Welcome to my new blog!

I already run a successful blog: www.leavingcairo.blogspot.com - a blog about an English girl the wrong side of 35 who finds herself settling (for the moment) in the beautiful country of Greece.
But there's more to Bex, the author - hence "The this 'n' that blog".
Documented here will be every day ramblings and observations - enjoy!

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Showing posts with label demise of the traditional bookshop. Show all posts
Showing posts with label demise of the traditional bookshop. Show all posts

Thursday, 2 February 2012

An update about how we read in this digital era



Thumbnail for version as of 17:57, 16 May 2011
Source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Amazon_Kindle_logo.svg

A while back, I wrote a post about Kindles and whether we'd see the demise of the good old fashioned bookshop.  I received numerous thoughts and comment, all very interesting points to ponder.
One person commented that he/she used it maybe once, then it got put to the side and forgotten about.
I have to say, since I've had mine (from late December 2011), I have devoured approximately 7 books so far, OK - one was a 'novella' but still.

I got to thinking: does this mean I now value quantity over quality?  Well no, I loved every single book I read, plus the Kindle price was much cheaper.  Here are a list of books I've read and would recommend:

"Are we nearly there yet?" by Ben Hatch
A family's adventure traversing the UK

"Greeks bearing gifts" and Poseidon's Trident, both by Patricia Fenn.  A humorous and ironic read and especially poignant for me as I live in Greece now.

 "Breakfast at the Hotel DeJa Vu" (sorry for the lack of accents) by the ever marvellous Paul Torday.  A Political fiction writer, he certainly makes you think.    This one was a novella/short story.  He's actual claim to fame was "Salmon Fishing in the Yemen", a book I'd highly recommend.

And one I've just finished: "The Woman Before Me" by Ruth Dugall.  Brilliantly priced at just £0.99!

OK, not all Kindle books are that cheap - and I STILL stand by my slight fear that those lovely bookshops with the coffee shops will disappear - but I still like to read paperbacks too.  Actually, think about it - do you buy paperbacks from bookshops even now, or order them on Amazon??  To me, the bookshop is a lovely quiet 'institution' that I hope will never die out - kind of like old Vinyl record stores (but one can't buy coffee there - unless anyone knows of an old LP shop which has a coffee shop out back?)

As ever, comments please.

Oh!  And enjoy this little link about the good old book: 

Long live the book!

Saturday, 31 December 2011

Kindle - the end of those lovely bookshops?

File:Page Kindle.jpg
Source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Page_Kindle.jpg
I had quite a good Christmas.  Apart from returning to my native UK from Greece (and feeling decidedly less native every visit) and looking forward to returning 'home' to the sunnier weather - I did quite well in the present department.
Apart from the ubiquitous bath smellies from siblings (oh, another thing in the UK's favour is LUSH's Bath Bombs - wow!), I bought myself a Kindle with some nice money I had.
Delivered 24 hrs later (OK - that's another point for the UK in my internal Greece vs UK bashing I have going on), I excitedly charged it up (and became positively gleeful when I found the USB lead it came with fits in nicely with my Apple iPhone charger!  No need to spend any extra!) and downloaded my first book -   "Confessions of a GP" OK, so it was a Kindle "Special" and I didn't want to spend a fortune initially.  But it's actually very good.

BUT:

I noted with disappointment at myself: I was rushing to finish my current paperback, the excellent "Super Sad True Love Story". In my rush to play with my new technological 'toy,' I was missing out on the essence of the plot - and the whole enjoyment of curling up in bed with the cat and a cup of tea to read a good book (Jeez I'm getting old!)  Well, let's face it, it doesn't quite sound the same to say

"I'm just going to curl up in bed with some hot chocolate and a good Kindle."

And the other thing that worries me: the eventual demise of those great sanctums of escapism from the God awful Saturday shopping crowds, the beloved bookshop:
Athens is full of bookshops tucked away down old ancient side streets.  One of the bigger chains,
Eleftheroudakis has a beautiful choice, both Greek and International with lovely sofas to lounge upon.
Compendium is another one of those old ones that one can stumble across - a haven from expats with its vast range - and the owner is very helpful.
Compendium Books - Athens, Greece

Solonos Street has the best book shops/cafes in Athens - near the area of Exarchia.

I know I know - we can't halt technological advancement (and neither SHOULD we), but I can't help feeling sad that these lovely sanctums might eventually disappear.

Any thoughts?
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