Book Confessions: Are Print Books More Valuable?

Are e-books worth less than print books? 

I came across a couple of comments recently that got me thinking once again about my attitudes to e-books and print books. I don’t want to go into the pros and cons of each again as this has been covered numerous times by bloggers far more eloquent than me. I am a fan of both – I adore my kindle. It was the best birthday present I ever received. I have over 100 books waiting to be read on their and I especially treasure it for Netgalley books which is how most of my review books come to me. However, I tend to only read one e-book for every two print books. If I really like an e-book, I try to get hold of a copy of the same book in print…why…?

Kindle Books vs. Paper Books?

I place far more importance on a physical book than an e-book. I have to think carefully about spending more than £5 on an e-book but for a print book I don’t hesitate. I’m not talking about the cost placed by the publishers or shops on a print or e-book, but rather the ‘value’ I personally place in having a physical copy of a story I love that won’t get wiped or mistakenly deleted. The physical book is forever, while an e-book is less tangible. But why do I feel that way?

It is exactly the same story, the same words whether on ink on a page or e-ink in a screen. The same characters, the same thrills, the same emotional highs and lows. Yet, the paper book is more real than the e-book. Perhaps it’s because there weren’t any e-books when I was growing up (in the same way I still buy CD rather than downloads) and when people say ‘book’ to me, I immediately think a cover with 300-odd leaves between them. E-books are great to experiment with for new authors and novellas – I love catching up with some of favourite authors in between big book releases, but all of my favourite authors – both new and old have an actual book on the my cramped bookshelves. I guess feel more emotionally attached to print books than I do e-books.

So I was wondering if anyone else felt the same way and why? Or do you disagree? If you love an e-book, do you then buy a paper copy? Why? Do you place less ‘value’ on e-books than print? After all the same amount of thought, editing and hard work by the author goes into each. Let's discuss! 

Book Confessions: Genre Burnout

I tend to read a mix of genres and usually I try not to read two books of the same genre after each other. Partly this is for variety and partly so that when I’m writing the review I don’t get confused between the two kick-ass heroines or some such. This means that I rarely suffer from ‘genre burnout’ – you know when you’ve read so many book of the same type that you can’t get excited about them anymore and it just feels like a chore.

Recently I’ve been feeling like that about Young Adult books – and before everyone starts shouting at me, I know YA can cover a range of genre really from dystopia to first romance to supernatural to thriller and frequently a mix of all of them. But usually YA covers lead characters in their teens figuring out what they want from life. And that is what has been niggling at me recently. So many of these lead characters make decisions about their rest of their lives assuming that they will feel the same in a year, five years, ten years time...

Sometimes I just can't read some genres...

I will admit I’m no longer in my teens nor to my own disgust in my twenties any more – and I still DON’T know what I want to do with my life. Maybe I’m just feeling old and cynical but I can’t imagine still being with any of the guys I knew when I was in my teens or having the same dreams now as I had then. So recently I haven’t been feeling the love of YA. I’ve suffered genre burnout before though so I know I just need a bit of break with some occasional ‘toe-dip’ back into YA before I start feeling it again.

However, previously I’ve suffered genre burnout with fantasy, crime, chick-lit and urban fantasy... I’m never sure  what causes a burnout to start, but sometimes I just can’t read a certain genre without getting very, very grumpy. So I wondered if anyone else suffers from genre burnout occasionally...? Is there a reason for it coming upon you? How to you overcome it...? Surely, it can’t just be me...? 

Book Confrssions: To Tweet Or Not To Tweet...?

I don’t have a Twitter Account.

There I said it. The big secret is out there. I don’t have a personal one, one for the blog or even a work one. I just don’t feel the need. I’ve managed my blog so far without one and I’m happy.

However, the world is changing and in this day and age am I missing out...?

