reading – Always in the Write

Reader vs Book: The Very Hard Book™

Like with ‘If on a Winter’s Night’, I’ll always come crawling back to this little blog. Eventually.

If you’re a big reader, like me, then you’ll know this feeling. You pick up the book, only to put it down unfinished after a few chapters. You pick it up again a while later, determined to finish this time…only to put it down yet again. A third time, this time you’ll do it. Then you remember why you put it down twice before.

That book for me is Italo Calvino’s ‘If on a Winter’s Night a Traveller’. I like metafiction. I like the concept, and the plot. Much of the book has me reading along happily, but I am still finding it a challenge to get through. It could be me, it could be Calvino – or maybe it’s a bit of both.

Personally, I don’t have much time for reading; I try to do it on my lunch breaks, but I am exhausted lately so that doesn’t happen as frequently as I’d like. As for Calvino, he’s a man of many words. Many, many, many words. He could be describing putting his socks on and make it last 6 pages. His prose is good, don’t get me wrong, but the superfluous rambling narrative voice isn’t the most engaging while you’re just trying to eat your sandwich and have some time away from screens.

This book is a big challenge. I have an English degree and review books on here for fun (admittedly very erratically!) and it’s a challenge, but I will finish it. I am coming for you and your needlessly long prose, Calvino! Look out for the review – even if it takes 6000 years.

See you soon,

Ro x

Fandom Friday | How Should We Read?

I feel like this post is an inevitable one for all book bloggers. The physical book vs eReader vs audiobook debate is one that’s been long raging and surprisingly devisive amongst many readers. I know people who refuse to use eReaders, I know people who have abandoned physical books. All mediums have their benefits, and all mediums have their issues. Is there really a ‘best’ way to read?

Physical Books

I don’t think there’s a single reader out there who doesn’t want to bottle the scent of real physical books. Old books, new books, they all have this incredible smell that can’t be beaten. Paper books feel good to read – it feels like you own the book in a way that you can’t get with a Kindle, and I find it much easier to tell my progress; percentages mean nothing to me when I can easily see how much of the book I’ve read and how far I’ve got to go with a physical copy. This was never much of an issue when I solely read for pleasure, but it was definitely important during my degree and now that I have Review Wednesdays to think about!

I love physical books and there is definitely something about flicking through the softened pages of a well loved favourite that other formats simply can’t simulate. Despite this, they take up a lot of space and often cost considerably more than electronic books and audiobooks.

eReaders/Reading on Electronic Devices

If you’ve seen my Instagram lately you’ll have seen that while I’ve posted a lot of photos of physical books, I’ve also posted a photo of my Kindle Paperwhite. I have been using my Kindle a lot lately, having bought 4 books and received two via NetGalley on there. Electronic reading means that publishers can use websites such as NetGalley to easily send ARCs to reviewers such as myself. For the reader, it means that you can carry a huge amount of books around on a device much smaller and lighter than even one novel. It also means that you don’t even have to get up to start reading something else once finishing a book, and can instantly download the next one in a series. While it’s an art that I think most readers have mastered, stuffing a 600 page novel into an already full bag is definitely not an easy feat! Reading on a phone makes books even more portable, eliminating the need to pack anything extra – however I find that this strains my eyes, so I don’t tend to do it. eReaders also provide more accessibility for many people; those with visual impairments can make the text as large as they need, making many books that wouldn’t be physically printed in large text much more accessible.

Another point worth mentioning for electronic reading is that there’s much more access to independent authors via eBooks – a lot of people self publish eBooks, and publishers often start publishing independent authors on eBook before physical copies. If you want to read more independent titles I would say that the Kindle Store has a much larger, more varied selection of independent writers than most physical book shops.

Audiobooks

Audio books have never really been something I’ve gotten into. My family like them, including my brother and dad, who don’t enjoy reading. Personally I’d rather read, as I find that I can’t fully put all my attention into audio books. I also find that the person reading them definitely affects my ability to engage with the story. I listened to the original dramatised radio show of Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, and while I loved that and still listen to Welcome To Night Vale, a serialised story told through podcasts, overall I prefer to read stories rather than listen to them. Despite not being my read or just want something other than music to listen to while travelling or nodding off to sleep, I’d definitely say that audio books could be for you. Audio books also make books much more accessible to those with visual impairments.

So there’s my view on it. I don’t really see the need to be so purist about one medium over another – they all have good and bad points, and I feel like judging someone’s personal preferences breeds an attitude that just puts people off reading. We should aim to encourage literacy and reading, not judge people if they’d rather read on their phone than get a physical book! I don’t believe that physical books are threatened by the electronic publishing industry, and I don’t believe that eReaders can ever fully replace the feel of a physical book. For me the most important thing in reading is that the story is good; whatever format it’s in.

What’s your favourite method of reading? Have I forgotten anything?

See you soon,

Last Post: Review Wednesday | Book Review – The Red Tent

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Reading Habits Tag!

So, I’ve been doing a lot of writing today, but I’m an idiot and thought it was Tuesday. It took me until 8pm to realise I had the wrong day because I am a genius. This isn’t going to be a particularly long or interesting post but it will help you get to know me better at least: I’m doing the reading habits tag!

1. Do you have a certain place at home for reading?

My room, but it’s not something I think about.

2. Bookmark or random piece of paper?

Okay, this may get me killed, but if I can’t find anything to use as a bookmark I do fold the corners of pages. Scraps of paper and receipts are probably more common markers than bookmarks in my books though – I lose them too easily!

3. Can you just stop reading or do you have to stop after a chapter/ a certain amount of pages?

I like to stop on a 5 or a 0 page if not a chapter. It just feels neat and it’s easier to remember if I lose my page for whatever reason.

4. Do you eat or drink while reading?

Yes – I don’t like crumbs in the pages but I do eat while I read. I hate myself, too. Plus, there’s something cosy about a hot drink, cold weather and a good book.

5. Multitasking: Music or TV while reading?

I like background noise but I don’t generally have anything on – it tends to distract me if I’ve chosen the song/show because I’ll concentrate on that instead. There’s never a lack of background noise in this house, though!

6. One book at a time or several at once?

One, generally speaking – I have two on the go at the moment though.

7. Reading at home or everywhere?

Anywhere, but I prefer at home/somewhere on my own.

8. Reading out loud or silently in your head?

In my head, it comes more naturally to me – I even used to read to my youngest brother and start reading in my head without realising. I like hearing poetry but I still don’t really read it aloud.

9. Do you read ahead or even skip pages?

Nooooo! You never know what you might ruin or miss!

10. Breaking the spine or keeping it like new?

Keep it like new – or, I don’t intend to break spines, I can’t say they all stay nice here though!

11. Do you write in your books?

Not really, I did for course books sometimes but not pleasure reading.

12. Who do you tag?

Anyone who wants to do it – comment below to tell me your reading habits!

See you soon,

Ro x