Frankly, not everybody has a tablet or phone with screen big enough to read. You're lucky if you do, but don't assume other ppl do, we all have our financial priorities and budgets. I will certainly try to read an e-book someday when my family and my baby's needs are meet, and there is some money left over for me to spend on myself. But that day might be far in the future or never come at all. Don't be spoiled and assume we all can afford tablets. I'm sorry if this post is too serious, I felt a little offended by the ppl who seem to think everyone has money to spend on gadgets. I have the responsibility to feed my family and that's my priority.
However, if anyone at readphilippines wants to start a raffle to win a tablet computer, I would buy a ticket and try my luck.
Ipagpaumanhin nyo po kung nakasama ako ng loob, never my intention...i'll just give ebook one last push before i go on the lighter-side...if one find solace in reading and happens to stay or work abroad where english is not the first language, physical books becomes a burden. It would fill up the room if one gobbles a book like m&m candies , costly if brought back home (imagine the faces of your love ones seeing balikbayan boxes full of books instead of chocolates)... Lastly, he/she would be disappointed on the limited english books they sell on brick and mortar bookstores... Na-i-share ko lang po coz to me ebook is a life saver. (Started ebook reading with my sony ericsson cellphone - . jar, not that it mattered.)
PEARL S. BUCK. The Good Earth. Classic. Wow. Been interested to Buck for a long time not only on the awards but also on her lifes work outside writing. Never had the chance to read the novel yet. (top 50 TBR). Is it that good?...thx
The Good Earth Trilogy by Pearl Buck is worth reading for sure. There are 3 books, The Good Earth, Sons, and A House Divided. The first is one of my favorite books, the third was good too, but have not been able to find the 2nd one. She writes about poverty and about the struggle for survival and the life in China a long time ago. She writes it in a way so that you can experience the life of the main character from inside his head. You will take the twists and turns and the ups and downs right along with him as the story progresses. In the end, despite the things he has done, right or wrong, you will realize that like everyone, he is just human.
Usually I don't keep books after I read them, I trade them for other books or give them away. If I kept all the books I read, I would need 2 houses to put them all. I'm not a collector of things, even books, just like to read. If you're interested in classics, try Hermann Hesse (Siddhartha, Steppenwolf, Narcissus and Goldmund) and Leo Tolstoy (Anna Karenina, War and Peace) also. Two very different authors but both have written excellent books about the human spirit.
Just want to say one more thing. I live in the Philippines now, but I wasn't born here, I was born in the States. One of the great things about books for me was that they are always available to anyone for free. The libraries there, even in the small towns are impressive, and they can get for you almost any book you want, if they don't have it, they will have it sent from the larger State library or another library in another town, for free. Or you can go to one the large SuperBookstores like Barnes and Noble or Borders and buy a book for a reasonable price, and if they don't have the one you're looking for, they will order it and you can pick it up at your nearest store. If the book you are looking for doesn't exist in the library system or the large bookstores' systems (very rare), then you can search any number of small, quaint used (2nd hand) bookstores scattered about that have that mysterious smell of old paper and are filled with hidden treasures.
The point is, books were always available to everyone when I was growing up, to read and to learn, and not just for the elite or the people who have the money to buy the expensive gadgets to read them on. And I hope paper books will never disappear or be replaced by e-books.
Siddhartha one of the most unforgettable books I read. I can still picture him in the river. This book led me to research about buddhism then to hinduism then islam.
TBR Tolstoy, am more of cold war russia era fan. But i read Boris Pasternak's Doctor Zhivago. Watched the movie and listened to the radio adaptation. John le Carre's Russia House inspired me to read this.