I love books...

...as anyone who has been visiting here for a while will know.

I've shown you pictures of the shelves of books that I have in my study and discussed the 'pros' & 'cons' of e-readers.

 I will admit that after a lot of deliberation, I finally purchased an e-reader just after Christmas. I umm'd and arh'd a lot but my staff were kind enough to give me a lovely gift card as my Chrimbo prezzie and I wanted to buy something that would last - something tangible that I could show them (not just fritter away the gift on magazines and other odds-n-ends).

I love my mini e-reader. It is perfect for commuting...it doesn't take up too much space and yet it contains a huge selection of books (every single one of them from the free selection available) that I can switch between...as the mood dictates.

However, as fabulous as I think my mini e-reader is...you can't beat a 'real' book. Dragging your finger across a screen just isn't the same as actually turning a page...so I won't be giving up on my real books any time soon....which from the recent articles in the Press is a good thing.

This week there have been articles proclaiming the plummeting fall of book sales as a result of the increase in the sales of e-readers. It would appear that this fall in sales over the last year was only slowed down a bit due to the popularity of 'those' books...you know the ones I mean...

 ...and yes, I did read them - purely to find out what all the fuss was about; of course **rollseyes and giggles** and I read them in paper version - not in e-form.

"Those" books have certainly changed the look of the bookshelves in many shops and they have even generated their own joke industry - I'm sure many of you will remember this item...

...it was launched into the world of email as "Fifty Shades of Grey - the Male point of view" LOL

Well if you fancy another giggle on this topic, carry on reading...

FIFTY SHADES OF GREY - (a husband's point of view) - By Pam Ayres

The missus bought a Paperback,
... down Shepton Mallet way,
I had a look inside her bag;
... T'was "Fifty Shades of Grey".
Well I just left her to it,
And at ten I went to bed.
An hour later she appeared;
The sight filled me with dread...
In her left she held a rope;
And in her right a whip!
She threw them down upon the floor,
And then began to strip.
Well fifty years or so ago;
I might have had a peek;
But Mabel hasn't weathered well;
She's eighty four next week!!
Watching Mabel bump and grind;
Could not have been much grimmer.
And things then went from bad to worse;
She toppled off her Zimmer!
She struggled back upon her feet;
A couple minutes later;
She put her teeth back in and said
I am a dominater !!
Now if you knew our Mabel,
You'd see just why I spluttered,
I'd spent two months in traction
For the last complaint I'd uttered.
She stood there nude and naked
Bent forward just a bit
I went to hold her, sensual like
and stood on her left tit!
Mabel screamed, her teeth shot out;
My god what had I done!?
She moaned and groaned then shouted out:
"Step on the other one"!!
Well readers, I can't tell no more;
About what occurred that day.
Suffice to say my jet black hair,
Turned fifty shades of grey

 

I hope that brought a chuckle to your day..................................................................

EDT: Just in case you don't know...Pam Ayres came to fame on an early form of talent show here in the UK. Her witty poems were very topical and her accent added to the fun she created.

EDT2: Although in the style of Ms Ayres this poem was actually written by someone called John Summers and the poen was the subject of an article on the Guardian books blog titled "50 Shades of Pam Ayres pastiche"