Welcome to Dennis' Pile of Books

If you were to walk into my office, either at the church or at my house, one thing you would most likely notice many, many books. I have piles of books everywhere so it seems. I love books and surround myself with them wherever I am (at work, on vacation, in the bathroom... you get the picture). So welcome to my pile of books!

On one of my other blogs (Immersed in Mystery) I have a running list of books I have recently read, and ones I am currently reading. In the past few months I began writing short comments after each book title, these were sort of like mini-book reviews, really mini. I thought that rather than lose these comments in the future (I only keep 10 titles on the list at any one time) I would create a blog dedicated to the books I have read.

Having this blog dedicated to the books I have read will also allow me to expand on my comments, perhaps even expanding into a full book review on occasion. Each book will have its own entry, and after the initial 10 entries future books will be noted in this blog when I finish them (in other words the date of the blog entry will indicate the date I finished that book). Mostly this blog is for my own benefit (to help remember all I've read), but I also like to share good books with others. Occasionally I feel the need to warn people about a disappointing book - our free time is scarce enough as it is, no use wasting it on a book that isn't worth the time or effort.

I welcome other comments on these books, it is always interesting to hear how others react to a book I've read - so feel free to leave comments on this blog. And I'm always open to book suggestions from others, I've encountered some great books because of other people's suggestions. Enjoy browsing through my pile of books.

Saturday, January 5, 2013

Time to Eat My Words

Over the past couple of years, as people raved about their eBooks such as the Kindle or Kobo readers, I said I could never find enjoyment in that.  For me part of the experience of books is flipping the pages, looking at how much is left in the book, enjoying the cover art and the layout, browsing on my shelves for just the right book.  I thought the idea of having an electronic device replace all that was ludicrous. And I was right - partly.

This Christmas my lovely wife Beth gave me a Kobo Glo.  Well, better not look down my nose at a gift and so I went to load it up with a few books and try it out.  I was very careful in choosing what to load onto my Kobo, I wanted it to somehow be symbolic and meaningful (it was as if a part of me recognized the dramatic shift about to take place).  I did some browsing in the Kobo online store (affiliated with Chapters and Indigo) and found the perfect choice: the newest series of books by a long-time favourite author Stephen R. Lawhead.  I had been intending on picking up this newest series when it was complete (I hate starting a series and then having to wait for months, or years before I'm able to finish it. This distaste for being unable to complete a series once I start it developed when I was a young man - at university I got hooked into the Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever series by Stephen Donaldson and had to wait for years for the series to be completed). I have most every book written by Mr. Lawhead, and so these books were a good choice - and I discovered, the eBook price for the three books in the Bright Empires series were significantly cheaper than the paperback editions.

I also felt I should have a Bible on my Kobo, and discovered that I could get the C.S. Lewis Bible (a New Revised Standard Version that has quotes of Lewis' writings interspersed throughout the text - in places where the subject of the quote was relevant to the passage of scripture).  I had been thinking of getting this Bible ever since I found out about it, but was reluctant to add yet another Bible to my overflowing book shelves.

So Christmas Eve I began to read The Skin Map, the first in the Bright Empires series by Stephen R. Lawhead.  I read in bed often, and one of the challenges is to find a comfortable position that is also good for the light to hit the page from the bedside lamp.  With the Kobo Glo is discovered a couple of things - I only had to worry about finding a comfortable position, if the light from the lamp wasn't good at that point I could turn on the backlight on the Kobo and read that way.  Secondly I discovered that it is a lot easier to hold this eBook than wrestle with a paperback while trying not to break the spine of the book.  The Kobo Glo has a textured screen and thus when sweeping my finger across to trigger the next page it feels like my hand is running across the printed page.

The bottom line is this - I love my Kobo Glo, it is perfect for reading before I go to sleep, and it will be perfect for long trips when I will only need to bring this little device rather than a bag of books.  So I will eat my words, and I will read my eBook with gratitude.  My Kobo will not replace the joy of scanning the shelves, or of flipping through a coffee-table book with great photography and layout.  The eBook will not replace everything connected with my love of books, but it will surely reduce the amount of additional shelf space I will need in the future - and after watching my parents downsize their place I am grateful for that.


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