Monday, April 2, 2018

B is for Books

I am a reader. I love books. As far back as I can remember, I have had a book or a magazine -- something to read -- in my hands.

In particular, I love mysteries. And, that love probably started with John D. MacDonald's Travis McGee series. Oh, how I loved them. Paperbacks cost a quarter or maybe 35 cents, which was a lot of money to me back then. But somehow I manage to save and buy every one.

I have spent a fortune on books over the years. Now, I buy some off of Amazon, some off the bargain table at Barnes & Noble and some at our new St Petersburg, Florida used book shop called 321 Books. The name comes from the prices on the books: $3 for hardback, $2 for paperbacks and $1 for kids books.

I know I am shorting authors money that I like by buying used books or remainders, but I justify it by giving the books away and those castoffs often get the receiver's attention and they then follow and buy that author's books.

I own a Kindle and a Kindle Fire and have read a good number of books on them. But, I am old fashioned and do love to hold the actual book in my hand. And, I have a $10 price point cap on buying e-books.

My recent reads? At the first of the year, I bought Tim Dorsey's latest Serge Storms book. I love them. Set in Florida with tidbits of arcane Florida history and with a protagonist being a serial killer "who only kills those that need killing", the yearly romps of the series are laugh-out-loud funny

Since I am a political junkie -- especially after the last election -- I bought and read Fire and Fury. That was a great read. I am currently slogging through Russian Roulette, which is good, but a difficult read due to all of the Russian names in the darn thing. I need Rachel Maddow to create a huge graphic of all of the players in the book for me!

Hmmm, that book is sitting beside me at the moment. I think I'll quit typing this and go slog some more in that book.

On average, I read 50 or more books a year. How about you?

7 comments:

  1. I also used to prefer holding the book in my hand but I have grown to prefer my Kindle. The biggest problem I have with the Kindle is remembering the title and author of the book I'm reading. I probably read about a book per week, so about 50 per year. Will have to check out Serge Storms.

    Emily In Ecuador | Boats in Puerto Lopez

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  2. I am a nonfiction book reader and since my cochlear implant, I am listening to audiobooks daily and am in love with audiobooks right now. Currently listening to change your schedule change your life!

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  3. I am WAAAY behind in reading since I started writing. I look forward to taking a couple months off and work on my backlog. My Kindle is so full, I can't add anymore books! Eek!

    Donna B. McNicol|Author and Traveler
    A to Z Flash Fiction Stories|A to Z of Goldendoodles

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  4. Always been a book reader. I was that kid that got yelled out to get your nose out of that book and do something. Now living in Hawaii with mold and mildew problems we gave away all of our books before moving and everything I read is on my Kindle or comes from the library.
    Nancy
    http://ourrightplace.blogspot.com

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  5. Dad, up here in Montana I buy my paper backs at Good Will, normally the max is $2.49 a book but most are .94 cents. We have another thrift store that sells them for a quarter. Maybe you have stores like these too in Florida.

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    Replies
    1. New used book store in Tyrone Mall sells hardbacks for $3. I stock up with 5 or 6 every time I'm down that way.

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  6. I haven't read Russian Roulette, but I do have Kasparov's "Winter is Coming" in my queue.

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