April Round-up and a question about your ereaders

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Woman Reading in a Landscape by Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot (img src)

She looks so calm and involved reading there, doesn't she? I do wish I were her, even for a little while.

April has been a better reading month than March for me, all because of the Holy Week holidays we have here. Four days of not doing anything--just lying down to read. It's something I badly needed. I even got to blog a bit!

So here are the books I read this month, with links to the two that I was able to review on my blog:
  1. One of Our Thursdays is Missing by Jasper Fforde - I'm a big fan of Fforde. And though I think that his first four Thursday Next books were much better than the two books that followed, I'm still a big fan. That is how much loyalty his first four Thursday Net books and the two Nursery Crime books have evoked in me.
  2. The Imperfectionists by Tom Rachman - read many good things about this, so I got it on my Kindle. What I loved about it are the character studies. The book shows us the different people who work for an English-language newspaper based in Rome. Ultimately, what it shows is how the people who give us the news are extremely fallible and very human.
  3. Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro - my first Ishiguro, which I love.
  4. The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller - this was a gift to me from my husband, the graphic novel fan. To his credit, every graphic novel he has made me read has really impressed me. This one is no different. 
  5. The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton - Now I see why this book is put in schools' reading lists, and why it's often challenged or banned. Just to clarify--I think this should be read in schools, because it shows that those labelled as delinquents have just as much dignity and feeling as anybody else.
  6. Made to Stick by Chip and Dan Heath - I really appreciated all the practical advice in this book for making your ideas and messages stick.

The first two books I read on my Kindle. Then I made a conscious effort to try to go back to all those TBR books on my shelves which I need to get to. Which brings me to my question for owners of ereaders...

How has your ereader changed your reading habits? 

Before I got my Kindle, I sat amazed as I read testimonial after testimonial from ereader converts. These were people whom I know valued print books. But when they got their ereaders, some of them suddenly found themselves preferring it.

Now, when I got my Kindle, I told myself that I would only get selected new releases there--the books that take a while to get here to the Philippines. Then, I found myself deciding that I would get most of my books via the Kindle, unless they were NYRBs (whose book designs I love) or books that don't translate well to ebooks. And whereas before I always brought a print book with me to work or wherever I go, I've realized that I actually find it easier to read on my Kindle whenever I read outside my home. And so I thought, why fight it? I've decided that it's more comfortable for me to read my print books at home and bring my Kindle with me when I travel or commute.

So yes, I'm a convert, too. I refused to read ebooks via my computer before, but now, I actually enjoy the ability to download books easily and quickly and to carry around several books at once. I still love my print books, though, and in fact have ordered a couple more, but I like that I have more options for reading now.

One more change in my reading habits brought about by my Kindle--I no longer count the free ebooks I've downloaded to my Kindle. Have discovered the beauty of downloading classics from Project Gutenberg, and the reason I don't count those is that my concern re increasing my TBR had to do with space and cost issues. The free ebooks don't take up any space and cost nada.:)

However, I've still bought a few books in the last month, and here they are:


One ebook and two print books. And if I'm to remain faithful to the challenge I set for myself, I can only buy 3 more books this year until I finish 60 more TBR books. Oh my. Then again, I've always liked impossible challenges.

And how was your reading month?

Comments

Anonymous said…
I have had my Kindle for years--pretty much since they first came out. I had not even used it in the past year because I just enjoy the actual feel of a book. In the past month though, I have been using my Kindle pretty heavily and I am glad I am back to enjoying it.
April 30, 2011 at 10:54 PM
Stepford Mum said…
What I don't like about the Kindle is that it's difficult to flip back. With certain books, I reread passages, descriptions etc that develop later on in the book - I want to remind myself of how things started - and it's easier to do that with a proper book.

Like you, I have a towering TBR of paper and ink books, which I'm slowly plowing through. I like alternating - 3 or 4 paper books and then a Kindle book, but this might just be because I'm desperately trying to reduce the size of the tower.

My purchases are the same - sale books only! So Kindle book promos are godsends, the ereader equivalent of bargain bookstores. :)
May 1, 2011 at 10:23 AM
Anonymous said…
I've had my Kindle since Christmas, about five months now, and I seem to go through bouts of using it a whole bunch, and not using it at all. I will say though that, usually, when I'm running out or leaving the house, it's the Kindle that comes with me. That way I don't have to be "stuck" with the book I'm reading, but rather have options to fit my mood, whatever that mood may be. It's usually hard books at home, but only because I'm surrounded by shelves of them and it's a little hard to not give them some loving too. Also, great book snags! I can't wait to hear your thoughts on The Magicians! Great update!
May 1, 2011 at 11:20 PM
Astrid (Mrs.B) said…
I love my Kindle! I do find I'm enjoying it more right now than a printed book like for example I really want to read The History of Love. I have a hardbound copy but I've been looking for an ebook of it. Just found out it's not available yet so I've decided to wait. Of course, the novelty might wear off sooner or later and I'll probably be switching between it and printed copies in the future.
May 2, 2011 at 12:24 PM
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