Now, before everyone on Twitter rushes to tell me how great it is and how I’m missing out in the latest news from authors and what sort of contacts at publisher’s Twitter will help with. Yes, I’m sure there is a lot that I can get out of Twitter, especially being a blogger.  But I already spend a lot of time online both at work (don’t tell my boss!) and my personal time.  I read other peoples blogs, surf authors websites for latest book news, cruise Facebook for the latest publishers news. And that’s not counting the time spent thinking and writing my own reviews. After spending 9-10 hours a day in the office looking at a computer screen, what’s the first thing I do when I get home...? Switch on the computer to read any comments on the days post and start thinking about the next post that is needed. With so much of my time already dedicated to blogging, reading and books in general, I’m not sure I want Twitter to take up any additional time. I want some time for me! I want some time to read occasionally, watch some TV, talk to friends and see my family and I just can’t help thinking that Twitter will eat into that.

That’s not to say I’ve not been tempted! Most giveaways have an additional entry for re-tweets, and as I said the chance to interact with authors, bloggers and publishers is like a siren calling at times.

So I thought I would open the floor up and see what you guys think are the pros and cons of Twitter... what makes it worth while? Or do you have an account you never use? Or perhaps you are like me and haven’t fallen for its charms yet? Lets see if there is anyone out there who can persuade me that Twitter is worth it! Although I warn you now, I’m not easily persuaded! :-)

Book Confessions: Impact of Dyslexia!

So I didn't have anything planned for today's post. I'm a little bit behind with my review writing (I will have to get scribbling in order for any posts to be ready this week!), I couldn't think of anything interesting to write about and I didn't want to just publish anything. So today was going to be a rare silent day from me. 

But then I read a post by my friend, Kris which touched on reading, blogging and the impact dyslexia on his life. I was moved. Dyslexia is harder to diagnose than you'd think and it is something that you have to live with for the rest of your life - not just at school. He explains it better than I could. Go read it and let me know if dyslexia has had an impact on your life. 

   

Right, I'm off to drag Kris into some book shops! :-)

Book Confessions - Book Juggling!

What shall I read next...?
Image courtesy of Corbis Images

I was 70 pages into a new book when the worst happened. The book was involving and a nice change from my usual reads, but it was over 500 pages long and it would take at least a couple of days to finish – but I needed to get my questions to the author of another book by the end of the week. The trouble was I hadn’t read the authors book yet. So I put down the book I had already started and picked up the new book which had only just arrived. Luckily the new book was a fun and exciting read as well, but it got me thinking about the books I read and the order in which I read them...

I can’t read two books at the same time. I get really involved in my books - or I do if they’re well written! I think about them on the walk to and from the train station (remember I do most of my reading on the train), I think about them when cooking and I can’t wait to get back to them. However, if I’m reading more than one book at the same time I end up with a bizarre mash-up in my head where goblins meet Henry VIII and vampire hunters end up chasing zombies in outer space (actually that could be quite a cool premise!).  So I read one book at a time in order to focus on that story.

I am also an obsessive list writer and one of my favourite lists to write is what books I’m going to read next. I always have a plan for what book I will pick up after my current is finished. Okay, so I frequently don’t follow that list – sometimes I’m just not in the mood for what I have planned so I will pick something else up more at least at random. However, with a pile of Netgalley books and a couple of review books which have to read soon I often feel like I don’t get a chance to read some of my favourite authors. They sit on my HUGE TBR pile for months before I get the chance to slip them into my reading list...I guess I really shouldn’t complain as I can usually find something positive in every book I read!

Have you ever had to stop reading one book in order to get a review book read and reviewed by a certain date? Or are you a complete mood reader? How do you decide which book to reads next? 

Book Confession - Buying Ban?

So I’ve decided to put myself on another book buying... I do this two or three times a year when I feel the TBR pile has got really out of control. Seeing as I have now started to pile books up on the floor, as any empty space on shelves or flat surfaces are history, I figure this is as good a time as any to stop – at least for a little while. I still have some pre-orders that will hopefully be arriving in the next few weeks, plus I will continue to lurk on netgalley to spot books I fancy, so there will still be some books entering the flat, but hopefully it will slow down to a trickle.

