Why you shouldn't buy an e reader

Margaret · 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.

Telynor · 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.

Michy · 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 · 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.

Michy · 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........

Madeleine · 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.

LoobyG · 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...

LoveHistory · 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.

Michy · 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!

annis · 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

Historical Fiction Online

Why you shouldn't buy an e reader

E-books and poetry