A Small Windfall in the Material World

[Primula Baggins]

hobby, you need to learn to wave airily and say, "Have that brought round to my flat this afternoon—my maid will see to it."

Did you know there's software available that lets you scan the bar code on a book or CD or DVD, and the program downloads all the relevant information about each item and builds a database for you?

This wouldn't work for older books without barcodes, of course. But apparently you can build a pretty complete catalog of your newer acquisitions in an afternoon.

It doesn't tempt me—I don't have all that many books or CDs (and the CDs are all in iTunes now anyway). And I always think that coming across a book I'd forgotten I owned is one of the joys of owning more than eleven books.

(I've been in houses with no books, some of them very nice houses—it gives me a creepy feeling. Some of them don't even have a place to sit and read a book—chairside lamps reflect off the TV, I guess.)

[truehobbit]

hobby, you need to learn to wave airily and say, "Have that brought round to my flat this afternoon—my maid will see to it."

I've just come from the Welcome thread, where Bre's line of "Have him bathed and bring him to my tent" was quoted, so for a second here I wasn't sure what you were talking about.

Did you know there's software available that lets you scan the bar code on a book or CD or DVD, and the program downloads all the relevant information about each item and builds a database for you?

No, I did't know that. Too technical for a hobbit, I think.
It's fascinating, but, then, if it downloads the info, what books/CDs I own would be known to some website, wouldn't it? I think that's a bit scary.

And I always think that coming across a book I'd forgotten I owned is one of the joys of owning more than eleven books.

Good point!
Although I must say I tend to have a pretty good memory of what books I have (see the example of Great Expectations a few months ago ).
But I've had this pleasant surprise with CDs.

(I've been in houses with no books, some of them very nice houses—it gives me a creepy feeling. Some of them don't even have a place to sit and read a book—chairside lamps reflect off the TV, I guess.)

I agree it's creepy - I don't think I've been in places with no books, but it even feels unpleasant when there's just the handful of books in the cupboard, seemingly mostly for decoration purposes.
I must admit I've not paid attention to chairside lamps, yet. All the lamps I ever use are chairside or desk lamps, because they make a nicer light. The ones on the ceiling are only used exceptionally.

[Jnyusa]

he only thing that usually stops me is that, luckily, most of those art-books are too heavy to even carry home.

Hobby, there's a bookstore near me that has a "loading dock sale" once a month. You walk in, pay $5, they hand you a big shopping bag with handles, and anything you can fit in the shopping bag is yours.

Talk about buying more than one can carry!

Prim, were you the one who was telling us about the conversation you overheard, in which some women were trying to select books that would match their carpeting?


I suppose that chairside lamps do glare off the TV screen, but as I hardly ever watch TV ...

Jn

[Primula Baggins]

That wasn't me, but I believe it! With interior designers selling books by the yard. . . .

We keep the TV out of the room for reading, the one with the lamps and the cushy chairs and the fireplace and the Oriental rug and the good stereo and places to put your feet up and perch a cup of tea or other beverage. No glare problem.

(hobby, I agree with you about that kind of lamp being more pleasant—Mr. Prim does not get this; he's always flipping on the ceiling light when he comes into my office, or worse, into the bedroom while I'm reading in bed. I've tried screeching, I've tried throwing things. . . .)

We have reading lamps where the TV is, too—the trick is opaque shades. I added it up just now and our house (not huge) has ten very comfortable spots for reading. One reason I love it so, I guess.

[Inanna]

Hobby, there's a bookstore near me that has a "loading dock sale" once a month. You walk in, pay $5, they hand you a big shopping bag with handles, and anything you can fit in the shopping bag is yours.

WOW. I mean wow. Me want.

[truehobbit]

Hobby, there's a bookstore near me that has a "loading dock sale" once a month. You walk in, pay $5, they hand you a big shopping bag with handles, and anything you can fit in the shopping bag is yours.

*echoes Mahima's "wow"*
Well, depending on what sorts of books they have.

I don't really understand the reading light/TV problem. If you're watching TV, the reading light can be switched off. And when you want to read, the TV can be switched off.
Reading and watching TV in the same room at the same time doesn't seem the greatest idea to me anyway.

I've tried screeching, I've tried throwing things. . . .)

You could've tried hitting the ceiling lights when you were throwing things.

[Primula Baggins]

Well, with five in the family, sometimes one is watching TV while another (Mom, for example) is paying vague attention but looking at a newspaper or a magazine. It's nice to be able to do that without bothering anyone (and these are teenagers—they are easily bothered).

[Jnyusa]

I don't really understand the reading light/TV problem. If you're watching TV, the reading light can be switched off. And when you want to read, the TV can be switched off.

But logic is so baffling.

Mahima, the bookseller is in Fort Washington, right off the Turnpike, if you ever want to make a day of it. They're called Harvest Books, and if you go to their website you can get on their mailing list and they'll email you with the dates of the sales.

The books are pretty good, but the thing about used bookstores is that on any given day you're taking pot luck. They'll have really nice books sometimes but ones that I happen not to want. Other times they'll have books I want but not in the greatest condition. It's best when you shop a lot and don't buy very often, and that would be harder for you coming a distance.

My ex-husband got really into antiques when we first moved to this area, and we would tour the flea markets on weekends. And of course we bought a lot of junk in the beginning that we later did not want because we were inexperienced. But we learned by doing it often to just kept in mind those few things we were looking for and try to be patient and not settle for poor quality.

It's hard to come home empty-handed, but then it pays off in the end when you find that one great deal.

Jn

eta: cross-posted with Prim. Ah, yes, I see where that might create a conflict.

