After a short break I’m back to my “Family Room Series” of photos for a few more days. I couldn’t envision a family room without books. I love to read and books have played a large part in my life.
My love of reading began at an early age with my mother reading to me. I quickly wanted to learn to read for myself and explore the magic hiding in those pages.
I can remember being so excited in elementary school when the school had “Book Fairs” where we’d get to bring home a list and order form to pick out books we could order for ourselves. I’d study those listed books for hours and then sit with my Mom or Dad and go over my “wants” to see what they would let me order. After the orders were returned to school it was difficult waiting for them to arrive. When they were delivered to school they were handed out for us to take home. I felt I had treasures in those books.
With reading I learned of worlds I hardly knew existed but quickly learned to imagine and enjoy.
The “Jack and Jill Magazine” (ages 8 to 12) was also a source of adventure, education and reading enjoyment during a number of summers. Oh, and comic books — man, I loved those things!
I’ve always seen books as a primary means for learning. Many years ago while living near Washington, DC, I was looking for a job to bring me back home to NC. I’d heard of this manufacturing company that was looking for a Systems Analysis in an Information Systems Shop programming in RPG on an IBM AS/400 system. Now while I had some computer experience I knew nothing about RPG or an AS/400 — I didn’t know what RPG (Report Program Generator) stood for and couldn’t have begin to tell you anything about what an AS/400 was.
A couple of books and quick study over a period of a few days got me that job which led to three promotions and 18 years. So I’ve never seen books as simply entertainment. ;-)
The above photo is a few books pulled from the bookshelves in our family room and of course down front is my Amazon Kindle, used for much of my current reading. The white case of the Kindle is blown out a bit. I pushed it a bit with spotlighting to make it pop and draw the eye to that area — I wanted a feeling of energy.
First of all, I like the photo and how you have composed it. The single focused light works well for me. I like it!
I was not much of a reader in my younger years, struggled with reading assignments in school and almost never reading for the enjoyment. I now read novels which as you say take us to other worlds with our imaginations. I too remember ordering books as a young man, going over the list several times to find just the right one.
I have a nice size collection of books back home in storage, some novels, a few books on photography, some on religions, and philosophy. I really do enjoy the feel of good book in my hand whether I’m sitting at home or at a coffee shop or along a river bank.
Monte, I’ve always liked the feel of a good book as well. That’s why I was surprised how much I enjoyed reading on a Kindle — if the Kindle hadn’t been given to me as a gift I probably still wouldn’t have one. Now I’d be hard pressed to give it up. When I use to commute a long distance to work I’d listen to audiobooks on an iPod plugged into my cars audio system and got great enjoyment from that as well.
Wow, Earl. I hadn’t thought about the book fairs since elementary school! You and I have that same type of background, a love of reading. I remember getting the sheet from school, printed on that very thin, cheap paper. It was colorful and had lots of check boxes on it. I wanted to check them all. Many years later, I remember seeing a cousin that I hadn’t seen in 20+ years and the first question that she asked me was: Do you still read all the time? The answer, of course, was a resounding: Yes!!!
The photo works well. I noticed the Kindle right away and it is a nice combination of the old and the new.
Paul, I only remembered about the book fairs when I thought of doing this photo but I quickly remembered how excited I was to get to order and read new books. The Kindle may one day be replace by an iPad, we’ll have to wait and see how all that works out. :-)
Unlike Paul I didn’t see the Kindle, I zoned in on the book titles to see what they could tell me about the owner. Books line the walls of the office and every wall in my house, books are piled on the floor and on every flat surface in the house. I started reading very young, evenings were spent with everyone in the house with a book. To the point of wearing out flashlights under the covers to finish a book.
Well done still life and lighting Earl. I may just have to look into the kindle, I can skip the whole nostalgia attitude about how I get the writing and it looks like a great way to keep things organized and always with me.
I see the Terry Brooks books and if you want suggestions for other really good authors in the genre email me :-)
Ray, to be honest if someone else posted this photo I’d probably be checking out the book titles first as well. ;-)
I never thought much about a ebook reader like the Kindle until someone gave me this Kindle last year. I read on it all the time now and find it very enjoyable, and actually easier then handing a bound book. No one’s more surprised then I by that turn of events.
I have a number of favorite authors in the Science Fiction/Fantasy genre but I may take you up on any suggestions you have.
I so enjoy reading for both knowledge and pleasure….How do you like the kindle? I bet it is amazing in the amount of shelf space it saves.
Hi Yvonne, I like the Kindle more then I ever thought I would. It’s easier to hold and read for long periods then a book and it’s nice have multiple books available in such a small package. I may be looking at Apple’s iPad when they come out in a couple of months as a more multi-purpose appliance.
Like you, I would eagerly await those Book Fairs and those order forms. I am very curious about the Kindle, and think quite a bit about what future books might look like. I’ve never held a Kindle in my hands and am curious about how you’ve made the transition. I am going to get an iPad through work and am thinking of developing for it.
Chris, I never thought I would care much for a Kindle as I liked the tactile feel of books. I’d not entertained purchasing one but was given this one as a surprise gift. Since then I’ve done a 180 and now would rather read a book on a Kindle.
The major pluses of the Kindle for me are:
– it can hold many books so you can easily switch from one to another depending upon your mood;
– if you hear of a book you’d like and it’s available for the Kindle you can be reading it in less then 5 minutes — however, not all books are available and the Kindle version may be a month or more later being released then the hardback;
– physically it’s light and small enough to allow reading and page turning with one hand, easier then even a paperback; and
– the eInk screen is very easy on the eyes but no backlighting and so does require ambient lighting.
On the downside the smaller version is not very good for books with diagrams, pictures or illustrations and while there is an application for Internet Browsing it so frustrating you’ll only try it once.
If you have any specific questions, let me know.
What kind of greyscale does it reproduce?
I believe I read that it only produces 16 shades of grey…but I can’t at the moment lay my hands on where I read that. On the Amazon site it says the larger DX 9″ version does 16 shades so I would expect the 6″ version to do the same.