If you watched The Apprentice on BBC TV last year you would have seen the episode where one of the contestants, Joanna Riley, came up with the rather strange idea of a book reader for the beach. Not that the idea was strange – just the product - which was about as useful as a chocolate teapot, as my mother would have said.
No the idea was fine, but why?
Well when you go on holiday this summer take a look around the pool of your hotel, or the beach, and check out what people are doing. My guess is that the majority of them will be reading a book, or at least have one with them.
One of my most enjoyable pastimes on holiday, and I know I’m not alone in this, is reading. Books, magazines (but not newspapers), I love having the time to get into a good
book, preferably fiction or biography. I usually take between four and ten books with me, depending on how long I am away for and invariably get through most of them. On my last holiday I devoured Dan Brown’s The Lost Symbol, CS Lewis’ Voyage of the Dawn Treader (again), and a couple of biographies in just over a week, although I must confess that Michael Meacher’s Destination of the Species defeated me as it needed too much concentration!
You might think then that I’d be a big advocate of an e book reader, for no other reason that it cuts down on weight and space. But no, I haven’t yet succumbed to the e-book revolution. Oh I admit it seems like a good idea, but
I’ve got two things holding me back.
Firstly, I don’t think you will see too many Kindles or iPads (other e-readers are of course available) on the beach or by the sun-lounger around the pool – at least not unless they are in the tight grip of their owner. I mean, if you lose a £9.99 paperback that’s nowhere near as big a deal as losing your £100+ Kindle or your £500 iPad.
Secondly, I like the feel of a book; I like to hold it, to fold the pages back, to lie on my back and use it as a sunshade while reading. And, at the end of the holiday, rather than take them all home I often leave books behind for someone else - ‘passing it on’ if you like.
Do I read Christian books on holiday you might ask. Well the answer to that is I do and I don’t. I tend to take books I’ve read before and re-read them at my leisure. In this job I often have to read books very quickly and any Christian books I do take with me are likely to be from my favourite genres of fiction and biography, with the odd historical book thrown in.
But I will use a holiday to devour some mainstream fiction, including classics, and this time round there will be a Grisham and a Christie in the pile I guess.
Of the books I’ve read recently that I may well pack next time round I’d include Chosen to SEE by Mary Beth Chapman, People Like Us by Sandra Lacey, The Last Christian by David
Gregory and The People’s Bible by Derek Wilson. I’m also looking forward to reading Martin Smith’s book Delirious and Andrew White’s Faith Under Fire.
And when I get to the airport I guess I will inevitably see something that I want to read – but at least that can go in hand baggage.
What will you be reading on holiday? Hopefully something in this magazine will stir your interest, or maybe you’ll see something when you are browsing the bookshop. At least you’ll be able to handle it, open it and snatch a read – something you can’t really do on-line.
Will I ever acquire an e-reader then? Probably, I would suggest it is inevitable. But I don’t think I’d ever take it with me to the beach. How about you?
Happy summer reading.
