Is Farang Life in Thailand almost completely Unconducive to the Enjoyment of Reading Books? Or, is it Life in Thailand, in general, which is so?

[Foghorn]

4 hours ago, CygnusX1 said:

I appreciate my 12.9 inch iPad ever more as my eyesight deteriorates with advancing age, and having almost instant access to millions of books is miraculous.

I read on my iPad but my kindle is soo much easier on my eyes and I can close all over devices so not get disturbed 

[JimGant]

14 hours ago, GammaGlobulin said:

 

How are you able to find a quiet place in order to enjoy your passion for books?

I send the wife shopping.

[Screaming]

I have lived in Thailand for over twenty years and I love to read books. So far this year I have read over one hundred books mostly on my Kindle. While I enjoy reading books while sitting in front of a fireplace with a cup of Java, I also enjoy reading while sitting on the beach listening to the waves on the shore. The nice thing about the Kindle Paper White is that you can read it with no lights on indoors or outdoors.

[khunPer]

14 hours ago, GammaGlobulin said:

Here in Thailand, I have never seen a couple of wing chairs facing the fireplace.

Probably because the preferred parts of Thailand is warm enough without such a cozy fireplace; I however regret I didn't make one when I build my house, as Santa has been less friendly since I moved out from my cold Nordic homecountry...

 

More seriously, I got spare time to read books now than when I lived and worked up north – including a few eBooks that are readable, they're not like real books, but that's how progress is, and it's easy to buy eBooks and read instantly; however, I'm still an alright physical book-client –, but sometimes my reading chair is not to far from a cozy cooling aircon in the very hot part of the all year summer...????

[Lemsta69]

4 hours ago, Troy Tempest said:

It's what the Government cooks!

and don't they have a grand old time doing so! ????

[n00dle]

no, its you I read a novel a week at least.

[jerrymahoney]

1 hour ago, Screaming said:

<snip> While I enjoy reading books while sitting in front of a fireplace with a cup of Java, I also enjoy reading while sitting on the beach listening to the waves on the shore. The nice thing about the Kindle Paper White is that you can read it with no lights on indoors or outdoors.

Nice waves.

1 hour ago, Screaming said:

Edited November 16, 2022 by jerrymahoney

[BumGun]

17 hours ago, GammaGlobulin said:

 

Do you find that the more years you spend in Thailand, the less you are able to read books?

I read multiple books a week, just none of them on paper. I have about 80 on my Kindle and a 12,000 book library on a USB thumb drive manged by Calibre.  Thailand perfectly suits reading books, that's the beauty, I can now read MORE books.

[Tedly]

9 hours ago, BritManToo said:

I read books all the time, mainly Science fiction, horror and westerns.

No need for paper, if you have a Kindle, everything is free for download.

Where do you get them for free? I've been buying from Amazon for my kindle, but "if it's free it's for me" Thanks in advance.

[DJ54]

Someone fell off the rocker or flew over the cuckoos nest….

[Gaccha]

I'm a fanatical book reader. Bangkok is paradise for bookreaders.

 

Unlike the West, Thailand has a 'relaxed' approach to copyright. The Library Genesis website with over 2 million books is allowed in Thailand.

 

Additionally, every university library has several copy shops which will print out any book on request within a day or two. If you are keen on some 300 page book, then you're looking at a measly 200 baht hit. (Pro-tip: e-mail the PDF to them in your bespoke format to ensure a perfect product, and saving you a visit)

 

In addition, there are so many cafés with comfy chairs. But even better, there are no alcohol restrictions in the café, ensuring you get past that slow Chapter 4 with a Whiskey Sour.

[GammaGlobulin]

24 minutes ago, Tedly said:

Where do you get them for free? I've been buying from Amazon for my kindle, but "if it's free it's for me" Thanks in advance.

I think he does not mean that he finds books for free, like out of the local dumpster, as he might find food. 

 

If you require a first edition, then you must pay for it. 

 

Unfortunately, lending libraries, as we once knew, have become almost extinct, unless you are affiliated with a university. 

 

As everybody knows, there is one great site which enables you to download almost any research paper you might wish to read. This site is of great benefit to researchers. 

 

Otherwise, if you just want to read The Hound of the Baskervilles, then there are many sites. 

 

The lending library in the Cloud works like any other library, but there are no late fees for unreturned books. 

 

This library is not located at any specific geographical place. Rather, this library is located Everywhere, and Nowhere. 

 

Most books being flogged today by publishers are garbage. 

 

The last decent read I purchased was the one by Newton, titled something, something, Principia Mathematica. Such a thick tome that I now use it as a doorstop. 

 

Probably the reason you did not get an immediate reply concerning your query about how to get free books is because nobody knows. 

 

What do you know about copyleft? 

 

Most books are copyrighted. 

 

But, why not contact your favorite author to convince the author to use copyleft instead of copyright? 

