Thursday, June 18, 2009

To Browse and Read.




I love books and reading! So does R but he reads at a rate that means many books are needed ( he read 75 last year ). Well, go to the Library. NO it just doesn't suit our needs. Certainly for study or rarer reference we may visit ( if we don't find it on the Internet ) but not to take books out . The restraints of having to have books back by a certain date, the mileage to the city plus parking and book fees all detract.


Over the years we have devised our own system that suits.
* We buy books as gifts and receive them that way too.
*We exchange books with a select group of friends ( those who look after and return them )( that also makes good talking points when we have read the same books).
*We go to book sales sometimes and lately we visit the second hand bookshop in Tauranga.( see bookmark photo )."Relaxed atmosphere to browse or read." it says - it certainly is. Warmly heated with old soft couches to sit if you wish makes it a friendly happy bookie place! It reminds me of the bookshop in the movie " You've Got Mail! " We both met there on Tuesday. R had done some messages for me while I went to the Optometrist. I came away relieved as have been having some annoying worrying trouble with my eyes lately, not the vision, but physical discomfort ( on waking ) and a spontaneous bleed just below my bottom eyelid that made me look like I had been in a fight ( it took 3 weeks to reabsorb ). So I was glad to be told no eye health problems and my vision little changed so no new expensive lenses needed.( still need to find the cause though )I'm not going blind - well not just yet anyway!
We each came away with 3 books. 6 cost what 2 new books would have cost.( later we can sell them back if we wish ) We take our own bag and so are doing 2 environmentally good practices.
Bookshop new or second hand are wonderful places. Tempting places. Places that mostly delight with the odd disappointment.
**Do tell me of any wonderful reads you have had lately.**


7 comments:

molly said...

Oh I will, I will! But not just yet as I want to post about it....I love bookshops almost as much as quilt shops! Second-hand bookshops are my favourite. I can spend hours browsing happily among stacks of them. Whenever we've moved, the lobrary is one of the first things I go looking for. Enjoy your haul!

molly said...

Eh! Stacks of books, not stacks of bookshops! And library, not lobrary........And I just had MY eyes checked and they said everything was fine.. They're not infallible though....maybe they made a mistake?

Thimbleanna said...

I love all the alternatives you've worked out. I love the library, but like you, it doesn't always work for me -- sometimes I end up spending more in fines than I would if I'd just bought the book in the first place. We have a fantastic used book store here -- people come from all around to visit (or so I'm told!)

Our book group is reading "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett this month. I've just started it, but I think I'm really going to like it.

notHamilton said...

Apparently they're trying something new on the underground. We can't live without the library when it comes to travel guide books that you only need for a week.

My recommendation - Lionel Shriver's We Need To Talk About Kevin (borrow it off my mum!).

Ali Honey said...

That is a really great idea giving out books on the underground. Amazing!

Yes, thanks for you recommendation, Pam. I know about that book but haven't read it yet. I find the title funny knowing the names of partners in your family!
Cheers Ali.

Digitalgran said...

I love reading and BOOKS. I'm addicted to buying them I'm afraid. i wonder if your eye problem is the same as mine. I have ingrowing eyelashes which have to be plucked out every few months when they become very painful and red.

Unknown said...

I should go more often to second hand book shops, I read a LOT.