My TBR Pile - two rows of books deep and sorely in need of reading!

Previous book buying bans have not been particularly successful for me – I can’t resist a bargain and somehow manage to visit amazon/bookdepository/fishpondworld on a daily basis. Plus every week I have to visit my local Waterstones, Works and WHSmith just in case something happens to them. To be honest, it’s a surprise that I haven’t bought even more books! Usually these bans only last a week or two, but I am hopeful that this will be longer. It would be nice if I could make it to my birthday in September without break – but I’m going to be realistic! Every week I go without a purchase will hopefully make a dent in the massive of books I need to read. I am very ruthless with books - if I don’t like it I tend to give it away or swap it. I am starting to think about a special giveaway in August to celebrate my two years of blogging so I may add some gently read books to the pile for that.

Alternatively instead of buying books, I may go mad for entering competitions over the summer – or hosting them! J

Have you ever put yourself on a book buying ban? How successful was it? Any hints or encouragement on how I can keep it up? I need help! (In more than one way…!)

Book Confessions - Shelf Order

This weekend just gone was a long bank holiday weekend in the UK meaning we had both Friday and Monday off. For some reason, this meant that when I woke up on Saturday I had a desperate urge to re-arrange my book shelves. I thought this would only take a couple of hours, but I had serious underestimated the number of books I own. I had also conveniently forgotten that all my book shelves are double-stacked so there were twice as many as it looked. I started with my TBR pile (which really should be called a mountain now). In the picture below I had un-shelved about half of the TBR books and put them on the bed in order to arrange them into genres. In the background you can just make out the remaining books on the TBR book case...

The TBR Pile midway through the re-arrange (Excuse the mess!)

In any case, it got me thinking about how I arrange my books. I like to keep my authors together and in a rough chronological order, but in a wider sense I like to shelf my genre. So all my Urban Fantasy are together, the YA books are together, Crime etc. I also like books of a similar size/shape together as I think it looks neater. I’m by no means obsessive about this – if a book is out of order, I don’t mind but when I get the urge I’ll re-arrange all the books back into the correct order – like this Saturday!

My questions to you this week – is this strange? Or do you order you books in a logical (to you) method as well? Do you get furious when you notice a book out of place? How are your book shelves organised? Lets compare notes so I can see if there is a way that won’t take me four hours! (By the way the four hours was just for the TBR pile – I decided I didn’t the stamina to tackle the rest of my bookcases!)

Book Confession: Playing Catch Up

Recently I’ve been wondering if I’m a bad fan...I’ve been falling into a bad habit with some of my favourite authors and series recently. I buy the books but I don’t read them. Not because I don’t want too, but for some reason my favourite series take ages to make their way to the top of the TBR pile. I probably read one or two books in ongoing series a month – but I have fallen so far behind with so many series! I’m not even talking about the numerous un-started series that I’ve been collecting – but series that I’ve already read at least one book and have started collecting the rest of the books. But the series just sits there even though I know I will enjoy the books, if I ever get round to reading them! To give you some examples...

Otherworld series by Kelley Armstrong – I have both Waking the Witch and Spellbound in the flat unread

Chicagoland Vampires series by Chloe Neill – Hard Bitten and Drink Deep

Deadtown series by Nancy Holzner – Hellforged and Bloodstone

Jane Yellowrock series by Faith Hunter – Mercy Blade and Raven Crossed

Mythos Academy series by Jennifer Estep – Kiss of Frost and Dark Frost (although as Dark Frost is an e-Arc I can forgive myself this one)

The Edge series by Ilona Andrews – Bayou Moon and Fates Edge

Night Huntress series by Jeaniene Frost – One Foot In The Grave and At Grave’s End

