Just ordered my annual Christmas book for Occasional Helper's little girl. Shopping for a child's library is good fun, and I keep a running list of possibilities throughout the year and choose in November.
November almost got away from me this year - it's all been a blur since August. Recent rumors of Thanksgiving caught my attention, and now I'm making another list, of Things To Be Done Before The Holidays.
Do you know about Bookshop.org? It's an excellent alternative to the behemoth online seller of books/everything. Bookshop.org was established solely to support independent bookstores, and it's worth a glance at their "About Us" page. Just a fine endeavor in every way. And as easy to use as any other online bookseller.
I now rely on audiobooks for 95% of my entertainment reading, and am fortunate in having online access to an excellent regional library system. But once or twice each year I treat myself to a special hardcover, sometimes an out-of-print book that I watch for on eBay, or something specific from a small publishing house or an academic press or a museum. I've had nothing but good experiences ordering from Blackwell's, which has been a great resource for such books, published in faraway magical places like South Africa and England.
Last year, my "treat" book was this heavily annotated reissue of "A Thousand Miles Up The Nile," by Amelia B. Edwards, the 19th-century English woman who created the Egypt Exploration Fund. It's a satisfyingly dense brick of a book, with two ribbon bookmarkers and many previously unpublished illustrations by Amelia Edwards. Just my cup of tea, especially for the long dark nights of Winter.
Do you own and acquire a lot of books? Is most of your reading for information or entertainment or a combination? Is your reading seasonal? Are there good libraries where you live?
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My libraries are excellent, access in person to a couple and good online borrowing, too. I rarely buy books, but the last one was from Blackwell's and it was a very good experience, so I second your endorsement.
ReplyDeleteThey're good, aren't they?
DeleteMy mother was a librarian - so I am all about borrowing the book and returning it. I have very few books on my shelf. A few are used fantasy books I bought before I discovered inter-library loan. (I recently borrowed a book from Illinois!) There's a few more from childhood and then a handful I keep reading so I finally got my own copy. I read mostly for entertainment, although a friend of mine does a lot of non-fiction, so through him I've started reading that from time to time.
ReplyDeleteI love interlibrary loans - years ago I even arranged a loan of original taped interviews when I was researching a historic site for an article. Cassette tapes!
DeleteI don't know what RC and I would do without the library. We certainly could never afford to buy the sheer number of books we both read and certainly could never store them all. If I can't find a book in our local system and they can't bring it in via interlibrary loan, most often they will order a copy.
ReplyDeleteWe buy books for the grandies for both birthdays and Christmas (along with other things of course) and I rely on Mr. Google to come up with suggestions and then I run those by the parents primarily to be sure the grandies don't already have them.
I've never become a fan of audio books because I can't sit still and listen and I can't work on anything and listen at the same time because I end up losing the entire plot. I'm old-school and I want a real live paper book in my hands.
It took me a while to "learn to listen" to audiobooks, but I stuck with it in part because of long daily commutes. Later, of necessity because of eye surgeries. Now I am well and truly hooked.
DeleteI rely on my library almost exclusively for fiction, which I like for bedtime reading. I do collect hard copy books, but they tend to be what I classify as resource books, i.e. non-fiction information about things I'm interested in doing. For many of those, I hunt down used copies.
ReplyDeleteNow that I'm weaving again, I find myself interested in fiction on audiobooks. I often read series books (spent the past several years enjoying the works of Bernard Cornwell), but it seems my library doesn't purchase entire series, just random audiobooks out of it. Oh well.
My library is the same about incomplete series, but the regional system fills in a lot of the gaps, luckily for me! I sometimes download one series of audiobooks from a combination of local, Boston, Cape Cod, and northeastern MA libraries.
DeleteOh, books! They have been my life, from childhood to the present. Some years, we only give books as gifts at Christmas. My logic is that even if people don't like the book, it is easily passed on.
ReplyDeleteBooks were always my cherished gifts to receive at Christmas, so I hope at least some recipients will feel the same. And if not, you're right about passing them on! :)
DeleteI agree - books for kids! Birthdays, holidays, the works!
ReplyDeleteWhen we moved to Idaho, we moved 19 boxes of books and a rocking chair. This year we winnowed out 7 boxes, and the only way a new book enters our house is if an old one exits.
We mostly use out library, which is excellent - both real books and audiobooks through Libby straight into our hearing aids (the only good thing about needing hearing aids).
Fiction and nonfiction appreciators here. Mike and I select different library books, and then often read each others' selections, which expands our lives. A book on rust (aptly entitled Rust), eagerly chosen by Mike the material science guy, turned out to be fascinating. Who knew?!
Chris from Boise
Oh my gosh, I think I need to download a book about rust :)
DeleteHi I'm LeeAnna from Notafraidofcolor... read your there may have been duct tape involved comment on sally's I like post.
ReplyDeletestill laughing,, how many situations that would fit
I enjoy writing too, love reading and reviewing books, and am an artist... nice to meet you!
LeeAnna
Hi LeeAnna - thanks for visiting and leaving your comment, which made me laugh! It takes me a while to respond here sometimes, but I'll visit your blog too :)
DeleteGreat blog
ReplyDeleteThanks, Rajani :)
DeleteI just took a moment to look at the Bookshop.org link. Wow! What a cool idea! Thanks for introducing me to them.
ReplyDeleteChris from Boise
It really is a great idea, isn't it? I was so excited when they started it, and I hope it grows and grows :)
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