It was getting tough in 2006 and the workhouse still threatens us in 2011

lizzyb1812

maryb - I don't have both but I do have an e-reader - and lots of books! I read a lot of fan fiction which I can convert to PDFs which the e-reader can download.

When I bought the e-reader I was working in a job where I needed to read a lot of documents that were stored electronically and could be converted to PDFs. The reader made my briefcase a lot lighter.

I've got the kindle software on my PC, but TBH most current offerings for kindle/e-reader are a rip-off - there are the classics, etc, for free, but new titles cost the same, or nearly as much a real book. And specialist titles are just not available electronically.

VJsmum

I never thought i would take to the kindle either, but we were going on a bit of a backpacking holiday and space was tight, so i bought a kindle. I like it for recipes too - i can download all the ones i save from here onto my kindle and take them away with me. I have many of the classics - which are free - and bought some on 99p special offer in the summer.

Mrs Beeton is free and a bit of a laugh!

I do still buy some books but they aren't as light or easy to transport as the kindle which just sits in my handbag. Many of our charity shops sell books for as much as £3.50 :eek:

The only problem with the kindle is that you can't read it in the bath

Mrs_Chip

Mary -I have The Takeaway Secret in printed and electronic versions (it's the only e-book I have paid for), because I found cooking with the book difficult as it is small and the pages would not stay open. I just use the Kindle to cook with now,it is so much easier. The one thing I dislike about the book is that way some of the dishes are not in a logical place, so it is as quick to use the Kindle search as it is to keep referring to the index in the book.

katieowl_2

There's a gale force 8/9 blowing out on the Irish Sea...visible from my window :eek: Got the door curtain up JUST in time.

I'm afraid I'm another one for paper books, and also for CS not just for the price...I'm certain that my reading would be a lot less varied if I didn't CS for books, I'll take a gamble on something for a quid, that I might not full price, and I've read some stuff that has stayed with me and lead me on to read other stuff by the same authors or on the same subjects, in short I'd say it's broadened my experience, and it's another unexpected bonus of being broke!

I picked up one a couple of weeks back called "The wilder shores of love" Which is about 4 women who 'went east' one being the cousin of Empress Josephine who got captured by pirates and gifted into a harem, Richard Burton the Explorer's wife, and another one who dressed up as a man in the 1890's and travelled the sahara. Fascinating stuff, and the last so much so that next on my list to read are a biography about HER and one of the books she wrote at the time - both bought from Amazon second hand.

Kate

bluebag

kittie wrote: »

Thanks seakay but we have pv electricity (eco house) so it is uneconomical to plug anything in at night. I appreciate you looking for the link for me

I do my washing the day before and fold and store it in a plastic basket, I either peg it out first thing or part dry it in the dryer and then on the maiden each morning.

Only way I can keep on top of the never, ever, ending washing in my house.

Charis

Seakay wrote: »

"I hate the way my washer takes nearly 3 hours to do a bog standard 60 cotton wash and by the time I have done two washes the drying opportunity has gone. "

you can get plug in timers (I use them to make lamps come on and off if I am away) which you can use to make the washing machine come on at night so that it's ready to go aout first thing and you can take instant advantage of any fine weather.
They aren't very expensive, eg http://www.amazon.co.uk/Blackspur-BB-TS200-HOUR-TIMER-SOCKET/dp/B000QFCQ88/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1317903639&sr=8-4

I had a fire safety check done here and the firemen made a point of telling me never to put a washing machine, tumble dryer or dishwasher on during the night, which I had done sometimes, as there have been so many fires caused by machines burning out where no one has been around to notice the initial burning smell. Some months after their visit my own dishwasher burnt out due to a faulty motherboard.

Hardup_Hester

I'm another one who loves books & didn't think I'd want a Kindle, but we don't have a library within walking distance, the mobile library visits when I'm at work, our local charity shops charge £1 plus for any book, the deciding factor for me was realising that my eyesight has deteriorated & I can only read in daylight. Hubby has a Kindle & it is bliss to read without straining. I have asked my kids & my workmates for Amazon vouchers for my birthday, next month & Christmas, so hopefully I should be able to buy a Kindle by January.

ceridwen

VJsmum wrote: »

I never thought i would take to the kindle either, but we were going on a bit of a backpacking holiday and space was tight, so i bought a kindle. I like it for recipes too - i can download all the ones i save from here onto my kindle and take them away with me. I have many of the classics - which are free - and bought some on 99p special offer in the summer.

