I refuse to break up with them. Ever. I am insatiable.
Each one with a unique personality.
No two look alike.
There are the adorable soft guys who will go anywhere with me: , Candide; The Little Prince; Sidhartha; Ethan Frome; The Awakening; Night; Frankenstein. . . my intimate familiarity with them leaves little room for shock value, yet, the experience I have with them is always pleasurable.
There are the ones that intimidate me upon first sight: The Invisible Mountain; To the End of the Land; In the Garden of Beasts; War and Peace. They seem to take forever, but when I'm done, I find it was worth every invested minute.
There are those that are simply comfortable to be with. I go through them quickly, but cherish our time together: Tolstoy and the Purple Chair; My Enemy's Cradle; Let's Take the Long Way Home; Let the Great World Spin; The Housekeeper and the Professor; Dreams of Joy; The Invisible Wall; The Invisible Bridge. . .each week brings something new.
Their smell makes me tingle: glue, ink, a dab of chemical, sometimes a slight mustiness.
The swishing of their pages relaxes me; the low rubbing sound of my thumb as I turn each one satisfies an unknown need.
Their weight in my hands thrills me; the variation among them is astounding.
They prepare me for what is to come: Their heft, or lack of it, is laid out for all to see.
"There won't be any more books in 10 years," my 15-year-old son says often. "Everything will be electronic."
"That is the most depressing thought," I tell him. "Don't say that again."
Then I rush home and get into bed with my latest companion, knowing that one day, my affairs may not be nearly as sweet.
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Comments
and you're right...no two look alike. and I love having them, going back to them, reading them, even seeing the pages, some pages are actually familiar to me, having seen them many times.
Nice big print. Narrow field of vision.
I still miss turning the pages.
:-) / R
FM: I'm all for the Kindle if it helps people read more. I'm getting my son one for his birthday. I embrace technology, but for me, I know that nothing can replace the experience of physical books. You can always read some the old fashioned way and some on an e-reader.
torrito: Whatever it takes to keep reading--maybe they'll add sound effects to the Kindle!
It removes you fro m the words, somehow.
Then again, it is the words with their thoughts that matter most.
Then again, if anyone told me to "transfer it all", all my books,
to a device I just CANNOT TRUST like I trust this thing in my hands
that i can manipulate,
i would say, "i am a troglodyte of technology. Indulge me
my antiquated pleasures."
I don't see any way they can destroy all the books,
like they did to the tv when you gotta get digital.
I haven't tried an e-book yet, but spend a lot of time reading stuff on the computer screen, so... Yet nothing like turning off the machine, propping a book up in my steno-book holder, turning on the lamp...
These are beautiful love affairs.
I know I would miss occasionally licking my finger to turn a page. :)
rita: it's funny--my husband recently brought up an old stereo system from our basement and when I saw the turntable I wouldn't let him throw it out. I want to show my kids what a vinyl record sounds like.
DH: "a room without books is like a body without a soul"--i think that's Cicero
James: I remember hearing a salesman in Barnes & Noble telling a customer, "It's the words that matter, not the paper." I didn't want to ruin his sale so I kept my mouth shut.
Stim: I agree--each book I own says something about some time in my life.
jramelle: that's just how I feel--I'm all for technology but don't take away my choice of when I want to use it.
blu: I've missed your witty one liners! good to see you!
Thoth: Thanks and good to see you too!
Matt: Yes, civilization would definitely end for me without books!
Myriad: I spend a lot of time reading great stuff on the computer, here and on other sites, but for me, too, there is no comparison to curling up with a book.
Lea: Yes, and my son has no tolerance for it :)
Sheila: That's exactly it--I would read something on a Kindle to see what the experience is like, but I know it would never be intimate enough for me.
DHSS: I can't begin to imagine pushing a button to turn the page!
Heck, I am on a bus ; I am in love !
I refuse to believe e-readers can actually replace books. The resurgence will come as the desire for solidity and the tactile qualities of books are missed more and more, or the critical peak mass of e-readers has been dropped on the ground and smashed, and the back wave of real live book page appreciation will begin!