I know there are others but these are the ones that I can remember off the top of my head. And there are plenty of other series where I am only one book behind! All great series by authors I really enjoy – and I’m behind!! I feel like a bad fan of all these series. Am I the only one? Does anyone else have a series they love but are a few books behind on? Or am I alone with this habit? J

Book Confession: Re-Reading the Book

Any true reader knows that books are our friends. They distract us from our everyday life and transport to fantastical worlds where the perfect guy is a gallops ride away, great mystical powers rely on one person fighting the odds and vampires stalk the night. Reading is a joy and sometimes there’s nothing better than diving into a world so different from our own to pass a few hours. Even better when that book is part of a series where we can get to know the characters over several adventures, or if it’s an old favourite that you’ve read numerous times. Re-reading favourite books can be a balm – a comfort to catch up with old friends. Recharge the reading batteries. 

However. I haven’t re-read a single book since I started this book blog 18 months ago. It’s not that I haven’t wanted too, but my TBR pile has grown so much that I keep wanting to get that under some sort of control before picking up a book I’ve read many times before. So all those books I used to read once a year or so, with their spines cracked and corners slightly ruffled are sitting feeling neglected. Not one single re-read have I done in the last 18 months and I miss it. These are old friends like The Vampire Lestat and Queen of the Damned by Anne Rice, Otherworld series by Kelley Armstrong, Watership Down by Richard Adams, the Obernewtyn series by Isobelle Carmody, Robin Hobb’s Liveship Traders. These are all books I kept because I enjoy the story, love the world and they moved me in some way. I miss them. Like old friends who’s new address and phone number I’ve misplaced.

So I am thinking I will try to re-read some of these books throughout the year – and I will even review them on here. The reviews may be slightly different than normal purely because I have read these books many times and would automatically be giving them 10 out of 10 – but necessarily because they are the best books in the world but because I love so much.

I have to ask other book bloggers out there if they re-read books often? Do you review them, if you do? What’s your opinion on re-reading? I know many bloggers are fast readers (I used to think I was fast until I discovered people who could read 6 books a week easily!) – does that help squeeze in re-reads? Or have you never read a book twice? I want to know what people think! J

Book Confession: Book Obsession?

Over the last month or so I’ve had a few conversations with people that have got me thinking. In the pub over New Years someone mentioned a statistic that struck me.

10% of people are responsible for 85% of books purchased.

London Tube Commuters

Now, this was a slightly drunken discussion so I don’t know where he got these numbers, how accurate they are or how it was calculated, but my first thought was that it wasn’t right. There are loads of people who read – any commuter train or tube in London will have dozens of people reading either kindle or book in order to pass the time to work. I would have thought it would be higher than 10%. But since then, I’ve noticed it’s always the same people I see reading – the girl who sits across from me who is making her way through The Game of Thrones series and the suit guy who always has the latest booker prize shortlisted book. Is it really only a small number people of responsible for most book purchases?

I know some people who only read magazines and papers and would never pick up a book. Other people don’t even print if they can help it. And then there’s me: I have a huge number of books in my small flat. And I buy most of them – a few are giveaway wins and one or two swaps, but most of them I purchase with my own money. I even feel like I’m in withdrawal if I got a whole week without visiting a bookshop or surfing Amazon. I easily fit into the 10%. So much so that  one person upon hearing how many books I owned that I haven’t read (about 350 at last count but probably more in reality!), asked if I would ever read them all. I have enough books to continue reading at my current rate for the next three years or so before I run out. I would assume that most book bloggers would also fall into this category, from definition.

So is it an obsession? Are those of us in that 10% addicted to buying books? It may not be as bad as drugs or alcohol but a lot of our time is spent thinking about next fix and money disappears into the hands of publishing houses and booksellers.

What are your thoughts? Do a small number of people contribute to the majority of sales? Can we ever read all those books? I know I want to read all mine eventually!

Book Confession: Old verses New?

There is a question I’ve been pondering recently and I'm just torn, so I thought I would ask you lot for your opinion. What type of books do you prefer to read reviews for? The latest, sparkling releases or older, treasured books?

