Do you read books?

[Spidoinkel]

im not an avid reader... last book i read was the alchemist but it was incredibly repetitive. I read my history textbooks for some insane reason. i need a life.

 

[Richard III]

Originally posted by Grey Fox
I do read books, but I havn't been able to read a book for over a year now...

Huh? Eye trouble?

R.III

 

[Crazy Eddie]

Originally posted by Spidoinkel
I read my history textbooks for some insane reason.

Don't worry, reading history books is a very sane thing to do. (of course, reading school history textbooks might not be these days.)

@Ming-
I'm bursting with envy now. There's so little interest in SF in my town that the local 2nd hand bookshop keeps all of the scifi in the back storeroom. I had to use a torch one time because the light had blown.

 

[charmon1]

only if my teachers force me, mean people

 

[Ming]

Originally posted by Crazy Eddie
@Ming-
I'm bursting with envy now. There's so little interest in SF in my town that the local 2nd hand bookshop keeps all of the scifi in the back storeroom. I had to use a torch one time because the light had blown.

You should go to SF conventions. Most decent ones have a "huckster room" filled with book dealers. There was one in Chicago just last week. There are multiple conventions most weekends all over the country.

Also, in Evanston (right outside of Chicago) is a bookstore called "Stars My Destination" which ONLY carries SF and Fantasy books. They have an excellent selection of new and used books.
You can usually find what you are looking for.

 

[Archbob]

Certainly, especially ones I like.

 

[Flatlander Fox]

I read alot, and ANYTHING...

Lots of Dollar General books at the moment because I'm so &#$*&^ing poor.

 

[Simon Darkshade]

Yes, quite a few, to put it mildly. Had to trawl through hundreds for thesis writing, plus hundreds for recreation.

 

[col]

I read 2 or 3 books a week - and have done since I was about 10. I'm very old now and thats a lot of books!

Just moved house - took 32 boxes of books with me. Having to sell about half my SF collection which would reduce it to the size of Ming's.

 

[Zwelgje]

I read books but not as many as I would like. Maybe one a month... I usually read in the train but lately the trains are so crowded I'm not able to sit and read.
I like to read fiction: currently I'm reading "The elementary particles" by Michel Houellebecq. One of the main characters is a molecular biologist, like me.

 

[Crazy Eddie]

Originally posted by Ming


You should go to SF conventions. Most decent ones have a "huckster room" filled with book dealers. There was one in Chicago just last week. There are multiple conventions most weekends all over the country.

Also, in Evanston (right outside of Chicago) is a bookstore called "Stars My Destination" which ONLY carries SF and Fantasy books. They have an excellent selection of new and used books.
You can usually find what you are looking for.

The huckster room thing sounds good, not too expensive I hope? I suppose the UK conventions are similar to the US ones.
I take it that the owner of the store in Evanston is a big Bester fan?

 

[gr8ful wes]

I prefer non fiction.
Actually I prefer magazines. Patrticularly Time, and Field and Stream.

I read a lot of great books in my day, but cant be bothered anymore with make believe stories. All the best stories are true, or have been written already.

 

[Baleog]

I read about a book a week, but I don't feel I always need a book to read, nor do I read just about anything. Normally I won't read anything unless it got very good reviews, and I like for the book to make me think (that's why they take a week to read). In previous years reading such books got in the way of my studying, so I am cutting myself down to one every two/three weeks at the moment.

 

[Padma]

I read books. Heck, I read anything I can get my hands on! I would much rather read a good book than watch TV, or see a movie.

My Science Fiction collection hit a couple thousand books a few years ago. Not as impressive as Ming's though. Few hardbacks, no signed copies. Some of that's my own fault: I hate the crowds at conventions. (Although if the WorldCon came to Omaha, I might just talk myself into going! )

 

[Zcylen]

Hey! whats wrong with history books!?
I have read almost all Asimov's history books as well the SciFi.
novels like LOTR and dostoyevsky.
and biographies like Mein Kampf and Pope Alexander VI, great books!
Caesare Borgia is one of the greatest

 

[Logain]

I read a serious amount of the time. And I am extremely jealous of those posters with their 1000+ SciFi books. I only have around 200+.

@Ming. I would love to go to conventions but they never come to Ireland. The most we might get is a book signing very rarely. Also I do not have the money to go to England in order to attend them.

 

[Sparrowhawk]

I read a fair bit. I generally go through 8-10 novels in lieu of studying before exams each semester... I guess I'm a bit of a procrastinator. Plus a book every two days when I'm on vacation. I don't even have a TV in my apartment.

And I am extremely jealous of those posters with their 1000+ SciFi books. I only have around 200+.

Me too. Even with 'only' 200+ though, I've had to give up on almost all the bookstores around here. They rarely have what I am looking for - and I refuse to buy crap. To an extent, my solution to this has been to diverge a bit into fantasy, which has been rewarding so far.

Also, in Evanston (right outside of Chicago) is a bookstore called "Stars My Destination" which ONLY carries SF and Fantasy books. They have an excellent selection of new and used books.
You can usually find what you are looking for.

Lucky bugger. I wish I could find somewhere with a decent selection.

 

[Finvola]

I haven't been reading like I should lately, but now that I'm in the process of moving and 3/4 of my computer is in different areas of the world, I'm forced to get back into doing other things. After I leave here (the library) I'm off to find me some good second hand books to pass the time away with

 

[col]

Originally posted by Logain
I read a serious amount of the time. And I am extremely jealous of those posters with their 1000+ SciFi books. I only have around 200+.

That is one of the good things about being 'old'. You have a lot of stuff that you acquire over the years.

Its also one of the bad things.

 

[Logain]

Originally posted by Sparrowhawk
Me too. Even with 'only' 200+ though, I've had to give up on almost all the bookstores around here. They rarely have what I am looking for - and I refuse to buy crap. To an extent, my solution to this has been to diverge a bit into fantasy, which has been rewarding so far.

I gave up on my local bookstores a long time ago, they are truely bad. I used to buy most of my books in the Dublin branch of Forbidden Planet but I was in there last week and they had taken out all their nooks and replaced them with toys. WTF!!!

Originally posted by Ming
Also, in Evanston (right outside of Chicago) is a bookstore called "Stars My Destination" which ONLY carries SF and Fantasy books. They have an excellent selection of new and used books.
You can usually find what you are looking for.

There used to be a book in Dublin like that called the Flying Pig Bookstore. I went to it once about two years ago but when I went again the next week I couldn't find it.

PS: has anyone read the book Stars My Destination? Absolutely fantastic.