindle.

 

[ucfgrad93]

I love to read. I have a Kindle Keyboard and read a lot on it.

 

[AndyinAtl]

Well i plan on expanding but the local librarians all know me by name.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Nice idea for a thread; well done OP.

I read a lot and always have, and it is one of the things I most enjoy doing. Newspapers, periodicals, magazines on a daily basis.

Then, I also read a lot of books, and am usually reading a number more or less simultaneously. As I am a historian, obviously, I read a lot of history books, both for pleasure and for work. To open the first page of a really well written (and well researched) history book is one of life's pleasures. I also read politics, culture, science, philosophy etc - mostly for interest and sometimes for work.

Off duty, for relaxation, I like to read fiction sometimes - especially fantasy, (I'm reading G R R Martin's books at the moment), and sometimes, more serious fiction as well.

No, I haven't graduated to Kindles or anything electronic, yet. The books I read come between covers, with pages of printer's ink describing the content. Besides, reading online is a different experience to savouring a book at a table, or in an armchair. While I do read news media online, I have noticed that I approach reading it differently - it has become a sort of gulped, snatched, ravening reading, rather than the deeper reading I can do with a book or actual newspaper.

Re purchasing, I try whenever possible to order them - or buy them - from good quality local book-shops, and only buy online when it is not possible to source them any other way. Actually, I feel that a significant feature of the quality of urban life would be immeasurably reduced if local book stores were no longer available - for, the sort of public spaces devoted to the pleasant acquisition of knowledge and easy engagement with learning and life that you find in book stores cannot be replicated by Amazon, irrespective of how many books they have in stock.

Cheers

 

[arkitect]

I couldn't imagine a life without reading books. 🙂

I prefer hardcovers but I use a Kindle or iPad at night… not out of preference, but only to not disturb my partner while he sleeps.

When I was young I read voraciously — anything that came to hand.

Nowadays I have lost the urge to read fiction and it is mostly non fiction, usually history, ancient to modern.

 

[ChristianVirtual]

I like reading too; mainly on Kindle App on iPad. But I only read non-fiction; means technical or professional content; or language learning

When I was young and in school somehow I lost interests in reading fictional books as we always had to write an essay after reading. That killed for me the joy of just reading; never came back.

 

[Mousse]

I read mostly for entertainment, mostly the Sci-Fi/Fantasy and satires. Most of my buddies think plot and character development as the most important thing.

I prefer writing style. I keep hearing how Stephen King is suppose to be such a great writer. Bah...his style stinks. I couldn't get past a single chapter of his literary sedative before banishing all his works from my library. I keep a copy of The Green Mile near my bed for when insomnia strikes.😉

I've got every book by Terry Pratchett, Dominic Green, Kurt Vonnegutt Jr and Mark Twain. Their style is so entertaining, that I begin reading one of their works while eating breakfast. By the time I put my book down, my Fruit Loop is soggy, my bacon is cold and it's time for lunch.

 

[maflynn]

Avid reader so yeah I get them for my own enjoyment. I also get them for edification and knowledge. Like learning to program in objective C. I buy a book on it.

I mostly buy ebooks now, I seem to flip flop between kindle and ibooks for some reason. I can't come to a definite decision on which one is better. I'm leaning towards iBooks lately.

 

[Firestar]

Do you ever read them for your own enjoyment? For school? Where do you purchase books (physical or non-physical? And if you get them digitally, what devices do you use?

And lastly, what kinds of books do you generally read?

I don't feel this topic is touched on very often. But here we go!

I sometimes read them for my enjoyment, and for school. I just go to the library, because I don't see much point in buying- chances are I'm not going to read it multiple times (however I just did buy a book because I wanted to have a signed copy).

 

[mobilehaathi]

Do you ever read them for your own enjoyment?

Yes!

For school?

Yes!

Where do you purchase books (physical or non-physical? And if you get them digitally, what devices do you use?

I buy mostly from Amazon; I haven't gotten too much into reading books on the iPad for some reason. I think I like the physicality of a real book still.

And lastly, what kinds of books do you generally read?

Lately is has been lots scifi and Russian classics, but I'll also pick up various history and anthropology books. Kafka short stories are always great for a quick distraction. For school, various math, statistics, evolution, and genetics textbooks, but I think of those more as 'for studying' rather than 'for reading.'

 

[wrinkster22]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPod; CPU iPhone OS 5_0 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.1 Mobile/9A334 Safari/7534.48.3)

I recently read Uggy
It was really good
I read it physical
Don't own an ereader

 

[firestarter]

I used to read a lot - when I was a kid, then when I was commuting to work I'd spend all the time on the train reading - mostly fiction - and all for my own enjoyment.

Then the iPod and podcasts came along and it pretty much killed my habit of reading novels 🙁. I still read a lot, but more factual books (and a lot on the web of course). I regret that I'm not reading as much fiction though.

My main source of books was to go to book shops and search for the publishing house Harvill/Panther. This was a line of the very best of world authors who either wrote in English or were translated into English. So some of my favourite authors I ended up reading were:

Jose Saramago
Haruki Murakami
Sebastien Japrisot
Alessandro Baricco
Murray Bail
Banana Yoshimoto
Henning Mankell
Arturo Perez Reverte
Peter Hoeg

also pretty much everything by Hemingway, Milan Kundera, Umberto Eco

I'm also keen on random travel, philosophy and food books - so I've read pretty much every Alain De Botton, stuff by Jeffrey Steingarten, Anthony Bourdain etc.

