When I have some free time, I can just sit and relax - I enjoy reading books. Not a magazine, a book. I have a whole list of books I want to read.
But from the beginning.
Some time ago I came across articles about reading books. To be exact, about not reading books anymore.
And a similar one about Polish people - why we don’t read books in our country(they are in Polish so I won’t post them here)
It got me thinking. Really? I am surrounded by the people who always read books, my parents, grandma, my sister and so on. So it is extremely hard for me to believe that an average Pole reads one, I emphasise - ONE - book a year.
Is it because we (Poles) don’t have much time for it. We have to work so hard all the time to make ends meet, when we are able to relax we don’t want to read, we prefer to do other stuff. Something more entertaining. Like watching movies, TV series, playing video games. And the most time consuming activity in the whole world - surfing the Internet. How much time do you spent on social media every day hm? And now compare it with the time you spend on reading books. Any reflection?
One can say that books are too expansive nowadays and people can afford to buy them. Libraries are poorly equipped and we cannot rely on them. It can be a good point but surely we can try to find some sales/good libraries/lend from a friend. We must make an effort. Or maybe we have become too lazy to do so.
(source: http://www.book.hipopotamstudio.pl/wp-content/gallery/daniel/Harry_Potter_I.jpg)
I also wanted to mention Kindle. It is a device, which allows us to store books. It is rather light and comfortable. You can now read whenever and wherever you want. It is becoming more and more popular among the crowd you can now even buy books in a special format in shops like Empik. I think it is a great solution for many, but to be honest not for me. I love books not just for the content. I also pay attention to its cover, the kind of paper, even the characteristic smell. It all makes reading books much more rewarding.
Do you like reading books? What are your favourites?
How many books do you read a year?
Do you use Kindle or do you prefer to read a printed book?
Do you read books in English or any other foreign language?
Do you like reading books?
ReplyDeleteThe analog era here we come... Books as an item, no. Books as general text, sometimes. I much prefer reading news.
What are your favorites?
Reddit.com
How many books do you read a year?
None.
Do you use Kindle or do you prefer to read a printed book?
Analog is sooo last century. And I don't use kindle. There are so many different ways to read, than just Kindle.......
Do you read books in English or any other foreign language?
Usually i read them in english. But sometimes I like to go crazy and read something in a weird language like polish...
None a year, seriously? It is extremely hard for me to respond ad relate to it. No biggy though, it all depends on a person a guess:)
ReplyDeleteBooks as an item, none a year. We live in XXI century for a reason. The analog era has gone.
ReplyDeleteI much prefer reading news rather than some old booksies.
1. Of course I like reading books. Usually I don't have any time left during the day to do it, so I read during travels, train rides or boring university lectures. ;)
ReplyDelete2. I love literature from Beatnik era, Jack Kerouac is my favorite author, but I've read everything he wrote so many times that I rarely come back to him. I like classics, so now when I'm more into Russian wirters, I read a lot of Dostoyevski, Nabokov or Bulhakov. There was a time I fell in love with Tolkien's universe and I read a lot of fantasy books, but unfortunately modern polish fantasy writers made so many cheap, badly written books which I threw away my money for, that I don't read anymore.
3. Hard to count, it really depends on a year. Sometimes I read 3 books a month, sometimes one book per two months. The more I travel, the more I read.
4. I use Kindle, as I've mentioned I usually read when I travel, so it's hard to take a heavy book with me. Besides, now when I use Kindle for few years I'm pretty used to the possibility of changing what I currently read to something else - I don't have to stick to one book at a time. It's very comfortable.
5. I usually read books in English. I only read in Polish when the author is Polish, too.
I am a huge fan of reading books and I read quite a lot of them. For example, last week I read "Strange Pilgrims" by Garbiel Garcia Marquez. It is not hard to find time to read a book - just an hour in the evening before going to sleep instead of purposeless chatting on facebook.
ReplyDeletePersonally I prefer paper books to kindle or tablets. I like the smell of the old book and I like going o a library. It reminds of being a child and it has its own magic.
I read books both in Polish and English - it depends.
ReplyDelete@Martyna me to, I do most of my reading when travelling:) I have never read authors you mentioned but perhaphs now I will…
@Tomek Kerber I am so happy that you share my love for paper books:) I also like your point about reading books before bed time instead of being on facebook. So true!
I love reading books and my top list is changing very quickly..some time ago I'd say that I love Clarkson, but in my opinion his books were much better some time ago. Now I'm reading “Papusza”- I don't know yet which place on my list that book will get. I don't know how many books a year I read- it depends on a year:) I prefer printed books rather that Kindle. I tried to listen to audiobook in the car but it appeared to has no sense. I prefer to read in Polish.
ReplyDeleteI like reading books. My beloved writer is Sandor Marai. He was the Hungarian prosaist and a poet. My favourite book of his is “The Heat”.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was younger I was reading many books for pleasure. Right now I don’t have time for it. I usually read only books for my studies about graphic or movies.
I’ve never used any device like Kindle. I read only paper books. I can’t imagine reading on a screen a book. In my opinion you cannot taste as much as on paper.
Yes, I like reading books. It is hard to say which one are my favourite, but I like Sapkowski, Murakami, Łukjanienko. I read about 10 books per year. I don't like to read books from Kindle or mobile phone, it is easier from one side to read them and you have them all time with you but from the other side printed book is something which is unique. You can associate memories with this particular thing, you can split coffee on it and then regret this to the rest of your life. I like to read books from English writers in English, because usualy translation to Polish is not always good.
ReplyDelete