...Are you hard....or are you soft?....

.....I'm talking about books by the way.....

....I really have a need to get something of my chest, something i think that has bothered me for a considerable amount of years, not something that bothers me in the sense it ruins my day, no not at all, something that just quietly simmers in the background of my mind along with the other simmerings of a similar gauge..ie.. why is it when i buy my yearly stash of cosy woolie tights is there that slight possibility that the legs are not quite that long enough that you  have to keep yanking them up every few minutes to stop you feeling  like a penguin......know what i mean?.....that kind of niggling..

.....No...the little thing that bothers me is '' why oh why do the book publishing companies keep on making hard backed fiction books''.....now let me explain....
 

....Yes i know i know about the whole money thing, i know its the way of getting as much cash out of us all by starting big then eaking out the stragglers behind with the final publication in a small manageable sized read...........but honestly, i have to say......i loathe the hard back book.....now don't get me wrong i have absolutely no problem with a nice big hard backed edition of a recipe book, or a home interiors book, or any other general interest subject, somehow this size and strength of a book goes very nicely with hard backed knowledge, i think we need a good solid book with good solid information in it.. it makes us feel important, it makes us feel that when we purchase a book of this stature we are showing the world that 'yes' we are knowledgeable, we want to learn 'how to cook or how to knit or how to display our collections on walls, and for subjects of this size we need a sizable book....a book that will stand up on its cover, hold its own weight whilst we try to follow the instructions of making pastry, or propped up against a wall whilst we try to change a tyre.......yes yes you need  hard backed book for these such times........

......but why oh why....

.....do we need a book of this physique when we are tucked up in our cosy beds and want to venture to another realm,or soaking in a nice warm bath and want to swoon in romance, how oh how is that ideally suitable.....

....I am an avid reader, i always always have to have a book on the go, i would feel something was missing if i didn't have my comfort blanket of escapism near to hand, or in my purse or just by my side in case i get a few stolen moments of ' knights, and Tudor queens or ethereal maidens or whatever is tempting me at the time.......and there is nothing more exciting than knowing one of your favourite authors is about to release a new novel and the blasted thing is in hard back first, twice the price, big , cumbersome and generally horrible........i will apologise now if i have offended anyone up to this point, to offend is not my intention, i just need to off load this irritation as i have found myself right at this present time waiting oh so patiently for *TEN*, yes'' Ten'' new hard back books to go down to the comfortable manageable sized paper back that i like to read........i am also a little person who i will admit likes to get comfortable with a book, and when i mean comfortable i mean ( and i am sorry to announce this) but i mean i am a ''spine breaker'' gasp.......yes, when i find myself with my next new book, and i am snuggling down i usually start with a ritualistic stroke of the front cover, that feeling of not knowing what is inside so i give it a little stroke, open that first page, fold it right back, then i ........bend the book several times from several different pages to give it a few good strong creases all along the spine, i like to fold the book completely in half when I'm in the bath, this really gets it lovely and cosy, and then when i have reached the end of my book it looks like its been ''really loved'', it looks like its been on ''a journey'' with me, when you flick  through most of my books there are areas that tell a different story.....i may of scribbled notes in pencil at the bottom of pages, i may of slopped my tea in it, or crushed a biscuit or even a piece of cake....there have on many occasions that i have flicked through one of my books and found a squashed raisin........ahhh sweet memories.......
 

...I could go on and on, about my love affair with small paperback books, but i think maybe i should round this up now.......

.....So....my conclusion is......you would think with how the whole business is with trying to get people to support our written word, to keep people buying those lovely cosy soft paperbacks and not to down load words and have nothing to show for your cash, that book publishing companies would really consider knocking the whole hard back fiction book on the head and just get the damned things out into the world in paperback......surely the rise in the kindle has been provoked by people getting fed up with waiting for there much longed for book in paperback and gone 'oh well stuff it i cant wait any longer lets down load'.......

.....Do we really want to down load everything ?....

....I don't know about you, but i want something in my hand for the money i part company with, i want the cosy, i want the tea stained cake squished book, i want the broken spines and also the memories of books that i have taken away on holiday, they hold the same amount of sentimental value to me as a photo....( and I'm talking photos printed on paper not cyber ones.

....There I'm done.......whinge over.....i do feel better for it, now i need to go and look through my bookcase and re read an old favourite until one of the ten 'Hard backs'' comes out in small paperback.....

......So what are you?   hard or soft?

xx Pixie xx

 

......footnote....

.....Regarding the Kindle....

 

.....I don't want people to think that i am totally anti the 'kindle' device, far from it.....

I really do think that this gadget has a place in our lives at times, and that some people probably benefit from it more when maybe holding a book is awkward, or certain health issues really do make it hard for the reader to find comfort holding books, and i know that most avid readers shouted ''HoorAY''.. to the kindle when it comes to holidaying in other countries and having all the books you love with you in a nice small easy to manage device than lugging around a suitcase of them, and then there is always the dilemma of which ones to take with you without exceeding the suitcase maximum weighty thing.............no i really do appreciate that it is probably a gadget of our modern age that fits in ok..............but for the time being it will be a gadget that i wont be using..........i love the written word too much, and of course if i drop my book in the bath (which i have done on many occasions, and had to sit it on the radiator to dry out), oh and slopped tea on it, and that misbehaving piece of cake with raisins in, its probably best i don't own a kindle.

 

....i think i need a cup of tea now....

 

bye for now dearies

Pixie

xxxxxxx