Booking Through Thursday

Interactive

With the advent (and growing popularity) of eBooks, I’m seeing more and more articles about how much “better” they can be, because they have the option to be interactive … videos, music, glossaries … all sorts of little extra goodies to help “enhance” your reading experience, rather like listening to the Director’s commentary on a DVD of your favorite movie.

How do you feel about that possibility? Does it excite you in a cutting-edge kind of way? Or does it chill you to the bone because that’s not what reading is ABOUT?

Well... I am quite sure I won't be too fond of e-books, even though I admit I have never even tried. They just lack few of the important things about literature: feel and smell.

You can't fondle an e-book, you don't feel the scratchy paper in your fingertips when you turn the page... and I don't dare to think how a reader would look like if you eat when you read (which is fun).

If I want to watch videos I check Youtube or put DVD in player.

And when it comes to commentary: Stephen King does that in his books. In written form. And I enjoy them.

I do enjoy listening his feature commentaries on DVDs, but a movie is a movie. Moving pictures are all nice and such, but books have their charm because they are good at what they are and have been for centuries.

Call me traditionalist, but that is not always a bad thing.

Booking Through Thursday

Reviews:

Do you read book reviews? Whose do you trust? Do they affect your reading habits? Your buying habits?

In general I don't read book reviews, but I am glad I trusted one review in Helsingn Sanomat (link is to internation edition, the review itself was in the Finnish version). It was about Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's "Half of a Yellow Sun".
Incidently it happened shortly after I had met Husband and I made a mental note based on the review that when I see the book, I must buy it. Finally got it last year, as couple of other her books and realised that I had found yet another favourite author for myself.

Her writing style is captivating and you just yearn more and more after getting the first sip and I can nothing but recommend her books.

Booking Through Thursday

After a long, long break it's time for BTT...

Parlez vous?

Do you have any foreign language books and if so can you (still) read them?

Noticing that English is a foreign language to me I can say that I have books in several foreign languages: English, Russian, Hungarian, Hebrew, Swedish are the ones which come to mind, there may be others too.
I am fluent enough in English, I can still read some Russian (but probably not enough to get the idea of any book). At this point I can read Hebrew, but won't understand most of the words (ie. I know the writing marks and know how they are read), so to read a book in Hebrew... not a chance. When it comes to Swedish I would probably understand most of it, but I have to admit that I dislike Swedish as a language. And Hungarian... I don't know it well enough (I still remember how to order two beers though *grin*).

Quotes

"Part of the inhumanity of the computer is that, once it is competently programmed and working smoothly, it is completely honest."
-- Isaac Asimov

"Some people never go crazy. What truly horrible lives they must lead."
-- Charles Bukowski

BTT

Can You Hear Me Now?

Audio Books. Yes or No?

Yes.

Not that I'd ever prefer them over real ones, but they're great thing when you want to share few passions of yours, for example, crafting and reading. (And when you're person who needs background noise no matter what she's doing...)
It makes one wonder how some can be so talented voice actors that they can read whole book and impersonate all the characters with such style that you might think that there's several actors reading the said book.

BTT

BTT; Lets keep it short

It has been a while since I replied to this last time...

Booking Through Thursday

1. Do you read short stories?
   Yes, I do.

2. Why or why not?
   Because reading is reading is reading, and if the text is good its length doesn't matter (don't you know that it's not size that matters? ).

3. What do you like and dislike about short stories?
   Taking normal short story (and not those oversized novellas Mr. King sometimes writes (though I love them)) I like the fact that they're like literary snacks. Little something to munch while, for example, sitting in a bus or a train.
   And sometimes you want to read something, but are too tired to even thinking of reading whole book.

600; Booking Trough Thursday in Friday

After having pleasant nap (have you ever tried to be in different time zone with your head? It causes shortened night sleep) I'd want to announce 600th entry in my blog. (And there was much rejoicing.)

And then:

Booking Trough Thursday

Reach out a hand, and grab the book that is closest to you. Turn to page 231, or pick a page at random if the book isn't that long. Locate the first sentence of the last paragraph on that page.

1. Type the sentence
2. Does the sentence make sense out of context?
3. Does reading the sentence make you want to read the rest of the book? Why or why not?

1. "Some procedures and rates differ when the victim is a child."
2. It does, in certain extent.
3. Hmmm.... I could read it just because I'm curious and want to know everything about all.

Book in question was Webster's Pocket Medical & First Aid Dictionary of the English Language. I have, as I may have previously mentioned, Webster's Pocket Reference Library on my computer desk. Today WPMFAotEL was on the top of the box so it was first book in my hand.