Old Capt Kirk vs New? When it comes to this old vs new I know who I'm rooting for! Com'on Chris!



I don’t tend to review a lot of latest releases here because I don’t get a lot of review copies – just a few from netgalley. Although to be fair I don’t request any arcs (I have enough purchased and won books on my TBR waiting to be read without adding to the pile!). There are a lot of authors on my must purchase list that I pre-order their books – Kelley Armstrong, Jim Butcher, Carrie Vaughn, Patricia Briggs, Karen Chance... but even if I get their latest releases as soon as possible, I don’t always start reading them straight away. Sometimes I purposely leave them so I can find time when I won’t be distracted or stressed with other things to read them. Other times books I’ve borrowed off people or which have been in my immediate reading pile for a month need to be read more. All these means I don’t review the latest releases  on launch day – or even the week after. But I love reading reviews of new releases on everyone else’s blog. I get excited and often find myself buying the book or adding it to my wishlist. Occasionally though a book has such excitement about it – it’s being reviewed on every book blog I come across and I get a little blasé about it. I stop reading the reviews . I get turned off slightly. I understand the reason for the big campaigns – to get word out and drive initial sales – and I do fall for a lot of books that way!

And what about old books? Not necessarily the classics, but those books that were released two or three years ago...I have a lot of them in my pile! I bought them when they first came out but haven’t got around to reading them yet. They’ve been sitting in my pile weeping quietly to themselves about not even being opened yet. But when I do open them I often find some gems that others may have forgotten about . Reviewing books that much older – does it drive sales as much? Unlikely.

And do we(readers) still get as excited by these slightly more mature books? Do you get as excited about a great review a couple of year old if it doesn’t have the big marketing campaign behind it and you don’t see it popping up every where? I have to confess I don’t. I mostly think ‘ hmm...interesting...I will look at it more detail...’ rather than ‘ohmygod-wow-I-must-get-that-straight-away’. Am I just a victim of good PR and marketing campaigns?

Not sure what point I’m trying to get too, but I love showing love for the older books here – some that haven’t been lucky enough to get the big marketing campaigns. I think if even one person thinks, ‘hmm...interesting...’ I’ve achieved something. J

So what do you prefer reading reviews? Older books or newly released?

Book Confession: One Year On - A Kindle Review

For my birthday last year a group of my friends clubbed together to get me a Kindle. I was so excited as it was completely unexpected and something I probably wouldn’t have purchased for myself at that time – the kindle was relatively new in the UK and I didn’t know anyone else with one. I know e-readers verses paper books is a major change both for readers and for the publication industry, so I thought I’d do a mini review of my first year with a kindle.





So a year after receiving my kindle and I have to confess it is one of my favourite possessions. I still buy physical books – especially for series I love – but in terms of practicality the kindle is fantastic. I don’t have to carry two books with me on the train when I’m nearing the end of one. It is lighter than most books – especially for the big tomes that I love to buy but don’t want to take up weight-lifting to read. I took it on holiday earlier this year and despite reading every day it never ran out of battery. Plus how fabulous is netgalley? I love having access to books ahead of their publication dates- and being able to read on the kindle is so much more comfortable than on the computer (which strains my eyes). The e-ink technology is great – it doesn’t hurt to read for long periods. As well as mobi files from Amazon, you can read pdf’s which is very useful.

I’ve not had any major issues with my kindle – I’ve only had to restart it once in a year and despite loading it with plenty of free and cheap books I’ve yet to fill the memory. And I have to confess I do like stroking the kindle as I read in the same way I do the cover of physical books!

But are there any drawbacks?

Battery life is pretty long but if you forget to charge it you can end up with nothing to read (as Sarah, my regular guest review discovered last week!). I’ve been lucky that it hasn’t happened to me, but there are mobile phone chargers out there that will work apparently. I miss seeing the covers of books and being able to read the back of them when I’ve finished a book. Also having books on the kindle does mean that occasionally an out of sight, out of mind mentality rules. Physical books stare at me from their piles around my flat, but I often forget exactly how many books I have on the kindle – and it is so easy to add new books all the time.

