Quote:
Originally Posted by hansl
The file is not ageing but the content is.
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How so? Is there a best by date associated with fiction books? Non fiction sometimes ages fast, especially technology, but more fiction is published, bought and read.
One of the great joys of eBooks for me, was being able to read older titles by my favorite authors that I didn't even know existed. And often I was able to get these books from the library which is an added bonus. The ones I bought have never disappointed me even if written mid 19th century or earlier.
And I am not alone on this. Many (maybe more than 1/2) of the books on MR's What are you reading forum are for books 10 to 50 years old. Not public domain, you have to buy or borrow them.
Many books are ageless IMO, Nero Wolfe, Agatha Christie, A. A. Fair, Charles Dickens for a few. (I could write a book on ageless books). Tolkien seems to still be pretty well regarded as does Shakespeare oddly enough since they weren't writing recently.
I know quite a few people who are compelled to buy the latest best seller or fad and as often as not express disappointment in that they aren't as good as previous books by same author.
I disregard the age of the content. A good book is a good book, and a really good book is even better. The writing doesn't deteriorate with time, and if the book is significantly older it often offers insight to changes in our society over time.
Helen