Hello – it’s me – Briar!
Jane and I both have new toys and we have just realised that they are very much alike.
A Ball (like mine)
Mine is a ball, and when I push it, or even when I just touch it, it makes lots of different animal noises. There’s a cat, a dog, a cow, a horse, a rooster and lots more. I don’t know how they all got in that little ball, and I can’t see how they are going to get out either.
Jane’s is a flat thing and it has lots of books inside. I don’t know how it works, because we’ve got lots of books here and they’re all bigger than Jane’s new toy.
I’m not sure of I like Flat Thing. It doesn’t eat much, it doesn’t go for walks, but Jane pays it a lot of attention. And she won’t take me to work with her, but she will take Flat Thing…
She says that flat thing will take book time not dog time, so I suppose that’s all right.
A Flat Thing (like Jane’s)
We have a small house and it is full of books, and even though Jane loves books she is beginning to feel overwhelmed. Flat Thing will help out with that.
But Jane knows that there are a lot of people in the world of books who need to be supported.
There are authors who are working hard, and loving what they do, telling wonderful stories, creating lovely images, and illuminating the world around us.
There are publishers who do lots of clever things to find the books and make sure that they get sent out in the world to meet the right people.
There are booksellers, some selling new books and some selling old ones, who offer lovely places to go and chances to finds unexpected treasures and lost gems.
A Border Terrier (like me -well sort of)
And, of course, there are libraries who need the support of bookish humans now more than ever.
Flat Thing has been told not to get in the way of Jane supporting all of that. She will still be using the library, and if she ever gets to the point when there is space on her ticket she will take books out to help their statistics along. She’ll still buy the books, old and new, that she wants to add to her permanent collection. And she’ll still be looking carefully around bookshops whenever she gets the chance.
And, of course, she will still be writing about them here.
Flat Thing will look after classics from Project Gutenberg and interesting books reissued that way through nice imprints like Bello Books and Bloomsbury Reader.
Does that sound like a good plan?
Do you have a flat thing?
And do you know how all of those animals got into my ball? Or how I can get them out again?
p.s. Sorry we don’t have any original pictures, but the camera is broke and I don’t know how to fix it.
Fleur in her World 
I hope you and Jane both enjoy playing with your new toys, Briar! I have a Flat Thing too and use it a lot for reading classics, but I still prefer real books.
I do have a flat thing but I never use it. It sounds like Jane is already enjoying hers more than I enjoy mine.
Briar, please convey to Jane that I think she really needs to write a book for children with you as the star. Her “dog voice” is wonderful and would enchant children, provided someone could paint you properly.
Hello Briar…….your new toy sounds lots of fun although I think it has the potential to drive Jane crazy. 😀
I agree with all Jane’s thoughts about books but I think she will enjoy having a ‘flat thing’. I use mine for the classics and older books that I can’t find in a real book here in NZ. I still like real books best, though.
Briar, tell Jane she might like to look at girlebooks.com too. And dog-ebooks, too, though I made that one up (I think). And please don’t chew on flat thing. But I know you won’t, because you are so very good.
I don’t think I’d last too long with the new ball – sorry, Briar 🙂
I have a flat thing too – all loaded up with out-of-print books, rediscovered treasures – and I have yet to read a single one on it. I’ve started some of them, and then gone out to find paper copies. But I know I will someday, and I did like taking it on trips (along with the usual books of course).
I want a ball like yours Briar.
In the meantime I have a flat thing, which is useful but is certainly not the same as holding books and spending hours (& money) in a bookshop. It’s great for little bargains and sampling books.
I have a Flat Thing too Briar. It is very handy, especially when you move house as much as I do. Luckily my recent move has put me within a 10 minute walk of the city library, so even if I don’t quite get round to reading all the books I take out I still like to think I am doing my bit for my local library. Enjoy your new toy; I’m tempted to hunt one down for our family dogs, Coco and Pixie, but I think they would just fight over it all the time.
Briar, I was very excited to read about your new ball, it sounds like so much fun! I hope we get to see a picture of you with your ball soon!
I have a Flat Thing which I use the way Jane plans to use hers. I also find it handy for very long books because the Flat Thing magically makes them not as bulky or heavy.
Enjoy your new toys!
Oh, Briar, I do enjoy your posts!
I have a flat thing, too, and use it primarily for classics, NetGalley, and books that are too large to hold comfortably (most recently Fall of Giants). It also has adjustable back-lighting, which I love for reading in bed.
Zelda enjoys playing with round things, but she has never seen anything as technologically advanced as your new toy.
Hope you and Jane are both enjoying your latest gadgets!
Actually, Briar, the ball sounds much more fun! I wonder which animal sound you like best?
Such lovely, clever new toys for you both! I have a flat thing called an iPad, but I don’t read many books on it. I still love the traditional books that Jane loves too. Enjoy your toys and have a wonderful weekend!