With the new cheaper, lighter Kindle format out in the UK and the Kindle Fire in the US, I don’t think the e-reader is going anywhere any time soon. In fact I’ve managed to persuade at least two friends to get a kindle in the last year! However, I will continue with my duel reading – both kindle and paper.

Which do you prefer? Have you avoided e-readers so far? Why? What do you think  the future holds for the reading experience? J

Book Confessions: Too Many Books!!

Like most book bloggers, I read a lot (kind of a prerequisite!). But there are some things related to reading that I’ve kept secret – until now. This feature is my chance to confess what I’ve done or what I’ve not done related to reading.

I noticed recently that a lot of my comments on other peoples blogs & posts go along the lines of “Great review – I have this book already and you’ve really made me want to pick up soon!” or “This book has moved straight to the top of TBR pile – I’d forgotten I even owned it!”.  I suppose this isn’t at all uncommon – after all how many book bloggers don’t have a To Be Read pile? And sometimes that can get pretty big. However, I’ve also run out of room on my shelves to store these books. I have a three shelf bookcase that I use to keep all my books that I want to read on. Recently the three shelves haven’t been enough and I’ve started piling books on top…so now it looks like this:

My TBR Pile - and yes that top pile is double shelved!

Crazy, huh? And this isn’t all the books I have waiting to be read! I have a pile of YA books from the 80s and 90s I keep separate for one of my reading challenges for this year as well as a pile of books which are my must read soon pile. (Although I will be the first admit there are a couple of tomes that have sat in this pile for a very long time!). Plus all the books on my kindle. This got me thinking about the sheer number of books in my complete TBR pile, so this weekend I decided to count them all. Do you know what the grand total is?

TBR Book Shelf: 195 Books

YA of 80s & 90s Pile: 7 Books

Must Read Soon Pile: 17 Books

Unread Kindle Books: 40 ebooks

GRAND TOTAL: 259 Books

That’s a lot of books. A LOT of books.

In 2010 I managed to read over 150 throughout the year, so assuming a similar rate I have enough books to keep me going for the next 18 months – even if I didn’t buy any more in the meantime! And this is really where my confession is going…I still keep buying more books!! I’m addicted! I tried stopping myself from buying any books in August, but somehow I only managed it for two weeks before the lure of the books stores and amazon dragged my back in. I have 259 books waiting to be read at home – books for the most part I really wanted, that I handed money over for or begged friends and family to purchase for Christmas/Birthday. And I do want to read each and everyone of them – especially when I keep coming across reviews for books that I already own saying how great they are! But I still keep buying new books to add to the pile. Help!!

Is anyone else in a similar situation? Are books coming into your home at a faster rate than you read? Are you afraid of being buried alive in your unread books? Or are you the opposite? Do you only buy books when you need something to read? Does anyone have any idea how to shrink this massive TBR pile? (And don’t say, stop buying more books – can you stop breathing?!). Lets get our collective heads together and figure something out… J

Book Confession #3: Pride and Prejudice

Like most book bloggers, I read a lot (kind of a prerequisite!). But there are some things related to reading that I’ve kept secret – until now. This feature is my chance to confess what I’ve done or what I’ve not done related to reading.

I have to confess something - something big. I’m not sure I can even type it. It may change how you think of me and my reviews...there’s no sense putting it off any longer...deep breath... I’ve never read any Jane Austin. This means I’ve never read Pride and Prejudice. I’ve not seen any adaption of the book – not the critically acclaimed BBC version with Colin Firth or the Oscar nominated film version with Keira Knightley. Even worse I’ve never even wanted to.

Colin Firth as Mr Darcy...in THAT scene...

