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Why you shouldn't buy an e reader

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Margaret
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Interest in HF: I can't answer this in 100 characters. Sorry.
Favourite HF book: Checkmate, the final novel in the Lymond series
Preferred HF: Literary novels. Late medieval and Renaissance.
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Post by Margaret » Sun September 5th, 2010, 12:39 am

Over 20 years ago I decided to try giving up reading for pleasure, to see if I could. It lasted a couple of months, and I just wasn't right.
OMG - no way I could have lasted that long! You have stamina, girl.
Browse over 5000 historical novel listings (probably well over 5000 by now, but I haven't re-counted lately) and over 700 reviews at www.HistoricalNovels.info

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Telynor
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Location: On the Banks of the Hudson

Post by Telynor » Sun September 5th, 2010, 12:49 am

I would simply curl up and die without books! As soon as I am finished with one, I'm onto the next one.

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Michy
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Post by Michy » Sun September 5th, 2010, 1:07 am

[quote=""LoobyG""]That beautiful smell of new books is one of my chief pleasures in setting foot in Waterstones, I wish some inspired perfume manufacturer would bottle it [/quote]

I remember LOVING the smell of bookstores when I was young. But nowadays when I walk into a bookstore I smell..... nothing. :( Is it just me? Or is it because today's bookstores are behemoths (where the smell is more dispersed ) as compared to the much smaller bookstores of yesteryear? Or is it because they now use unscented glue or something in the production process?

Ash
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Post by Ash » Sun September 5th, 2010, 3:05 am

Well to be honest, I suspect half of what we were smelling was dust; lots of those used places my dad took me to were not the most organized or the cleanest. But it is a smell I associate with books and bookstores.

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Michy
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Post by Michy » Sun September 5th, 2010, 4:17 am

Actually, I was talking about the smell of new books. I used to love the smell in B. Dalton and J.K. Gill when I was a kid. But when I walk in Borders or Barnes & Noble now I don't detect even a whiff of it........

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Madeleine
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Currently reading: "Mania" by L J Ross
Preferred HF: Plantagenets, Victorian, crime, dual time-frame
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Post by Madeleine » Sun September 5th, 2010, 11:03 am

My local Waterstone's used to smell of spilt milk - yuk! Now however it doesn't really smell of anything.

I love that smell which I think is a combination of dust, and wooden floors, especially if they've just been varnished. Not many shops like that around now though.
Currently reading "Mania" by L J Ross

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LoobyG
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Post by LoobyG » Sun September 5th, 2010, 3:00 pm

Maybe I have a very sensitive nose lol! But my Waterstones definitely has that whiff of new books, not as strong as it once was - I think you're right Michy about it being dispersed in larger shops. But it's there :) the dusty smell of old books, while I'm fond of it, is not so pleasant in large quantities...

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LoveHistory
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Post by LoveHistory » Sun September 5th, 2010, 8:23 pm

Better ventilation systems probably make a big difference in whether or not a store has a bookish smell.

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Michy
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Post by Michy » Tue September 7th, 2010, 3:42 am

I do miss it.... Not the smell of old books (which is ok in small doses), but the sharp, distinctive smell of new books...... I can still remember the way my brand-new science textbook smelled in first grade. It was the only thing I liked about science! :p

annis
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E-books and poetry

Post by annis » Tue September 7th, 2010, 3:57 am

Not necessarily a reason not to buy an e-book, but I was intrigued by poet Billy Collins' unhappy discovery that poetry doesn't translate well to e-book, losing the structure which is so significant to the reader's perception and understanding of the poet's message. As he says, it's a bit like showing a sculpture in bits and expecting the viewer to recognize its original form.

Article here:
http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/07/18/1 ... poems.html

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