Booking Trough Thursdays

Once again I've few weeks worth... From eldest to latest.

Booking Trough Thursday

Thursday, March 23, 2006

Today's questions were suggested by Christine.

1. How do you decide to read a book by an author you haven't read before?

   Same thing which works with every book I'm considering to read: if I like the idea I'll read it. That's why I always consult backs of books, that's why I rarely buy books from anywhere else than bookstore.

2. What sort of recommendations count most highly in making that decision?

   I don't trust recommendations in general. But in case someone who has similar taste to mine recommends something I may give it a change.

Thursday, March 30, 2006

Pick one of your favorite authors.

1. What are some of your favorite books by this author?

   Well, mr. King, again. I love most of his books, but I'd say The Dark Tower (I may have referred it as Black Tower before, but this is what happens when you read translated books...) series as it was pleasant surprise. I'm not that much in actual fantasy, and therefore it took quite some time before I actually read first book from this series, but since then I've been hooked.
   In some phase I was afraid that mr. King never will finish this series, but I was wrong. Which is good.

2. Why do you like this author?

   /me consults blog
   "I love King because his mind is as twisted as mine is - he writes like I'd like to be able to write (and he writes like my mind works)."

3. Have you read everything by this author? Why or why not?

   No I haven't. He's too productive. And I'm too broke. Most Kings I've are bought by my mother - it's easy for her, when ever there's new translated King in stores she buys two of them. One for me, one for my brother. She hadn't got actual gift giving problems with me since 2000.

Booking Trough Thursday; Autographs

This week's questions are from Cate.

1. Do you have any books that are signed by the author?
2. Do you have a story behind the autograph?

1. I almost said no, but I was wrong. I have. One. Tommy Tabermann's Lauluja suuresta halusta (~Songs of extensive lust)

2. One reason why Dan got interested of me was one poem from Tommy Tabermann (Other reason was my terrible sense of humour: "See kids, when I was young Earth was still a pancake."). (For reference: we met in chat back in 1998.)
   So, because his poetry got us together he was kind of "our poet"...

   At 2001 I worked in this big department store in Helsinki and mr. T. had just published new book and came there to sign his books... I was working, and we had so many customers that it was impossible for me to go and ask that signature from him, and therefore head of book and paper department did it on my behalf - as she thought that our story was quite cute. ^^

Memes and links

I've got Booking Through Thursday email for some time but for reason or another haven't gave my view yet. So, now it's time for two.

Collecting authors (23rd of February, 2006)

Today's questions were suggested by Cate.

1. Are you currently collecting any authors? Why?
2. Do you have all of their books? If not, why not?
3. Did you buy all the books in the collection at the same time, or did you buy a book here, a book there?
4. Have you read the whole collection? If not, why not?

1. If we can call it collecting, yes I am. Stephen King, H.P.Lovecraft and Clive Barker mostly. Occasionally Agatha Christie or Douglas Adams. Their books just are more difficult to find from my favourite places: book sales.
   But why? I love King because his mind is as twisted as mine is - he writes like I'd like to be able to write (and he writes like my mind works).Lovecraft just is master of tentacle monsters - ok, his mind was twisted enough to write good horror. Clive Barker has interesting dark side too. Agatha Christie mainly because I love Poirot and Miss Marple, and Douglas Adams because his sense of humour was something... twisted enough to make me interested of sci-fi

2. No, I don't. King is way too productive, you can't find Lovecraft or Barker translated (or even in English) from local bookstores. Same with Christie and Adams, only heaven knows why.
   And of course there's one major reason: money.

3. As you may have concluded from previous answer I buy them here and there.

4. I've read every book I've those authors - most of them several times.

Beautiful books (16th of February, 2006)

This week's question, suggested by Jeanne, is here by popular demand. Thank you, ladies!

1. What is the most beautiful book you own?
2. In what way is it beautiful? Is it the illustrations, the binding, a combination of these, or something else?
3. How often do you look at it, browse through it, read it?

1. In fact all my books are beautiful. Sometimes I find myself staring at my bookshelf (either one in bedroom or one in living room) and just adoring my books.
   But as I've to choose I'd say that one in the top of the list is Dante's Divina Commedia. Mine is facsimile of book which has originally published in 1924.

2. As it's facsimile it's not as beautiful as original has been, but if you look it from distance it looks like having natural linen covers with black leaf ornamentations (In fact I'm not sure is that the word) and some gold to make it look effective.

3. I've to confess that I've never ever read it, but I occasionally do fondle it... like I do with all of my books.

Linking

Finnish proverbs for all curious ones

And then some... divine cooking.

I've to say that there's a spice I don't like.