Jinjer 37: The Joys of Pregnancy

[libgirl2]

I work at a library, I love borrowing well used and loved books.... now ones with stains, not so much. 

[allthegoodnamesrgone]

I had a ton of books, we donated some to various charities, lost some when our basement flooded about 10 years ago. about 99% of my books are now on my ipad and my new kindle fire.  My eyes went to shit about 5 years ago and I need bright light to read so books are very hard for me unless the room is well it, I like to read in bed and that isn't very easy with DH next to me when he wants to sleep, I had a book light before but it doesn't put off enough light for me now.  There are times I miss having physical books, but I've really grown to love the efficiency of tablet reading.  When I travel I can take 30 books with me in my hand, not that I will read 30 books, but I will have several to choose from.  I also love being able to rent or buy a book at midnight when a new book I've been waiting for becomes available. Or I finish a book and need something new RIGHT NOW.  Not to mention I no longer have stacks of books beside my bed that my cats knock over.  But I still love hanging out at 1/2 Price Books or other little local book stores.

[Meggo]

I use my ipad for books too, from the library. Sometimes I just want a new book to read and it's 10p and... I go find one from the library. And it is nice to be able to take ONE device on vacation and have a bunch of books on it. But there is something about the physical presence of a book.

 

[libgirl2]

9 minutes ago, Meggo said:

I use my ipad for books too, from the library. Sometimes I just want a new book to read and it's 10p and... I go find one from the library. And it is nice to be able to take ONE device on vacation and have a bunch of books on it. But there is something about the physical presence of a book.

 

I haven't read a book on my Kindle in over a year. I love books. 

[Carm_88]

I just packed a bunch of books into those Walmart tubs. I have bookshelves but they are spilling out everywhere and unfortunately, it's just not fair to my clothes to be piled up in the laundry basket while my books live in the closet. I think I counted 150 books to be put away. 

I've donated books and I've give books away to friends but I keep buying more. The only ones that I have full on thrown away were my Lord of the Rings and Anne of Green Gables books. They were so tattered and well loved that the pages were falling out of the spines. 

[kachuu]

I always loved the idea of Kindle/Ipad to store all your books. The issue for me is i can't stand reading from one. There's the glare, the battery life, the notification or apps..... I'd rather just hold the book in my hands. Old habits die hard 

[libgirl2]

1 hour ago, kachuu said:

I always loved the idea of Kindle/Ipad to store all your books. The issue for me is i can't stand reading from one. There's the glare, the battery life, the notification or apps..... I'd rather just hold the book in my hands. Old habits die hard 

We got ours because our books shelves are way too full so like you it was for storage. 

[patsymae]

Well, I'm old enough that if I believed in a god I would think an epidural was Her gift. My daughter-in-law had one and 15 minutes before delivering twins she was complaining she was bored.
I was like, how about I beat the crap out of you? Would that liven things up a bit?

[GuineaPigCourtship]

7 hours ago, allthegoodnamesrgone said:

But I still love hanging out at 1/2 Price Books or other little local book stores.

Half price books is one of the things I miss most about moving away from Iowa.  AFAIK there aren't any in New England. 

[JillyO]

10 hours ago, kachuu said:

I always loved the idea of Kindle/Ipad to store all your books. The issue for me is i can't stand reading from one. There's the glare, the battery life, the notification or apps..... I'd rather just hold the book in my hands. Old habits die hard 

Obviously, you do you, but a Kindle Paperwhite really shouldn't have any of those issues. Unlike a tablet, the surface is matte and does not reflect light/glares (in fact I find it to be easier on the eyes than a regular book since you can choose font size and lighting), it doesn't have any apps or notifications, the battery lasts forever... I'm a fan. I certainly still miss books, but I've come to terms with the fact that I won't have a forever home for a long time, and it just doesn't make sense for us to buy physical books at this stage in our lives. After recently donating 95% of our books before making a big international move (the small number we've kept is now at my parents' house), I am extra thankful for my Kindle.

[WhatWouldJohnCrichtonDo?]

13 hours ago, Meggo said:

The only time I buy books "for show" it comes in the form of "Man -I really wish all my Harry Potter books matched." or that I wish I had the whole series of Outlander in matching covers. (but then - book nerd alert - I'd feel bad for the books that got replaced just because they didn't match - and I'd keep them anyway....)