 

Alternatively, please visit the Guttenberg Project website where you will find many thousands of books for free. 

 

There may be other alternative ways to find copyrighted software on the internet, but, so far, I haven't heard of any. 

 

My best advice to you is to dump Microsoft and Apple operating systems, and just go with openSUSE 15.4. 

 

After you accomplish this, then all remaining pieces of your puzzle will quickly fall into place. 

 

Just remember: Open source first, upstream first. 

[BritManToo]

2 hours ago, Tedly said:

Where do you get them for free? I've been buying from Amazon for my kindle, but "if it's free it's for me" Thanks in advance.

Z Library has just been shut down, which was the best source.

2nd best is Mobilism.org, but there are many others.

[GammaGlobulin]

2 hours ago, BumGun said:

I read multiple books a week, just none of them on paper. I have about 80 on my Kindle and a 12,000 book library on a USB thumb drive manged by Calibre.  Thailand perfectly suits reading books, that's the beauty, I can now read MORE books.

Calibre is amazing. Truly amazing. 

 

But did you know that the guy who created Calibre hails from California Institute of Technology, Caltech? 

 

Kovid Goyal is the creator's name. 

 

I may be wrong, but I believe that this guy did not cash-in on his creation. It's completely open source, after all. 

 

Caltech once was an amazing place. Maybe it still is. 

 

Calibre is an amazing piece of software, reverse engineered.

 

Can we even imagine how much better our lives might be if we had more funding for open-source projects, and far fewer Suckerbergers? 

 

Or, maybe someday soon, Caltech scientists will get get on board Suckerberger's train to Metaverse heaven. 

 

We are living in an age where most people don't know the difference between pure science and applied science, and marketing wimps like Jobs. 

 

Calibre has changed for the worse during the past two years. But, no problem, because you can continue to use any older revision if it suits you. 

 

If you really want to be cool, then you need to install Calibre on a Linux platform. Shuck your Apple device, is good advice. 

 

 

 

 

 

[3NUMBAS]

they used to have libraries but nobody returned the books and they ended up on sale at the market

[GammaGlobulin]

28 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

Z Library has just been shut down, which was the best source.

2nd best is Mobilism.org, but there are many others.

Sci-Hub? 

 

Any paper you want, they got it. 

[GammaGlobulin]

10 minutes ago, 3NUMBAS said:

they used to have libraries but nobody returned the books and they ended up on sale at the market

Hearing this seems so disheartening, truly. 

 

So then, what happened to the librarians? 

 

Is anybody willing to take a degree in library science? 

 

If Alphabet suddenly went down the drain, like Meta, then would much of what we hold dear be lost? 

 

At this late date, would it matter? 

[geisha]

Buy a kindle ! Thousands of books in your preferred language, History, geography, fiction , thrillers, religious, biography, Nobel prize winners, Booker prize  everything you want.  Now and again I read books that I read in my teens, or all the new authors of India, Japan etc. Never ending. 
i would be lost without my books, no matter where I am in the world. Yes, I’m’sorry for the book’shops, but’ I’m often in places where they don’t exist, and my young days of traveling with a suitcase full of books is over.

Now, my kindle fits into my hand bag,  and I can buy whatever book I want , online, anywhere in the world. 

 

[thaibeachlovers]

Nonsense. I probably read more books while in LOS than before or since.

[3NUMBAS]

they dont have time for books as there all out cruising the bars and rogering .

can you imagine anyone staying in and staring at the wall??with a silly smile on their face?no of course not

[bang saen guy]

Still read 100-200 pages per day using the Kindle app. Prefer to hold an actual book though

[JimGant]

On 11/17/2022 at 5:06 AM, geisha said:

Now, my kindle fits into my hand bag,  and I can buy whatever book I want , online, anywhere in the world. 

And you don't even need the Kindle machine. Kindle books can be downloaded to your favorite tablet.

[GammaGlobulin]

2 hours ago, JimGant said:

And you don't even need the Kindle machine. Kindle books can be downloaded to your favorite tablet.

And, you don't even need a tablet. 

 

I prefer to use my very old Samsung Galaxy S3. Aldiko reader is fine for me. 

 

The Galaxy 3 has a crystal clear display, and the device is light as a feature, with rounded edges. 

 

The Galaxy 3 is good in bed. 

 

[Simple Jack]

Used to love getting great deals on books @ tops in Pattaya. Book shop upstairs. God knows if its still there.

 

The dude there was a sound guy. If you wanted someting particular. He would sort you out.

 

Sadly. He never procured a copy of "how to seduce women" Had to figure that <deleted> out on my own ????

 

Edited November 19, 2022 by Simple Jack

[spidermike007]

Books are fantastic. Whether they are novels, bios, books on history, science or the cosmos. They feed the mind and soul. 

 

I download nearly all my books online. Have hundreds on my iPad. Love it. Find the time, it is worth it.