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A Lifetime Reader

Anonymous
Not applicable
There are a lot of cool perks that go along with my job.  I visit interesting cities, meet wonderful people, fly one of the world's most sophisticated aircraft, and have an incredible view of our beautiful country.  I also spend three to four nights a week in hotels getting to do whatever I want for 13-18 hours.  I rarely turn on the television  in my room, but I do spend a lot of time reading.  I very much enjoy reading. My wife is a librarian in an intermediate school.  She serves as the president of the city library board in the town where we live, gives lectures, does workshops at regional and state library and teaching conferences, and she is sought after to assist in the design and opening of new libraries.  Because of her connections, she has access to literally millions of books which she can "borrow" for me to read (I don't have a library card).  If our local library doesn't have a book that I want, she can find it anywhere in the state and have it brought in.  With all of this convenience, not to mention money savings, I still tend to purchase books.  I just can't seem to wait; I want them now, even if I won't read them any time soon.  This practice kinda unnerves my wife because being a librarian, it is engrained into her psyche that it is better to borrow than buy when it comes to books. USA Today and Forbes cost me a fortune each year because as I travel, I read their book excerpts and reviews and then decide that I "must have" the book that has been written about.  Many of the airports that Southwest serves have wonderful bookstores located in them.  Additionally, some of our overnight hotels are located next to malls that have new and used bookstores, so it is easy for me to see something that peaks my interest and buy it while I am out flying.  We have even added a library to our home, replete with a rolling ladder to access the numerous volumes of books that we own.  Many of our books have been personalized by the author or illustrator.  Most of the books I have read contain pages flagged where I have highlighted a quote, phrase or note that I found interesting and want to be able to go back and enjoy at some future date. I have read that Bill Gates (what a genius he is!!) is a big proponent of electronic books.  I'm not sure that would be a medium that I would use. (Sorry, Mr. Gates, but when you finish reading this blog, give me a call, as I would very much enjoy meeting you.)  I think that electronic and borrowed library books fall into the same mind-set with me.  I can't make notes in them, send them to the author to be autographed, or add them to our library to go back and reread or loan to a friend or relative. Suffice it to say that I think the retail book industry will keep getting part of my paycheck every month for the forseeable future.
29 Comments
Mary9
Explorer A
Funny thing about librarys they always want you to commit to returning their books by a certain date. As a born procrastinator , I have to buy the book. My daughter reads a book and it is in pristine condition. When I read a book, I will eat with it, sleep with it so when I buy a book I prefer buying it used because when I done with it is very well used. After all books should be enjoyed.
Reader_Scott
Explorer C
I always forget to return my books on time to the library. I'll have to work on that.
Leah4
Frequent Flyer B
I've always enjoyed reading. I enjoy reading about Judaism (I'm Christian of Jewish descent), my book Nuts! of course, & about tornadoes.
Tommy_Blog2
Explorer B
I also enjoy reading very very much. In fact, I share a trait with capt evans, that I too, must have/own/keep a book because I love to re-read some of them every so often. I think one of my favorites of all time is Steinbeck's "East of Eden". To me, it is a literary masterpiece. It is timeless and very enjoyable to read. In fact, I bought it in paperback that last time it was re-released and one day while I was sitting at a coffee shop reading it, I spilled coffee on the book ( on the pages inside ). I thought I was going to have a heart attack. But after thinking about it and knowing that I was going to be keeping this copy till my last days walking the earth, that minor coffee spill is going to remind me of the first time I re-read this book in paperback format. It will remind me of what I was doing at that point in time. So to me books are also a remembrance. Every day, I enjoy looking at all my books in my bookcase at home; knowing that I have the opportunity to re-read anyone of them whenever I want too! If you haven't read "East of Eden", run out right now and grab a copy wherever you can - new, borrowed, etc..... It is one of the greatest books of all time! Tom
chuchoteur
Adventurer B
Hi David! I am a bit of a bookworm myself! I recall reading an article a while back about an initiative. Essentially, avid book readers wrote down a tracking number in the cover of books they had read, and then left them behind in public places. People were invited to pick the book, read it, and leave it in another public place. They could also log on to a website to "see" where that book had been left previously, and how many people had read it! I alas can no longer find the website, but maybe this is something Southwest could do? Leave a few used books on each flight, inviting the reader to leave them behind after use. The weight penalty involved would surely be more than compensated by inciting people to read a good book! My favourites are of course "Night Flight" and the "Little Prince" by Antoine de St Exupery :o)
blusk
Aviator C
Raphael, you are lucky you can read Night Flight in it's native French--what an amazing book. Ernest Gann's Fate is the Hunter and A Hostage to Fortune are two of my favorites books of all time, along with anything by Larry McMurtry. I also have a huge collection of transportation books, and like Captain Evans, i have an understanding wife who has let me turn our living room into a library. Books and reading are my passion. Brian
Kevin_Mackey
Explorer C
I have that same issue with reading USA today and always having to buy the books! Good to know I'm not alone.