That kind of thinking is why I have 3 different sets of Lord of the Rings books. I still have the first set I bought used ages ago that has tattered covers that have fallen off. (Nostalgia set.) I have a set I bought used that is mismatched, but in very good condition. (Reading set.) And I have a boxed set I never read because I want it to stay nice. (Pretty set.)  I think we have them on Kindle, too...

11 hours ago, Carm_88 said:

The only ones that I have full on thrown away were my Lord of the Rings and Anne of Green Gables books. They were so tattered and well loved that the pages were falling out of the spines. 

You're better at culling than I am. My first copy of To Kill a Mockingbird came to me with every single page detatched from the spine. (My sibling fished it out of a school trash can.) I kept it for over 20 years, and when I read it, I read it one page at a time. I did finally recycle it when I got a better copy, with an intact cover and spine. 

Now I want a lot of money, lots of gift cards for my e-readers (Kindle and nook), and a trip to Powell's City of Books. Ah, bliss!

[Nargus]

55 minutes ago, JillyO said:

Obviously, you do you, but a Kindle Paperwhite really shouldn't have any of those issues. Unlike a tablet, the surface is matte and does not reflect light/glares (in fact I find it to be easier on the eyes than a regular book since you can choose font size and lighting), it doesn't have any apps or notifications, the battery lasts forever... I'm a fan.

I have a Kindle Keyboard that I bought in 2011, and it's still going strong.  It's not back lit, which kind of sucks in some situations, but it's also kind of amazing. It's very similar to reading a printed page.  It's great for going on trips because when I re-read old favorites, I FLY through them.

I know a friend told me once, if you're reading books on an iPad or other tablet, a great trick for helping reduce eye fatigue/strain is switching the background from white to ivory and the font from black to brown.

[Sky with diamonds]

14 hours ago, allthegoodnamesrgone said:

I had a ton of books, we donated some to various charities, lost some when our basement flooded about 10 years ago. about 99% of my books are now on my ipad and my new kindle fire.  My eyes went to shit about 5 years ago and I need bright light to read so books are very hard for me unless the room is well it, I like to read in bed and that isn't very easy with DH next to me when he wants to sleep, I had a book light before but it doesn't put off enough light for me now.  There are times I miss having physical books, but I've really grown to love the efficiency of tablet reading.  When I travel I can take 30 books with me in my hand, not that I will read 30 books, but I will have several to choose from.  I also love being able to rent or buy a book at midnight when a new book I've been waiting for becomes available. Or I finish a book and need something new RIGHT NOW.  Not to mention I no longer have stacks of books beside my bed that my cats knock over.  But I still love hanging out at 1/2 Price Books or other little local book stores.

 

Sorry about your flooding. I had onein the middle of January that caused a bit of damage, still stressful as my landlord is an asshole. Ugh.

I wish I could afford a Kindle and to download books. I was hoping to get a Kindle for my birthday/Xmas, but it didn't happen. Maybe this year.

[singsingsing]

I used to have a Kobo (Canadian equivalent of Kindle) before I got an iPad, and I actually really liked it. It really does look like a printed page! I think I still prefer physical books (especially if they’re my favourites), but ereaders can be super convenient. There have been a few times when the physical book was completely out of stock or would’ve taken weeks to ship, and I was able to get the ebook version and start reading right away. 

[WhatWouldJohnCrichtonDo?]

I like different things about traditional books and e-readers; mostly the same kind if things that everyone else has said. Since I have 2 different brands of e-readers, it's interesting to see the benefits of one vs. the other. (I got my nook as a group birthday gift and my Kindle when my dh got a great bargain.) 

The nook doesn't have all the ads the Kindle does, and I prefer some of its features. But our whole family shares an Amazon account, so any book or ap we buy can be used on all our devices, or on our phones. And some of the Kindle books are cheaper. (Because if the ads, I guess.  ) 

[SapphireSlytherin]

DH has both an iPad and a Kindle PaperWhite. He much prefers the PaperWhite for reading books.

I read books on my iPad, my phone, or actual - gasp! - paper!

BTW - throwing it back to a previous book discussion:  Thanks to the FJer who recommended Area 51. Just wrapped that up last night. An excellent read; my dad is going to read it next - I will take it to him on our upcoming trip to visit him. I can't wait to hear his brilliant mind's take on the whole story!

