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Yes, it's true that modern books are more expensive and harder to get - sometimes impossible - in e formats, but this isn't the case with antiquated books. I agree that very old books are nice for themselves. However, I think it's dreadful that some people pay up to £5.00 for a paperback version...

Think of all the space you'd free up. Your house would look positively HUGE! Your paper books could be donated to charity, or a library, or some other needy cause. And you can get so many books FOR FREE and legally; especially classics and giveaways. Of course, if you venture onto the...

I haven't spent much time on this site for a while. This is because I've been over at a site dedicated to lovers of ebooks and ereaders. Maybe you could start a department devoted to them, to keep those of us who consider paper books to be yet more clutter. I have friends who hate the idea...

I think this is from Anne Fine's Diary of a Killer Cat.

I think this depends upon the book. Some pulp novels are not written for the beauty of the language, so can be speed read for the plot alone, whereas other novelists deserve to be appreciated for their use of words, and these should be read at a pace which allows subvocalisation. I'm using...

I've started reading free ebooks from the Gutenberg Project, but only since I downloaded AceReader, speed reading software which makes reading on screen less unpleasant. I agree that there's nothing like the real thing; but when you can get the ebook for free, as opposed to paying a fortune...

I keep old Christmas and birthday cards and cut these into nice bookmark sizes, attempting to keep the pictures of cats etc whole. Then I've both provided myself with plenty of bookmarks to place around the house, and recycled my cards. All it takes it an hour of interesting radio chatting...

I think re-reading brings a new perspective to a book. I see it from more angles when I know how it ends. I can watch how the writer unravels the story and take more notice of aspects such as the relationship between environment and action. I recommend reading good novels, as opposed to...

My experience with the Dummies series is confined to the computing range. I think there are better basic books around; Dummies sometimes waffle. They are best used as basic reference books rather than introductions to a subject imo.

Give it up guys! Life is too short. By the way, Devoted Reader, you make some glaring mistakes in your posts. For example: That should be versus. Verses refer to those things in poetry (stanzas). I initially missed the grammatical error. Stewart is right, you alter tense mid sentence...

I've read most of these. Do you want a challenging read or an easy get-out? If you want the former, go for As I Lay Dying, which is written from the viewpoints of several characters and can be difficult to fathom. I had to study Faulkner at Uni for a course on Literature of the South, phew was...

I've read a book similar to this, but it was written in the 70's by Peter Beagle: A Fine and Private Place. It's set in a graveyard. A tramp lives there with a talking raven. The guy cannot leave the graveyard, and the bird pinches food to keep him alive. The ghosts of two young adults: a guy...

Not joking about the reading glasses. As you get a little older they really help, especially if you do lots of reading; preventing eyestrain. I wear them, very fashionable ones too. My eyes tend to dry out. This is worse when on the computer than when reading a book. The only way of...

Maybe you need an eye test for some reading glasses. It helps to take a break - go and make some coffee, go to the loo (or whatever you call it in the US) - for fifteen mins or so.

Thomas Hardy: Tess of the d'Urbervilles, or Jude the Obscure George Eliot: Middlemarch and Silas Marner Jane Austen: Emma (hate Austen, but no lit education complete without her) George Orwell: Animal Farm and 1984 Hemingway: For Whom the Bell Tolls Fitzgerald: The Great Gatsby Emily...

Depends on the type of book. If it's non-fiction, I'll read the blurb on the back, the contents page, and have a quick rifle through the headings. Sometimes I read only the bits which interest me. If it's fiction, I'll read the blurb on the back, swear something awful if it gives too much...

I hope you don't find this question offensive. Is English you first language? I wondered about this from your use of grammar. If this is the case, maybe Eng lang classes could help. If this is not the case, why not buy yourself an electronic dictionary? I use one frequently - it's a Sharp. This...

Maybe you could learn to speedread so that you can do one quick read-through of a book, then another more thorough reading. You may find that the second time through makes more sense as you have the entire book already in your head, so can put things into context. I've been interested in...

Hi everyone. Just joined this forum to natter about my favourite, and not so liked, books with like-minded people. It'll take me a while to find my way round here, so be gentle with me. Have nearly finished The Swiss Family Robinson; boy is it getting boring! Normally, books become more...