Phil_Willman
Adventurer C
Oh how I WISH my wife and I had an extra room that we could turn into a library! I'm so jealous! I know we still have books packed in boxes somewhere (hey, it's only been 20 months since we moved), but I know we just don't have enough space for them all. We keep out Hillerman, Grisham, Peretti, Dekker, Clancy, et al. Plus of course all the homeschool books - btw, if you ever want to fill up your shelves, put "homeschool curriculum" into a search engine and sit back.... That'll "git r done." What I really enjoy seeing is how much my kids love to read! We have had to set a "curfew" for them to turn out their lights at night, or they else they read til dawn! We read to them when they were small, and still do on occasion, though they prefer George Guidall to read to them these days (books on tape, he's the best!! - check out the "Cat Who" series at your local library). And, is it just me, or is Half Price Books a little slice of heaven??
joe-mdw-plane-d
Frequent Flyer C
I can see it now, Brian in an easy chair with the title "Why animals sleep so close to the road and other lies you tell your children" and a huge bowl of candycorn, James's southwest telephone by his side. Ding! is two today happy birthday ding! Joe Friedmann
joe-mdw-plane-d
Frequent Flyer C
sorry James's
blusk
Aviator C
Hey Ding! Boy, you should apologize to Captain Evans and James, that is a disturbing visual. Blog Boy
Francisco_Delga1
Adventurer A
Why are we picking on Brian??????????????????? All of you candy corn haters out there make me sick!!! So make to the focus of the blog, i enjoy reading political books and yes i buy too many books and i can't seem to find time to finish all of them. The best library is on Coronado Island.... great people, and that is my favorite place to take an afternoon nap.. USS BLOG BOY
joe-mdw-plane-d
Frequent Flyer C
Mr manager of Customer Communication and Corporate raider oops editior, Already apologized for misspelling James, you could have fixed it ;-P. Captain Evans wont mind. I'm sure he already has seen your mug shot on the side of the candy corn bag! Ding! boy Joe Friedmann
blusk
Aviator C
Ding Boy, I meant apologize to James for including him in the nightmarish visual, not for mispelling his name. By the way, I fixed it. Blog Boy Editor
Eric15
Explorer A
Would that make it a revisionist Blog??