Does anyone else read at the dinner table? It's awfully rude, I know, but when my daughters are both here for dinner, all three of us are to be seen reading books while we eat.

[MaidenOfTheShieldarm]

Does anyone else read at the dinner table? It's awfully rude, I know, but when my daughters are both here for dinner, all three of us are to be seen reading books while we eat.

I always bring a book with me to dinner, but then I almost always eat alone.

Hobby, there's a bookstore near me that has a "loading dock sale" once a month. You walk in, pay $5, they hand you a big shopping bag with handles, and anything you can fit in the shopping bag is yours.

I'll add a third "wow" to that.

That sounds amazing. Somewhat dangerous, perhaps, but how great to have a place like that nearby.

[Primula Baggins]

Being able to read makes eating alone a pleasure.

Breakfast, at least, is fair game for reading at our house; and at less than formal meals, the grab-it-yourself type, if someone is already happily reading when another sits down, usually that's dispensation for the second to read, too.

[baby tuckoo]

I read while I eat. Mostly. Even with one's beloved, can the look in another's eyes be so relentlessly intriguing as the next chapter? After all, you've seen the look but you don't know the next chapter.

Save it for bed . . . the best reading place of all.

[Alatar]

I refuse to allow reading at the table in my house. I have the same rule for TV. Its the one time in the day when the whole family are gathered together, and eating is a social activity. I have to admit I consider reading at the table one of the rudest of all things.

Alone is different, naturally.

[Aravar]

Sometimes I feel the books are letting me share the house with them, not the other way round. I have so many. Iv'e only read about three quartes of them, but I still buy more. The main problem is that there is a massive Waterstones less than a ten minute walk from work. That, coupled with Amazon, is my downfall.

[truehobbit]

Aravar!

*has image of books turning Aravar out of his house*



Prim, I wasn't saying you shouldn't have separate rooms, rather the opposite - I think they are necessary if there's more than one person, but you can still have places to do both. I wouldn't try reading (apart from newspapers or so, which isn't really reading) in a room where someone is watching TV, so, yes, I think different rooms are good. That still doesn't mean you can't have a deskside lamp and a TV at the same time, because you can then still choose doing one or the other in that room.

As to reading and eating at the same time, I don't like it.
I agree with Alatar that in a family situation it's rude, but I don't like it even for more general reasons. When you read, you can't pay attention to what you're eating, and that's a shame, I think. Food should to be consciously enjoyed, IMO, not absentmindedly swallowed as one of those natural urges which forces you to spend time on it.
But conversely, I also can't pay attention to what I'm reading when I'm eating. What's the use of trying to look at a page (supposing I would even know where to put the book or newspaper so that it stays open and doesn't get dirty), when I have to struggle to focus on the line I'm reading, because I'm moving all the time (with chewing and taking new bites etc)?
The only meal reading works with, for me, is tea and cookies. You take a sip of tea or a nibble of the cookie so intermittently that it's not much of an interruption to reading, and while you're sipping or nibbling you can pause in reading for long enough to savour the food and drink.
(And even here, if the book is very captivating, tea and cookies can be too much of an interruption.)

[Breogán]

For almost two years I shared a house with a guy in Dublin. The house was his, it was a lovely house I must add. When i moved in I noticed there were no books in his place- and with no books I mean not a single one!
That completely freaked me out. Swear to God, he didn't read any books or listened to any music...

Regarding reading at the table or doing any kind of eating while reading, I agree with those who consider it rude - unless you are alone having lunch at work or something like that. I always carry a book with me and I love reading while enjoying a nice cup of coffee at a coffee-shop.
However, if the book I'm reading it's really exciting or captivating, I totally forget about eating or drinking. It's the same when I'm sketching or painting, I "lock" myself in my den and completely forget about eating, and coffee just keeps me going for hours

[axordil]

he didn't read any books or listened to any music

One or the other might just be an incomplete upbringing. Both together suggest he was in fact raised by wolves.

[Primula Baggins]

No books and no music, Breogán? I second your !

We don't read at family dinners, either, Alatar. But for us that's typically only two or three nights a week; my daughter's track practice ends after my son's play rehearsal begins, and sometimes I'm off for an evening meeting before Mr. Prim gets home from work. I regret this, but there just isn't any alternative short of pulling our kids out of activities that really matter to them (that they chose and have worked hard at) and giving up all volunteer work myself.

[Inanna]

I have to read the newspaper with my breakfast and I have to read SOMETHING with my cuppa tea. Thats about all. My Mom, I know especially enjoys eating after everyone is done just with her book.

[Primula Baggins]

Sometimes when I'm eating alone, such as lunchtime in an empty hourse, I catch myself prowling around for five or ten minutes, hungry, because I can't enjoy my lunch until I've found just the right thing to read with it.

[baby tuckoo]

*Tries to imagine house without music or books. Can't.*

Yes, I read while eating most of the time. I'd say it's the habit of a single guy, but I did it when married too. I read in the dentist's chair.

I read while on the phone. While I'm "listening."

I read standing in line. I read walking to my classroom, which is a distant portable building. My feet know the way.

I read at stop lights. I read on Hwy. 5 between Los Banos and Bakersfield.

I read waiting for Re-Fresh, Re-Boot, or De-fragment. I read waiting for TOB to segue.

I read between innings. I read between pitches. I read between relays to the plate.

I read between the lines. I read between the sheets. I read between the thought and the act, in the shadow.

I'd read your mind, but what I've got going right now is much more interesting. I'd read you the riot act, but I can't find it. It's over there in that pile of papers somewhere.

I'd read something into it if it weren't already there.

I read while waiting for you to shut up. So that I can read.