Wednesday, May 7, 2014

RV Bookie Joint

Dear Dr. R.V. Shrink:
My wife thinks we are a rolling library. Our travel trailer reminds me of the “I Love Lucy” episode where she sneaks rocks into the trailer without Ricky knowing. I am an avid reader also, but I jettison books I have already finished. I donate them to libraries or thrift stores, or give them to friends. My wife thinks she might want to read them all again and stuffs them in every nook and cranny she can find. I think she is a literary packrat. She thinks this behavior is perfectly normal. Can you help me knock some common sense into her.
--Bookie Joint on Wheels in West Texas

Dear Bookie:
First of all, “we don’t knock.” I would think in this day and age you can both have your way. Have you ever suggested she buy a Kindle or other such device for her reading pleasure? A lot of people say they do not like reading on a screen device, but don’t knock it until you’ve tried it. You can put hundreds of books on such a device, or add cloud service or memory and keep unlimited numbers. That will solve the storage problem. You can get free or reasonably priced ebooks from Amazon, BookBub, and even borrow from your library. Amazon also has the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library with over 500,000 free Kindle books available. This is a lending process so you will only be able to borrow the book, not keep it. You’ll need to be an Amazon Prime member to take advantage of it. I’m sure there are other sources I’ve never used. You can even share books with friends. You will also find many RV maintenance and campground directories downloadable online and search active. Most RVers find being paperless with banking, taxes, manuals and all other reading materials saves time, helps organize and becomes a great convenience. In your case it is also going to save so much gas when you remove the Smithsonian Institute from your trailer. Buy her a unit as a gift and get her hooked on Nook. It may take a little time, but my guess is she will wean her way off the hard copies pretty darn quick. She doesn’t have to go “cold turkey.” There are still a lot of good book deals at thrift stores. I just bought a great book in New Mexico at a thrift shop. It is the story of Butch Cassidy after his misspent youth. Supposedly he wasn’t killed in Bolivia. Anyway, it was a buck. They were having a special and knocked 40% off. Then they looked at me and gave me the automatic, you don’t even have to ask, 50% Senior Discount. They even had a deeper handicapped discount and I’m blind in one eye. I didn’t go there. I was happy with my thirty cent book. The secret is to get your wife to stop hoarding. If you can get her to take one load of books to Goodwill and she comes home with two loads, she may need more therapy than I am capable of administering.
--Keep Smilin’ Dr. R.V. Shrink

8 comments:

Barb said...

The two things I though of were that I have ONE spot for real books. If I need to add another, something goes out. There just isn't room for a "library."

The other things is weight. Even paperback books, in volume, are adding weight to the RV that you probably don't want. I have a Kindle Fire with hundreds of books on it, and I love it. :)

Anonymous said...

Even though I did not hoard books.....hubby didn't care for the bags of books waiting to be read. So, I bought the Kindle Paperwhite. It is a great size, the clearest type and not backlit but front lit....really amazing. I have at least a hundred books on it waiting to be read. Here I am, several years into it and I don't like to read a paper book anymore. So those people who say they can't read from an ebook haven't really tried. Google free ebooks and find many sites. Kindle is the easiest because no tether is required..if it's from the library, or from the many internet sites...it's downloaded through Amazon.....so easy!

Queenie said...

I agree don't knock until you have tried it. The Kindle is the greatest and I also will never read a paper back again. It is perfect for RV'ers.

Jeffrey said...

I purchased a Nook HD for reading all the eBooks I've purchased over the years, but find I rarely use it. Instead, I use my smartphone and the Nook app, or the OverDrive Media player and download books from my local library. Both apps have adjustable display controls so they do not suck all my battery power away, and they script is large enough so I don't have to put on my glasses when I wake up in the morning and want to lay in bed reading while my wife slumbers on.

Both apps are available on Androids Play store, and I'd imagine iStore as well.

Cheese Queen said...

Worth mentioning that the Kindle series use a patented E-Ink technology that is EXACTLY like reading print on paper, not like a computer or phone screen at all. Just like paper, you can read it in bright sunlight, but you also need a reading lamp in bed.

We full-time, and we have thousands of books in our (shared) Kindle library, and only unique, out of print books on paper now.

Its hard to RV fulltime if you're a real bibliophile, but easy if you're mostly just a voracious reader

Allan said...

You reply is standard knowledge of what is wrong with America today. Go electronic, text messages, boasting selfies, etc. there is no face-to-face talking or social intercourse in person anymore due to the so-called electronic age. I am a fan of paper in my books and I have a large collection in my Library at my house (probably over 1000
books). If you can do it, do like we do. We get our books, read them on our trip, put them in the house, and buy more for the next trip. There is nothing more romantic that holding a real book in your hands to improve the welfare of the human race.

Anonymous said...

Although I've loved the smell and feel of real books all my life, and seemed to accumulate them effortlessly, I made the transition to Kindle. It was a simple decision: I wanted to retire to full-time travel in a small motorhome. No room for books. If I wanted my dream, I had to go the ebook route. I have a plain-vanilla Kindle, and it is a pleasure to read. No regrets. If I want to smell and handle large, illustrated books on art or history, I can stop at any public library.

Anonymous said...

I enjoy paper books for several reasons. one is I get headaches reading computer screens too long. I download Kindle books to my laptop and attempt to read them and enlarge the print. Two is I read paperback romance books. Some I share with some friends or leave them behind for others enjoyment. If someone is sending boxes to the troops, I take them so they can be included in the women's boxes.