Finally Debt Free After 34 Years, But Still Need to Live Frugally

HairyHandofDartmoor wrote: »

I need more storage but my ultimate goal is to turn the dining room into a library (as we have a table in the kitchen) . That should provide plenty of book storage .


You are much better read than I am Carboot.

I should try and widen my repertoire as I mainly read crime fiction. Maybe when I retire I can get down to some serious reading...

Your own library sounds wonderful. That's something really nice to work towards:beer:

I don't consider I'm well read in it's true sense, Hairy:rotfl:. I read anything that comes my way that looks reasonably promising so I fear I'm not always very selective. It's often quantity over quality I'm afraid:o. Also, I'm a fair bit older than you:( so have had time to get a lot more reading done. Strangely, I've probably read less since I retired. My eyesight isn't as good as it was and even with spectacles now I find reading for any length of time very straining:(


Our local council collects newspapers amongst the general recycling in our bins but OH takes any we get to someone he knows in a nearby town who collects newspapers to sell on to raise money for a local youth organisation. We only buy the local daily paper nowadays but several friends drop their papers off here too for OH to take to his friend and these include the 'quality' papers with lots of supplements. I always have a quick read of some sections before OH takes them away and the Books sections are my first port of call:j. I love reading reviews of all the latest books but, being new releases, they aren't available in my library yet and I certainly don't intend to buy them:(.


I have mixed feelings about how far I can trust reviews though and often borrow something from the library or zoom in on it in a charity shop because I've read that it's wonderful only to be bitterly disappointed:o. I know the sort of thing I like, crime being my favourite too, Hairy:T, and particularly enjoy psychological thrillers. I don't like horror, fantasy or anything dystopian. I get ideas from Amazon buyers' reviews as they tend to be a mixed bag and very warts-and-all but rarely buy from there any more. I used to spend a small fortune on Amazon:o

badmemory wrote: »

Kindle = freedom (of a sort). So no retirement clock for me I got a kindle.

Thanks all for the new authors to try. My favourites alas are no longer with us, so hopefully I will find some new favourites.

You're up very late (or is it early?), badmemory. I used to sleep like a log but after some recent bereavements my nights seem very disturbed now. I go to bed really tired but wake again after a couple of hours and just can't fall asleep again. I hope it's a temporary state and I really feel for regular insomniacs.

I borrowed a friend's Kindle for a few days but didn't get along with it very well:o. I know it must be a boon to people who need to carry books around or to take on holiday but for general purposes I didn't like it. OH keeps offering to buy one for me but I have no plans to accept. Now, if he offered to buy me a load of books I'd snatch his hand off:rotfl:. I just like the feel and the smell of a real book, especially a hardback, and actually turning real pages.


As for finding new favourite authors I love it when I find and enjoy a book by a 'new to me' author and discover a long list of other books they've written:j

elizabethhull wrote: »

I know what you mean about reviews - to be taken with a large pinch of salt, as are the book reviews on Amazon, but I'm game to try most authors once !

Do you know/read Robert Goddard, who fits neatly into your 'psychological thriller' category ? Just when you think you know what's going on, your perspective is changed - yet again. I find them not only well-written and tightly plotted, but where they are about a particular aspect of life (one is about the early days of photography) you learn an awful lot in the most painless way imaginable !!
I am a big fan but they don't find their way to charity shops often.

Thank you:T Yes I've read two Robert Goddard books which were passed on to me by a friend. I enjoyed them and would certainly read others if they came my way. The ones I read did find their way to the charity shop when I'd finished with them. I've never seen any others in there yet though:(

jwil wrote: »

I just had a look at the Big read - there's 16 books I haven't read - mainly the Jacqueline Wilson and Terry Pratchett. I've not read any Terry Pratchett before, it's an author I should consider, but I'm not a fan of fantasy so it doesn't appeal. I will try it one day!

I found many of the early books from the 1001 books list on Project Gutenburg. It was handy for finding all the classics for free! It means reading on the computer or a kindle though.

When I got my Kindle I found it a bit weird, so I made sure to read a book that I was really familiar with on there. It meant I wasn't struggling with a new device and a new story. It helped me get used to it.

I've read some Robert Goddard too, I enjoyed them. I like Marian Keyes too. I like to read all sorts of genres. I'm a big fan of Stephen King!

Yes, same here. I'd never read any Terry Pratchett before The Big Read either. I'd already read the classics before but it was so long ago I thought I'd re-read them for the challenge to refresh my memory of them. I think there were about 18 'new to me' ones on there, including the Stephen King. Katherine by Anya Seton was totally unknown to me but I just couldn't get along with it and gave up on it:o. Otherwise I was doing a lot of reading to cover everything, burning the candle at both ends for months.

Another one that I really enjoyed from that list was A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving. I've gone on to read all his other books, I'm a real fan of his thanks to The Big Read:j. I still think that one was his best though.