[JillyO]

6 hours ago, WhatWouldJohnCrichtonDo? said:

I like different things about traditional books and e-readers; mostly the same kind if things that everyone else has said. Since I have 2 different brands of e-readers, it's interesting to see the benefits of one vs. the other. (I got my nook as a group birthday gift and my Kindle when my dh got a great bargain.) 

The nook doesn't have all the ads the Kindle does, and I prefer some of its features. But our whole family shares an Amazon account, so any book or ap we buy can be used on all our devices, or on our phones. And some of the Kindle books are cheaper. (Because if the ads, I guess.  ) 

Just wanted to mention that you get the ads for a $20 discount on the Kindle. If you pay full price, you don't have ads. You can also pay the difference later and get rid of the ads if they annoy you too much.  

[Carm_88]

Oh I have a kinde paperwhite as well. I love it! It just so happens that I share books with my father, a man who loves the printed word more than anything. So, often if it's something he's really into, I will buy the physical copy, hand it over. He will give it back to me. We are constantly passing books back and forth. 

Also, those box sets can be deadly and you just get such pretty books. I'm such a sucker for limited editions!  

[VelociRapture]

I love my books, but I’m unfortunately culling the collection down. I already donated or sold a bunch and I’m doing the same with about half of those remaining. I’d keep them, but we don’t plan on staying here much longer and we only have two bedrooms at the moment. Baby has her own nursery and we don’t have room for them anymore. So culling down to just one storage bin it is.

Husband might get me a Kindle for my birthday or Mother’s Day this year, so that’d be good.  I’ll definitely still miss my books, but it’s a good alternative.

[Irene]

Does fotos must be old... Look at the haircollor on does and then the update on her pregenacy..

[takers401]

I used to think people would pry my paper books out of my cold, dead hands before I ever gave them up. With child #1 I still kept my paper books, but finally got the kindle app and downloaded a few books for a family trip to Taiwan. As I spent the flight home holding her in my arms the Kindle app would much appreciated. Fast forward to now with three kids and I've fully joined the online books only club. Paper books are merely opportunities for my twins to make an expensive mess. Someday I plan to read actual paper again, but until then the OverDrive library app and the Kindle app are my friends.

[Bad Wolf]

The nice thing about downloading books, is that you can do it anywhere (there's WIFI), any time. I was in a train going from CT to VA, and downloaded a book from my NV library.

[Sky with diamonds]

To those who part with your books in paring down...how do you do it? Is there a set limit? I try to pass along 5 books for every 10 books I read. I'm going to have to do that again when my apartment renovations are over. I haven't donated or passed along any this year. 

I don't drink, smoke or do drugs, but dang I'm addicted to books and reading. I couldn't imagine my life without it.

[SapphireSlytherin]

Honestly? I ask myself if I'm likely ever to read the book again. I have VERY FEW that I couldn't easily replace, should I ever want to re-read, but the vast majority of our books (we had literally thousands - we have a spreadsheet) would only have languished on shelves, never to be read again.

In my culled-down collection, I have my first Ken Follett Pillars of the Earth, all of my Harry Potters, my original Little House books (bought with my allowance when the paperbacks were 75¢), and a few others that make me happy just holding/looking at them.

[VelociRapture]

8 minutes ago, Sky with diamonds said:

To those who part with your books in paring down...how do you do it? Is there a set limit? I try to pass along 5 books for every 10 books I read. I'm going to have to do that again when my apartment renovations are over. I haven't donated or passed along any this year. 

I don't drink, smoke or do drugs, but dang I'm addicted to books and reading. I couldn't imagine my life without it.

Hmm... well, right now my goal is to cut my books down from two storage tubs to one. It’ll take up far less room that way and be much easier to move when we eventually get a bigger place. I’ve already sorted through the books so I know which ones are being kept. Husband asked me not to get rid of them until after busy season for some reason. I think he wants to try to sell what we can and I also think he feels a little bad about me getting rid of them. He knows I used to love reading and I’ve done a lot to free up space in our house by selling or donating stuff. He’s been slacking on that big time, so he may be hoping I change my mind.

I don’t really remember what my criteria for keeping was - I just went by how I felt in the moment. I am keeping both my sets of Harry Potter though (one for reading and one mint condition never opened collection in a box that looks like a trunk.)