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Traumatic shots and comfort reads

reading with your dog
Oh dear.

29 years ago, when I was 3-1/2 years old, my little brother got his MMR vaccination shots...and I went into flailing hysterics on the floor of the doctor's office, so horrified and upset on my little brother's behalf (because I KNEW how much those needles hurt!) that I just couldn't cope.

So you can imagine how I felt this morning when MrD had his shots. At least I managed to control myself, this time. I didn't cry, and I didn't kick the floor or pound my fists on it as I sobbed.

But I really, really wanted to.

***

It's been a glum few days, here in Wales. The endless rain is starting to feel nigh-on apocalyptic, and when you combine that with pure exhaustion (the return of the dreading Teething monster, eating all our nights)...well, glum and grim are both good words to use.

Luckily, last night I found exactly the right book to brighten my mood: Sherwood Smith's Once a Princess (Book I in her Sasharia en Garde! duology). Swordfights! Pirates! Witty banter! Romance! And a truly awesome mother-daughter team. Now I'm midway through the novel and feeling so much better about everything.

I bought this one as an e-book to read on my iTouch for the sake of speed (I needed a comfort read STAT! no time to waste ordering a copy from Amazon!), but I think I might have to buy myself a print copy, too, for easier re-reading in the future. And Book 2 will definitely be a print purchase for me. For some reason, e-books feel like disposable reads to me, maybe because they're so easy to delete, or maybe because they're dependent on computers, and I've lost sooooooo many files to dead computers in the past.

What about you guys? When you love a book, would you rather have it in print for comfort or on an e-reader for the sake of easy portability and having it with you ALL the time?

__
And a quick PS: don't forget, 5 more days to enter my Thanksgiving giveaway! Joan Bauer's Squashed is one of my favorite comfort books ever. Good luck!

Comments

( 19 comments — Leave a comment )
[info]selfavowedgeek wrote:
Nov. 25th, 2009 02:22 pm (UTC)
Ugh. Shots. With Thing 1 and Thing 2, it's mainly been my duty to deliver them to the indifferent hands of the Vaccination Gods. Never made it any easier. Lots of klaxon blaring and gushy tears, then inside a minute or two, all good once the band-aids get on the booboos. And, yes, it was to go get a toy and ice cream or some such afterwards.
[info]stephanieburgis wrote:
Nov. 25th, 2009 03:06 pm (UTC)
Yes - thank goodness, MrD seemed to have completely forgotten about it within less than a minute, whereas I'm the one still traumatized hours later... ;)
[info]aliettedb wrote:
Nov. 25th, 2009 02:22 pm (UTC)
I'm with you. I read Daniel Abraham's A Shadow in Summer as an e-book, and I loved it so much I bought a paper copy to keep around. And speed and convenience tends to be the main reasons I buy e-books (I usually buy very few of them, though, because paying the same price as a hardback and not have it somehow feels...wrong?)

I have also lost countless files to computer crashes, false manouevres or other problems, whereas I still have books I was reading 15 years ago.

(I'm with you on the needles, too. I usually close my eyes...)
[info]stephanieburgis wrote:
Nov. 25th, 2009 03:28 pm (UTC)
YES. When an e-book costs the same as a hardback, how on earth can it be worth it? That's my feeling, anyway...
[info]danirra wrote:
Nov. 25th, 2009 02:44 pm (UTC)
Dear Stephanie, I would have it in print.
To read wise books - it's all I need) It is exigency.
[info]stephanieburgis wrote:
Nov. 25th, 2009 03:28 pm (UTC)
It's amazing how comforting good books can be. :)
[info]charmingbillie wrote:
Nov. 25th, 2009 03:19 pm (UTC)
I've come to prefer reading on the Kindle to reading paper. So, right now I'm only buying hard copy books when I really want to read it and there's no Kindle version or when the Kindle price is outside my pricing parameters.

On the other hand, ebooks have yet to solve the portability problem (one of the big reasons I have strict price limits) and I do have concerns about technology advances and keeping these books for the long term.
[info]stephanieburgis wrote:
Nov. 25th, 2009 03:31 pm (UTC)
Ooh, that's interesting to hear. I've still never actually seen a Kindle in real life (only in photos on Amazon), so I don't have a real sense of what it's like to read on those screens. I find reading on myy iTouch to be reasonably comfortable but not preferable to paper.

Now I'm even more curious about Kindles. Hmm...
[info]merriehaskell wrote:
Nov. 25th, 2009 03:32 pm (UTC)
Ah, yes--Once a Princess was an excellent choice. :)
[info]stephanieburgis wrote:
Nov. 25th, 2009 03:35 pm (UTC)
It really is Just Right! :)
[info]kellyrfineman wrote:
Nov. 25th, 2009 04:24 pm (UTC)
I'm still a book person - I like to be able to hold it and pet it and call it George.

I hope Mr. D made out okay. I rather expect he did, but oh - those first shots are so traumatic. Poor you!
[info]stephanieburgis wrote:
Nov. 25th, 2009 07:23 pm (UTC)
Yes - thank goodness, he was only upset for a moment! (Whereas I'm still recovering hours later... ;) )
[info]amygreenfield wrote:
Nov. 25th, 2009 05:07 pm (UTC)
Oh, those shots are so hard. Stickers have made it easier for us now -- last time Sweetpea was so fascinated with the glittery ones we brought that she smiled the entire time -- but at one it's tough all around.

So glad you found some book comfort later! I'm still a paper-only gal, but I have to admit the move to the UK would be easier if I weren't.
[info]stephanieburgis wrote:
Nov. 25th, 2009 07:25 pm (UTC)
Oh, yeah...I had to give up SO MANY books when I moved to the UK. Very, very painful! (But of course I've worked hard to make up for that in the years since then... ;p )
[info]sartorias wrote:
Nov. 25th, 2009 06:59 pm (UTC)
*beam*

So glad you are enjoying it!
[info]stephanieburgis wrote:
Nov. 25th, 2009 07:31 pm (UTC)
I am absolutely LOVING it!!! It's so exactly my kind of book. :)
[info]novemberhour wrote:
Nov. 25th, 2009 07:05 pm (UTC)
Both! One thing I really wish for is a combined paper-copy and e-book package. I would gladly pay more to be able to put a beautiful paper copy on a bookshelf and still have the convenience of an e-copy for travel, but purchasing a new paper book AND an e-copy can be prohibitively expensive. I get different kinds of comfort out of each - I love holding the book itself, and I also love knowing I can head out the door with 1000+ books in my bag.

[info]stephanieburgis wrote:
Nov. 25th, 2009 07:37 pm (UTC)
Ooh, that would be the ideal package, wouldn't it? Sigh...
[info]triciasullivan wrote:
Nov. 26th, 2009 05:56 am (UTC)
Oh, teething...SYMPATHIES!

Also on the injection. Ugh. One of the nurses who did our kids had a tendency to chuckle, as well, and it was all I could do not to bash her. It is very traumatic--for mom.
( 19 comments — Leave a comment )

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