Sunday 10 February 2013

...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




13 comments:

  1. Oh, I am with you on the "crotch down to the knees tights" even tho. I am not that tall, actually short by today's standards.
    I have two confessions to make. The first is not at all difficult, the second is hard and shames me.
    The first...I am a hardback fan rather than paper back fan, tho. I have many paperbacks. Perhaps that boils down to the fact that I don't have a lovely tub to soak in and I no longer read in bed...back hurts too much. The second shaming one is that I do have a Kindle now. I did die a little when I got it, but to tell the truth, even after letting go of bags and bags of books, I just no longer have the space for them. If you could see under the bed,(God forbid) you would be appalled by the sight. I do still order a "real" book and am very careful about what I put on my Kindle..as in sometimes it is more costly than the real thing.
    I'll never lose my love of the "real thing" and there are hundreds of books lying around here I could never ever send off. Oh, sigh.
    I, too, would be bereft without books. They feed the soul, warm the house, entertain and are the best of friends.
    I should apologize for being so chatty and long here.

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  2. Books are dear to me so this is a good discussion. I admit to liking both. The hardback we keep on the shelf(we have a collection of old, out of print books which are our favorites), and the well worn paperback with which to read in bath or bed or at the beach. We used to own a New and Used book store. It was heaven to open up the weekly deliveries of new books just out from the publisher, but it was also thrilling to come across an old Hard Back first edition of a great novel. I have downloaded a few non fiction books on my Kindle, but I prefer to have the book in my hand. Can't cozy up in bed with your lap top quite the same way.
    Hardback is my favorite for cookbooks, art books and the like, but for novels, I prefer a paperback.
    And I hate it when my tights wont stay up. It's so annoying.

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  3. Hi Pixie,

    hmmm...regarding tights, I know what you mean. I have remedied this by buying a little bigger then I need because when you wash them they tend to really shrink thus causing that annoying "sag" in the middle, which can extend to the knees :)
    In regards to books...well, they are treasures and I love them both. Just depends on what book I am wanting. I confess that hardcover books seem really important and special.:)
    I much prefer reading a real book. I do not like reading much on the computer.
    xo <3

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  4. Hi Pixie,
    I have nominated your blog for the Liebster Award. More details on my last post.
    Rosie x

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  5. I am with you on the "crotch down to the knees tights" too! I am not that tall, either, but I have found the answer to that problem! Knickers! Yes two pairs! One underneath next to the skin, tights, another pair of knickers on the top!
    I just love books!
    Julie xxxxxxxxxxxx

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  6. Hi there Pixie - I've just followed a link from the Old Magnolia Tree to your site and am really enjoying it. Just today I have been wandering the school corridors trying to subtly rescue my dignity via the occasional 'hitch up hop'- not sure I managed as I was being followed by a year three class who had been told to walk quietly and smartly - this of course concentrated their focus even more! I'm definitely a softie - can't snuggle down in bed the same with a hard back book x

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  7. LOL loved this post!
    Okay the tights thing........I've decided its probably terrorism, 'they' are whittling away at womens peace of mind and dignity....and in my case..............it's definitely not because Ive put on weight so they have to stretch further up and round lol
    Books! Ah books! I love books. It all started when grandad gave me a set of the Arthur Mees Childrens Encyclopaedia.
    I was about 5 and couldnt understand all the words or subjects but I poured over all the books in the set.
    Hard backed back then in the 1950s and am sure they weren't new, but they captured my imagination right away.

    Now I have ALOT of hard backed, mostly craft, books but I prefer paper backs. to read. Like you I think they are easier to manage, to carry, to fold over.
    And I have no yearning to kindle or read online.
    I wont even buy a magazine online......it isnt the way I like to read and I like to handle the book itself.
    Fair enough for those that do of course.
    But I agree whole heartedly with you ........publishers please publish hard and paper backs at the same time!
    Those that prefer hard backed will buy them still Im sure.
    I was so torn when Karin Slaughters last book came out in hard back but couldnt bring myself to buy it lol so waited IMPATIENTLY for the paperback !!
    Congrats on the Liebster award too!!
    Well deserved gal!


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  8. I'm with you Pixie, hardback for keepers of the non fiction kind and paperbacks for novels. I hate tights much to my mothers disgust but I have the same problem with leggings they just work their way down too, I am always hitching! jaynex

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  9. *sigh* books :) i am like you me dear...bend back those covers and pages so they become well worn friends. i always give a new book a good sniff, flick through all the pages, examine any maps(as in the Game of Thrones books) then open it up to start reading and bend the page back...in fact i bought yet another new book today and so excited about starting it...an early night tonight i think with a large hot chocolate and my new book!

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  10. How are you lovely girl? I can't believe it's half way through February and I still haven't done a flippin' post. Just can't get motivated right now. Maybe this week ......

    Mmmm, yes I agree with you about hardbacks - I am forever nodding off in bed with my thumb firmly jammed within the pages of a hardback and it's not fun. Much less painful to be wedged within the pages of a paperback!! Maybe we do it a bit differently in this part of the world but most of our new release books come out in large size paperback now which is great. Although for fitting in your bag I'd rather go for the traditional smaller paperbacks. And as for holidays - well last year I took 8 big paperbacks and managed to read 7 of them but it took up half my suitcase. So I have to admit that for my birthday a few weeks ago I have been given a Kobo and I can't wait to use it next time I travel. I am not a spine creaser though. I do my utmost to keep the spine neat. Which is probably why the books close on my sleeping thumbs (they are never opened wide enough to stay flat!!). The worst thing I've ever done to my books is to lean them against a wet swimsuit which gives that encroaching damp along the bottom pages.

    Have a fab week hon. See you again soon. Oh almost forgot to say about the tights .... it reminded me of when I was little and the tights had crotch-drooping issues and my mum used to make me where another pair of knickers over the top just to keep the damn things up!!! What a hoot.

    Leah
    xx

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  11. Very good post! Totally agree, for fiction, unless you really really love the book paper backs are fine. Made me smile thinking of wee Pixie you lugging a huge hard back to bed with you and having to wield it about to turn the pages! Nothing like a book .... and actually I have an old colection of treasured paperbacks too. The Hobbit has the most wonderful cover. Minerva ~

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  12. I do hard, soft and electronic but I never, ever break a spine!

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  13. Spine-breaking, raisins found in the pages, tea splotches. Miss Pixie, I'm horrified! Please don't ever ask to borrow one of my books, I think that would really test the friendship ; -)

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