Vocabulary phrases: Books v Kindle

Focus on the vocabulary phrases highlighted in bold. Sounding good in English is not just a case of good grammar, you really need to use “chunks” of English. These are phrases (of 3, 4, 5 or more words) that are commonly used by native speakers. When you hear/read one of these chunks, you should note it down in your vocabulary book. You might already know all of the individual words in the chunk phrase, but if you put them together in the same way, that’s when you start to sound really natural with your English. If you need any vocabulary explaining, please ask me in the comments section and I’ll reply asap.     [poll id=’57’] Vocabulary phrases Books v Kindle I love a good read but like most people, I suppose, it’s difficult to find the time to get lost in a book these days. I can’t really remember the last time that I read a real page-turner that I couldn’t put down. I’m not really one of those people that can go on summer holiday and chill-out on a beach with a summer blockbuster. I would like to get into reading a bit more because it would be nice to be able to label oneself as a bookworm that has read all the classics. At the moment, I would probably say that I’m just a bedtime reader. I got a Kindle a while ago and I love all the free books on it. Yes, they are all classics like Frankenstein, Wuthering Heights and Jane Austen novels, but these are the kind of books that I feel I should be reading. 🙂 That probably makes me out to be a literary snob, but I don’t care. I do a lot of travelling as well, so the kindle is great for having something to read on trips. However, I think that if I wanted to read my go-to book (The House at Pooh Corner – yes, it’s true, don’t laugh) then I think that I’d prefer to read the ‘real book’ version, which means that I’m not fully brainwashed into being a kindle-user just yet.   Here are some short, funny videos of Books v Kindle These videos are obviously biased towards real books and very much against e-readers, so I thought I’d even it out a bit by listing some advantages of both. IF YOU CAN THINK OF ANY MORE ADVANTAGES FOR EITHER CATEGORY, PLEASE TELL ME IN THE COMMENTS SECTION BELOW.

KINDLE ADVANTAGES

1. Light and easy to hold
2. Font-size adjustable
3. More portable – you can carry your entire bookshelf with you
4. Instantaneous download/start reading immediately
5. Start where you left off last time, without the need of a bookmark
6. Instant dictionary – great for language learners
7. Can make notes & highlights and then search for them
8. Can see other peoples’ notes & highlights
9. Books slightly cheaper
10. Doesn’t take up any space in your home
11. Environmentally friendly – no paper used

REAL BOOK ADVANTAGES

1. Very tactile
2. Has the comforting, reassuring ‘book’ smell
3. Don’t have to recharge it
4. Doesn’t break if you spill your drink on it
5. Doesn’t break if you drop it
6. Doesn’t matter if you get sand in it
7. If you lose a book it’s not too much money
8. A full bookshelf looks great
9. A book can become a prized possession / heirloom
10. Can be a centrepiece, like a hardcover coffee-table book
11. Browsing in a book shop is a nice experience

And to really make it fair, here’s an advert for the latest Kindle e-reader