Do not read Simon Schama’s Landscape and Memory while you have a bad neck. At least not in hard back form. It is immense and weighs approximately ten kilos. I had to give up in the middle of chapter three due to:
- onset of Simon Schama related narcolepsy, which seems to translate to the written word as well as his presence on screen, in my ear, etc. I do not understand this for I love Simon with unabated passion and enthusiasm.
- Intolerable strain on my vertebrae/head bones/eye bones etc.
- fear of damaging myself further by dropping book on other physical extremities due to Simon Schama related narcolepsy issues.
It will have to be resumed when I am back to full bodily health.
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I am SO with you on this one! Trying to read Wolf Hall at the moment, the only place I get to do so is in bed, and my arms are sagging under the weight… thank goodness this at least is in paperback. Maybe there is something to be said for i-books after all.
Tony (gadget freak) has an iPad, and insists on reading in bed using said object, which he has downloaded an entire library onto. It has an annoying glowing light. It keeps me awake. Grrr.
(On the bonus side, it hardly weighs anything, and keeps the kids amused for hours with various games).
I still have to tackle 2666.I was reading The Kindly Ones in bed when it fell on my face.Shrieking in the middle of the night is not good for a snoring husband who thought someone had broken in and leaped out of bed.’Twas very funny though-at least I thought so.
Kim
Yes, it’s a massive tome that one. I am grateful that my review copy was in paperback.
Jo
there have been rumblings about ipads in this house. Not that we need any more gadgetry. Thankfully Jason does not read in bed and hates any form of illumination in the bedroom, so I would be safe there at least.
Jenny
You are brave. I read it and really didn’t enjoy it, so it’s definitely not worth losing a limb over.
I am also a Simon Schama devotee. But I find his essay length pieces in the New Yorker fulfill my every need. The only book length work I tried was : The Embarrassment of Riches: An Interpretation of Dutch Culture in the Golden Age. Just reading the title now makes me nod a little bit.
Maybe instead of going with e-readers, nanotechnology breakthroughs will yield a one ounce 1000 page hardback book.
Nimble
I could try that and work up to the heavier tomes couldn’t I? I love your idea. You should try launching it on dragon’s den.