I know it’s a major fail. Somehow I’ve managed to pick up the whole story – complete with jokes and twists (mostly thanks to Bridget Jones!), but the idea of actually picking up the book just doesn’t appeal to me. I’m not a huge fan of that style of writing and romance has never had a big appeal to me (unless there’s a hot werewolf involved!). Yes, it’s a classic and yes, it’s on most people’s favourite book list, but an old fashioned comedy of manners and society doesn’t tickle my fancy.

 So here’s the challenge - is there anyone out there that can persuade me to actually pick up the book? What can you say that will make me try this classic? Or perhaps you too are a secret non-Austin reader? Let me know!

PS - I’ve never read anything by any of the Brontes either! J

Book Confessions: #2 - Book Shelves

Like most book bloggers, I read a lot (kind of a prerequisite!). But there are some things related to reading that I’ve kept secret – until now. This feature is my chance to confess what I’ve done or what I’ve not done related to reading. Sometimes it will be a book I’ve never read or a genre I avoid. Other times it may be something else like today’s confession.

Besides books, what else do my shelves hold?

Like most book bloggers I have most of my books on my book shelves – some doubled stacked, but still with some room to add more. But, my confession is that I use my bookcases for more than just books. Yes, my books share their space not just with some CDs and DVDs (which I think is fine), and general souvenirs and decorations but also with whatever I can’t find a space for elsewhere. This means my camera, bracelets I’ve taken off and left there, a spare laptop charger, notebook, glasses, hair brush and other life debris. I have four bookcases in my living room (Two tall ones, one regular and a small billy bookcase from Ikea!), but the bookcase that suffers the most is the tall one close to the sofa – I can reach it from my usual place and therein lies the problem. Whatever I don’t need at the moment tends to migrate to the shelf...as you can see from these pictures. It can even include a box of chocolate fingers!

So what do you keep on your bookshelves apart from books? Or do you keep them pristine? Do you have anything to confess? J

Book Confessions: #1 - Bookmarks

This is a new feature I’ve thinking about for a while and have finally decided to take the plunge. As you may have noticed I love books! Like most book bloggers, I read a lot. But there are some things related to reading that I’ve kept secret – until now. This feature is my chance to confess what I’ve done or what I’ve not done related to reading. Sometimes it will be a book I’ve never read or a genre I avoid. Other times it may be something else like today’s confession. Please let me know what you think of this feature and perhaps you have a confession of your own you’d like to share... J

My very first book confession is about book marks. I adore bookmarks. I have a pretty decent collection of various sizes, shapes and colours, but I’m picky about them. I won’t buy just any bookmark – it has to tickle me or strike me in some way. The reason for this is that I like to match the bookmark to the book I’m reading. I rarely use the same bookmark for two books running but will change and match a bookmark to my next book depending on theme, size and if I think they go together. Pretty weird, huh? As part of this feature I’ve decided to embrace the strangeness and share some of my favourite bookmarks.

This are some of my favourite bookmarks - most are pretty worn as they get used a lot!



When I travel to different places I always look out for scenic bookmarks of the local area.

A couple of bookmarks I've received from friends in the last year

My favourite bookmark!

 

My absolute favourite bookmark (and yes, I have a favourite!) was bought for me about ten years ago by my friend, Kris. It was on a week course with uni in this house in the middle of nowhere with nothing but a small shop selling souvenirs. I fell in love with the bookmark as the style and colour just spoke to me. I really wanted it. However, I didn’t have any money on me. (I was student I never had much money!) I was going to leave it, but Kris bought it for me. I’ve never paid him back and he’s never asked any money for it despite my promise to pay him back at the time. I’m not even sure if he remembers the incident! It’s a little thing but I still love the bookmark – and still use it regularly. It might not be in the best shape now but I love it.

So that’s my guilty little secret – I love bookmarks. And as great as my kindle is at marking my reading place, it will never be the same as holding a bookmark in my hand while reading – or even nervously playing with it as the book reaches a climax.

Am I alone on the bookmark collection? Or do you have something to confess as well? ;)

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