I'm trying to buy books in Kindle format these days - just to avoid having so much stuff around my house. I don't have a Kindle though - I read on my iPad.

 

[BreakGuy]

I'm certainly not a fan of reading books. I bought a book a few months back and haven't finished reading it. I've in fact forgotten what it's about.

 

[184550]

Do you ever read them for your own enjoyment? For school?

Largely for enjoyment and of course when necessitated by school.

Where do you purchase books (physical or non-physical? And if you get them digitally, what devices do you use?

Physical from Amazon. However, I received a Kindle Touch for Christmas and have purchased one ebook so far ('In the Garden of Beasts').

And lastly, what kinds of books do you generally read?

I don't feel this topic is touched on very often. But here we go!

Historical non-fiction. Primarily 20th and 21st century history as it relates to the post World War II security landscape.

 

[avro707]

Yes, I love reading books - primarily non-fiction ones. Some of my favourites:

• Karl Ludvigsen: Porsche - Excellence was Expected
• Hugo Racca / Roberto Morelli: Pagani - the story of a dream
• Brian Shul / Walter L Watson: The Untouchables - mission accomplished - Twentieth Anniversary Commemorative
• Brian Shul: Sled Driver - Centennial of Flight Limited Edition
• Norbert Singer: Le Mans 24:16

Pagani's book was incredibly interesting. I've always admired his cars - but I admire them more after discovering the story behind them. The quiet, reserved type who builds fantastic cars and if you ask him about them, he comes to life, beaming with pride in his cars and explaining all the details carefully. 🙂

Singer's one was good too - this is the zen like engineer who was behind many of Porsche's Le Mans victories. Inspiring, funny and a great insight into the Porsche racing way of building race cars and running them. Never leaving anything to chance. Some great anecdotes from the drivers too. 🙂

My collection is rounded out by Brian Shul's two books - both of them signed limited editions. Sled Driver signed by Ed Yeilding, Bob Gilliland, Walter Watson and Brian Shul himself, and the Untouchables by Brian and Walter. I read them both from cover to cover without pause. 🙂 Much respect for them.

And Karl Ludvigsen must be the master of automotive books. Those three weighty volumes contain everything relating to Porsche, from the start to the modern vehicles like Panamera and Cayenne, and cover many things you didn't know about, the four-wheel-steering 962C race-car, the turbine race car proposal for what eventually became the 917, the 989 four-seater.

I have a lot of digital stuff too on my phone, but I prefer physical books. I like to sit back and have the book in my hands.

 

[acidfast7]

paper only.

I read these over Xmas/NY and am currently reading the last two because they were laying around the apartment after my gf finished with them. we seem to read a lot lately (maybe 4-5 books/month on the subway and at night ... 1h/day).

 

[Happybunny]

I love reading books, I always have. I got the habit from my parents.

 

[MorphingDragon]

I only really read Non-Fiction.

I find Music more immersive and games more engaging for enjoyment.

 

[firestarter]

paper only.

I read these over Xmas/NY and am currently reading the last two because they were laying around the apartment after my gf finished with them. we seem to read a lot lately (maybe 4-5 books/month on the subway and at night ... 1h/day).

The Elephant Vanishes has some great short stories. Have you read Murakami before?

 

[acidfast7]

The Elephant Vanishes has some great short stories. Have you read Murakami before?

every novel including hear the wind sing and pinball, 1973 (shipped from Japan) ... amazing development over time.

i'm just finishing the short story collections now (i need to read the other one)

i started by being lent what i think about while running.

any suggestions for other contemporary Japanese authors?

the Umberto Eco novel is interesting but quite dense.

 

[quasinormal]

There seems to quite a few fantasy fans here. I highly recommend Little Big by John Crowley. It is my favourite novel and I'm not a fantasy fan- I prefer general fiction.

Others that I have read for enjoyment and school that really liked are:
Anything by Umberto Eco, Paul Auster (especially the New York Trilogy) Robinson Davies for his monstrously entertaining and fantastical trilogies. (maybe I am a fan). Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita, George Elliot's Middlemarch. Margaret Atwood's Blind Assassin.

I enjoy pulpish pap sometimes too, if it isn't too gender orientated. I enjoyed Michael Crighton's Andromedia Strain last night on my new Kobo Touch eReader, except I thought it was a bit short on length.

 

[firestarter]

every novel including hear the wind sing and pinball, 1973 (shipped from Japan) ... amazing development over time.

He's great. I have a limited edition signed 'Norwegian Wood' in a metal case somewhere in the cupboard. Haven't read 1Q84 yet.

any suggestions for other contemporary Japanese authors?

I haven't been reading much fiction recently, unfortunately - but if you haven't read any Banana Yoshimoto then I certainly recommend her. Kitchen is a good one to start with. She's quite similar to Murakami - with a surreal magical-realist approach.

the Umberto Eco novel is interesting but quite dense.

I was quite a fan, but then went off him after reading Foucault's Pendulum... a very dense and long book without a satisfying enough 'payoff' at the end. As an author I think he is a little self absorbed.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

I was quite a fan, but then went off him after reading Foucault's Pendulum... a very dense and long book without a satisfying enough 'payoff' at the end. As an author I think he is a little self absorbed.

Agree completely. More than a little self absorbed, unfortunately. The Name of the Rose was brilliant - and the movie wasn't half bad either - but Foucault's Pendulum struck me as the work of a rather self indulgent writer. It is always a pity when a gifted and original writer succumbs to this malady.

I haven't come across the Japanese writers who have been discussed in this thread - but they sound extremely interesting. Must look out for their work.

Cheers