Mrs Beeton is free and a bit of a laugh!

I do still buy some books but they aren't as light or easy to transport as the kindle which just sits in my handbag. Many of our charity shops sell books for as much as £3.50 :eek:

The only problem with the kindle is that you can't read it in the bath

Hmmm....just made mental note to myself...wonders if I can manage to download recipes from the Web onto my Kindle?? I dont have a printer - so anytime I want recipes I "send" them over to a private blog of mine. Anytime I want to use a recipe - I have to write them out...:think:

Well - at least I've got "company" for expensive charity shop book prices - I consider myself fortunate if any of them ever cost less than £2 each and know I'm more likely to have to pay £3-£5 (and thats not even in Oxfam - but in others round here)..

GreyQueen

Good morning all and ((((((hugs))))) to all who have ill-heath to contend with in themselves and their families and friends.

I've been reading the posts of extreme weather whilst wide-eyed with horror; blimming heck sideways sleet?! I shouldn't be surprised as have lived in Scotland for half-a-decade but memory dims the exact details........here's hoping that it abates quickly and without damage. I can well-recall the hairness of walking the streets in gales with slates flying off the tenements 4 floors above and dark imaginings of having the top taken off my head like a knife on a soft-boiled egg. You go home very very quickly on days like that.

Our weather had gone drear and chilly but only by comparison with the freak-heat-wave; it's just normal autumnal weather. No need to have the heat on yet as my flat is minescule and very well-insulated. I curse it for the 8 months of the year when I swelter but it's a snug little burrow when the north wind blows.

I don't have a Kindle and have no plans to get one as it doesn't fulfill a need in my life but I have had a play with one and can see how they would be very useful for those who travel a lot (not my lifestyle). That said, when backpacking I'd have one paperback at a time and swop it at hostels for another and want of choices sometimes made me read things I wouldn't have chosen from a wider selection and opened my eyes to authors and subjects that I would have otherwise missed.

I'm blessed that I live within 10 mins of the central library and am in and out of there several times a week but the price for ordering a book which is in another branch has outstripped the prices of buying one in some c.s. I have been known to bike to one of the suburban branches to pick up a book which is on-shelf so I can get it immediately rather than wait the few days and pay the fee. Obviously, this only works if it's in the city and not across the county.

Charity shops fluctuate wildly in what they expect for books, don't they, even books of identical type and quality. I know of only one c.s where you can get PBs at 25p and HBs at 50p, another where they are 50p and 75p respectively, a few more where you can expect to find them a £1 or £1.50 a pop and plenty more where they want £2-£4. They seem to have problems shifting books at the higher price points and several charity shops have booksales once or twice a year when they get backed up and when they are offered much more cheaply the reading public descend like the proverbial locusts and clear them out in no time.

Bootsales can be absolute treasure-troves and I have had some lovely books from them for 10p.

Due to space constaints, I only have one 3-foot shelf of permanantly-resident books and about half as many again which are just passing thru as they are being read. I share books with friends and family and make very good use of the beloved library, the thing which makes the pain of forking over 1/12th of my take-home pay in council tax worthwhile.

Well, the last working day of the week for me, and I'm absolutely shattered and a bit blue about various things in the lives of people known to me personally and determindly not listening to the news to avoid being dragged down further.

(rueful smilie needed here) I heard a sour joke in the last recession; "If you lose your job, it's a Recession, if I lose my job, it's a Depression".

Chins up, ladeez and gennelmen.:) I'm sending y'all positive vibes and hoping this day brings some joy and something bargainous to lighten the load for each of us.

Mrs_Chip

HI Ceridwen - someone here posted a link to a great bit of free software (can't remember who, but thanks!) called Big Oven. I copy recipes off the internet into it (it is really easy and quick), and you can very quickly export and email a recipe to your Kindle. Details of how to send files to the K can be found by Googling 'how to send files to my Kindle'.

Very chilly here this morning - how different to this time last week!
I hope all those who took the brunt of the windy conditions are safe and all hennies are accounted for!