IT4LUV
Explorer C
Raphael-- the website you are looking for is called bookcrossing.com. Through this site you can register your used book, place a sticker in it with the identifying information, and then the goal is to set it free! Leave the book someplace where someone else can enjoy it, and in turn, pass it on to someone else. I have set many books free at SW-HDQ. I always hope that someone will read the introductory note and take the time to register their find at the website. I'd like to see their comments about books that I have read. :)
chuchoteur
Adventurer B
Ah Reenie Thank you soooooo much! It's been sooooo frustrating not being able to find the website, I kind of felt that my blog post was rather incomplete without... and the system was such a good idea that I was really surprised not to find the site through a number of searches... (guess Google is not infallible!). Hopefully, this will incite many other people to follow the same idea, I really like the concept! :o)
chuchoteur
Adventurer B
BTW USS Blog boy, I was wondering, do you guys have access to a library whilst at sea? and do you have time to read? :o)
Robin9
Explorer A
Aaah Reading. One of my most favorite things to do. I am an avid reader and have been as far back as I can remember. I have boxes of books in the garage, and all shelves full three books deep. One of the things that I have noticed is that you remember what the library smells like. I rarely go into one now but when I do, I take a deep breath and it takes me back to sitting in the childrens section and deciding which Dr. Seuss book I wanted next. My books are never left in pristine condition. I read them in bed, in planes, and even in the bathtub. I have some books that I read yearly. I have read the Lord of the Rings every year since I was twelve, and I am 35 now. I also read the Chronicles of Narnia by CS Lewis and the Stand by Stephen King. And I will also proudly admit to being one of those women who will be seen in public reading a Trash Historical Romance. I have found a great resource for used books on the internet. It is www.thriftbooks.com. Most of their paperbacks are 1 cent and you pay for the shipping of 2.49 a piece. This is still alot cheaper then half off the cover price that you would pay in a used bookstore. I am rambling, I know but you have hit on one of my favorite subjects outside of SWA. Back to reading the rest of the blog. Robin Oklahoma City Reservation Center
pcerda
Adventurer B
What's this I hear about SWA employees can actually READ?!?!?! *hah hah hah* Don't ask what kind of books are at PRC. We have a "library" of interesting books. And if you're a male, one might end up in your bookbag as a practical joke.
joe-mdw-plane-d
Frequent Flyer C
I like reading the entire southwest schedule! ;-) Ding! You are now free to move about the country. Ding! boy Joe Friedmann
Tony111
Explorer C
What I usually do is wait for the books to come out on paperback. This way, they are lighter to carry, and there is room on my bookshelves for more paperbacks than hardcovers. 🙂 I'm having problems with the Ding! program for my computer desktop. It keeps telling me this: "A communication error has occurred. Please check your Internet connection and click 'Retry' to attempt to connect." When I do that, it keeps flipping the same message. I went into my firewall settings to see if it would fix it but it didn't work. Maybe someone can blog about how to fix this sometime soon? 🙂
Leah3
Adventurer B
I also LUV Southwest's "Spirit" magazine & wish there were a way to subscribe to it! 🙂
pcerda
Adventurer B
Personally, I prefer hardbacks. The last book I read was "Nuts." Each person got one in F.L.Y. class at Dallas. What a great book! Gave me a LOT of insight to the company. And Tony, that sounds like a great idea. I talk to a lot of people that have issues on Ding!....did you check the FAQ on southwest.com?
Phil_Willman
Adventurer C
Leah, If you can open the DING! window at all, see if the "update registration" link is active. If so, click it and it should take you to the update registration page, which has two lists - "my airports" and "available airports" - with the add/remove arrows in between. If you can see that page, there aren't any firewall issues, go ahead and click on "update registration" and hopefully, all will be well. If you can't open the DING! window, or if the "update registration" link is not active, open any browser and type ding.southwest.com. That will take you to the DING! page, unless you do indeed have a firewall issue of some type. Most firewalls should allow you to set which programs can access the internet, and you may have to dig through your settings to find out how. If it is a work PC, you could be bumping up against a company firewall. Hope it works out! Because DING! is great!! Phil
Phil_Willman
Adventurer C
Whoops, that should have been addressed to Tony! Sorry!
Leah4
Frequent Flyer B
Ha, that's okay! Actually, I did get hooked up to DING! the other day. 🙂
mitchel_sommer
Explorer C
I am reluctant to fly Southwest Airlines. I am 6'2" . Without some assurance that I will get an aisle seat I will reluctantly opt for other airlines. They should change the seat reservation policy. I would pay more for 3 or 4 inches of legroom.
David_O_Connor
Explorer C
I just installed Ding. When I click on the offers my browser (explorer 7) doesnt open. How do I fix this?