By Ellie Bowker

Over here in this cosy little corner of I’m With Geek, it’s safe to say that we kind of have a thing for books. I know, it’s mind-blowing and you never would have guessed it. Among all us bookworms, there is this unspoken debate that always has a presence in a book related conversation and it just takes one little comment to pull the trigger and set off the biggest literary bomb. What debate is this? Printed books versus e-books.

By Charlotte Dibley

I’m sizeist. There, I’ve said it.

A big, thick, lengthy book is a complete turn-off for me.

I find long books undeniably daunting. I'm not one of those people who can abandon a book part-way through; I have to complete them. I know, I know. No idea why. So, the thought of being disinterested and overwhelmed during a 900 page story yet soldiering on to the finish does not appeal to me in the slightest. I've always found hefty books a little off-putting and as a result, I haven't read anything ridiculously long. I always think 'come on, what can warrant that amount of deforestation and that amount of ink?'

By Graeme Stirling

For many a student ploughing their way through university, books are a key asset. If this sounds like stating the obvious, we should add that it’s not for the reasons you might think. Particularly when it comes to social sciences and humanities subjects, which are increasingly popular among UK students, nothing seems more important to the marking system or the keen eye of the academic staff member than referencing. Would-be graduates spend more time providing evidence of their reading and filling their perfectly reasonable essays with vaguely relevant quotes, in-text references and segues than they do writing the paper to begin with. Ploughing, then, is the operative word, as the process of scanning hundreds of pages for a quotable point to back up your own is its own form of monotonous labour.

By Graeme Stirling

The literary world has changed as much as anything else over the past half-century, and for many years now a war has been going on amongst its members (not the paper versus e-book debate, which will fizzle out long before this).

On one hand stand the genre authors and their legions of fans. Until recently, these were most prominently represented by crime writers. These days, the massive surge in “young adult” books and the endless dead-horse-flogging of the supernatural types have taken on the mantle. Unfortunately, in both cases, the very worst of the writers seem to get most of the attention (without naming names, just take the top one of each camp’s sales list).

The other side is a quieter place, home to the authors of literary fiction. These writers, spread around the world and with a prominent enclave in the northeastern United States, are the intellectuals. They are the defenders of the old literary traditions, well-educated men and women with an appreciation for the reality around us and the ability to write powerful prose and craft effective stories without bringing up dragon-riding vampires afflicted with lycanthropy.

By Leah Stone

After the big mistake of reading the Twilight Series (my apologies to any fans out there, I just didn’t really like them very much, but that’s just my opinion) I was wary for a while afterwards when it came to choosing a book with a supernatural theme, namely vampires.
It came down to one summer holiday, we were at the airport waiting for our flight to Spain when I realised I didn’t have enough to read whilst we were away, a very regular dilemma for me. So I headed into WHSmiths, picked up the first book I saw in the young adult section. It just so happened to be the first book in the Vampire Academy series, and it would be the book that would re-kindle my love for all things fantasy and supernatural. Then it was a few months later when I started reading the House of Night series. 

By Angela Flunker

Many people have several Christmas holiday traditions. They put up a tree, lights, and decorations, cook a large family dinner, open gifts, and perhaps do some carol singing or chestnut roasting. 

By Graeme Stirling


The most important question is always why. When it comes to Kindles (and e-readers in general), most answers an owner will give you fall under the category of progress. This is a lie.