What are your reading habits?

[pompeylass]

What are your reading habits?

What format do you prefer?
Do you go for the traditional 'Hardbacks and paperbacks' or are you into the new formats like 'kindle and audio'?

What stories do you like to read? Is it crime, thrillers, detectives, science fiction, westerns, romance (present day or historical), horror and vampire stories that draws your interests?

Or do you prefer true stories of peoples' lives, like memoirs, biographies or auto-biographies?

And which authors are or have been your favourites?

[Eric]

Originally Posted by pompeylass

What are your reading habits?

What format do you prefer?
Do you go for the traditional 'Hardbacks and paperbacks' or are you into the new formats like 'kindle and audio'?

What stories do you like to read? Is it crime, thrillers, detectives, science fiction, westerns, romance (present day or historical), horror and vampire stories that draws your interests?

Or do you prefer true stories of peoples' lives, like memoirs, biographies or auto-biographies?

And which authors are or have been your favourites?

That's a whole bunch of questions ...

I don't think reading is a "habit" ... I don't believe the format is all that important ... I like science fiction. Asimov (particularly "Foundation") ... Herbert's "Dune" novels ... anything by Niven; (particularly "Ringworld") ... I don't see "memoirs, biographies or auto-biographies" as being "true'; in fact, I would argue that they out-fiction fiction; anyone who has plowed through Newman's "Apologia Pro Vita Sua" usually comes to a similar conclusion. Bottom line is: they are as "real" as "reality shows."

Interesting questions though.

[accyman]

i prefer the feel of a good old fashioned book mainly because when i run out of loo paper i find the kindle to be ineffective and difficult to flush

[pompeylass]

I met a lady on a coach trip a while back, and I asked her what her reading habits were, She said "I only read true stuff", as opposed to made-up stuff; her definition of fiction and non-fiction.

But, you're right! How true is true?

[Eric]

Originally Posted by pompeylass

I met a lady on a coach trip a while back, and I asked her what her reading habits were, She said "I only read true stuff", as opposed to made-up stuff; her definition of fiction and non-fiction.

But, you're right! How true is true?

In a sense all fiction is "true" in that it is true to the fictive world it creates. It sets up rules and follows them. Even the worlds of science fiction have rules which their creators have to follow in order to render those worlds "realistic." And the human characters in these worlds have to follow rules which are essentially "human" and which the reader recognizes as such. Without characters who love, hate, laugh, cry, and in a general sense, feel you would have a fiction which nobody would want to read, because nobody could identify with it.

And, by the way, I'm always right ... it's my one failing.

[pompeylass]

Right again, Eric.

To help me to decide where my reading habit will take me next, I look in a website called 'Fantastic Fiction.' This site is run by a small family run company based in Lancashire, and is affiliated to Amazon.

It holds bibliographies for over 30,000 authors and information on over 350,000 books. It's an entertainment in itself just browsing the site. I love it.

[Rowlf]

I like Fantastic Fiction too. It is easy to find any author and look through the list of all their books. Even lists books that have yet to come on shelves so you can look out for them. I prefer a proper book than a Kindle. I like a good mystery or murder as well as historical novels especially ones based on real events. Also love books about mountaineering. The Eiger has a fascination to me.

[Eric]

I just love reading ... don't know why ... I could read before I went to school. Somehow, the letters on the page just made sense.

But, now we are on the topic of fiction (in the sense that everything ever written is fiction ... anyone who dreads the sentence "Some assembly required." and has then tried to follow the written instructions may agree) I do believe that there is an upper limit to what the human brain will accept ... In music too. I can handle most stuff from Gregorian Chants to much of the pop stuff that is being written today; but the atonal crap from Schoenberg and Stockhausen is too much experiment ... and music from other cultures too; just doesn''t quite "fit." I think there is maybe something in us, possibly a survival advantage from the Pleistocene, that loves a good story, whether it be Zane Grey or the biography of someone notorious. "Finnegan's Wake" just doesn't do it ... It's more boring than "Sir Charles Grandison", and that's saying something. There's no story, no "tune" our brains can hum along too. I suppose it's impregnable "boringness" is why it is inflicted on students of "English."

The only chaotic novel that actually worked for me ... and I consider it pure genius ... is Sterne's "Tristram Shandy". A true "cock and bull" story.

[Margaret Pilkington]

I didn't learn to read until I was seven.......but once this skill was learned I read everything.
even the scraps of paper hung on the nail on the back of the lavvy door.
I like a wide variety of genres....and a wide variety of authors too.
I read hardbacks paper backs and I especially like my Kindle...purely for the fact that it is practical and I can carry many books(of all types) on it.
It would be easier to tell you what I don't like....Charles dickens would fall into that category as would the Bronte sisters...Jane Austen doesn't float my boat either.

[westendlass]

Earlier this year my brother laughed at me for having a large collection of books. He arrogantly told me that books were old hat and Kindle was the way to go. Well off he went to Istanbul on holiday and, low and behold, he sent a message to say his Kindle had died on him while he was away! Did i laugh! I told him her could borrow one of mine if he wanted as mine weren't in any danger of dying on me !

[pompeylass]

I was brought up on Enid Blyton's Famous Five and Jungle Book and Dr. Dolittle. Later my mum read to me Nevil Shute books and Australian Travel books. I got quite an expert in all things Australian.

My all time favourite book is 'Forever Amber' by Kathleen Winsor. Unfortunately, it's not available in kindle or audio formats. I must have read that story about five times.

I also love reading Jean Plaidy (aka Eleanor Hibbert) books about the King's and Queen's of Europe.

Michael Connelly books I also like; his Harry Bosch series are a favourite.

I'm reading 'I am Pilgrim' by Terry Hayes at the minute and very good it is too.

[westendlass]

I used to like Enid Blighton books when i was little too, I noticed that they are being sold again when I was shopping at Asda. I hope today's kids get the innocent enjoyment that I did.

[Margaret Pilkington]

Originally Posted by westendlass

Earlier this year my brother laughed at me for having a large collection of books. He arrogantly told me that books were old hat and Kindle was the way to go. Well off he went to Istanbul on holiday and, low and behold, he sent a message to say his Kindle had died on him while he was away! Did i laugh! I told him her could borrow one of mine if he wanted as mine weren't in any danger of dying on me !

that is strange as a full charge lasts something in the region of 6 weeks on mine.
Perhaps he did not check that it was fully charged before he went away.
I have just discarded about 14 large bags of books......to the charity shop.
I felt like I was killing off old friends.
I still have lots of books though....there were some I just could not part with.

[pompeylass]

I try and stick to a regime of 'one book in, one book out', but it's not easy.

I'm into audiobooks now; they take up no space as they're in the PC. But there's a draw-back with them. They tend to send me to sleep.

I've found a cure for this by doing an electronic jigsaw puzzle in my desk-top PC at the same time. One half of the brain is taken up with the jigsaw, the other half is coping with the person reading the story. Works great.

[cashman]

Mostly only read books when on holiday, Too much to do these days, being a pensioner.