On the Treatment of Books
I just finished Perdido Street Station. My head hurts in a great way, and my soul's got that burden of feeling a bit dirtier and fatigued after finishing a really enjoyable, if somewhat difficult book.
During cleanup, I had the good fortune of sitting around a table with Wildchild, Playground, HazMatt and Big Spoon after some of the best Shepherd's Pie ever, discussing books. She was citing a part of Ex Libris; at some point the author segregates the book-reading community into two types of readers based on how they physically treat books: Visceral and Courtly - and I apologize if I misunderstood the point, however:
Visceral readers typically put their books through the wringer; they carry them with them, dog-ear the pages, and generally by the end of it, the book comes out worse for the wear, weathered, and certainly experienced.
Courtly readers are much more attentive to the condition of their books in that they will go to great lengths to preserve the physical condition of the book, use bookmarks, etc. Their books, therefore, remain pristine, 'mint' as it were.
Now what I had some differentiating thoughts on, were that for one, I don't like to be bolt-holed as one or the other, but I can definitely say that typically I'm more visceral with my books. There's also a situational aspect to the treatment of books. Like, I wouldn't mistreat the Family Bible that goes back fifteen generations, or I would certainly treat a First Edition American Gods with respect and reverence. At any rate, I think that many authors expect a book to be treated viscerally as a result of the relationship between the author and the reader. Some books are destined to be worn and ragged during their lifetime - that it's a part of their raison d'etre. Anyhoo, more perhaps, later.
But a parting curiosity: where do you feel like you typically fall in? Visceral, Courtly, or some hybrid like myself?
Hasta!
During cleanup, I had the good fortune of sitting around a table with Wildchild, Playground, HazMatt and Big Spoon after some of the best Shepherd's Pie ever, discussing books. She was citing a part of Ex Libris; at some point the author segregates the book-reading community into two types of readers based on how they physically treat books: Visceral and Courtly - and I apologize if I misunderstood the point, however:
Visceral readers typically put their books through the wringer; they carry them with them, dog-ear the pages, and generally by the end of it, the book comes out worse for the wear, weathered, and certainly experienced.
Courtly readers are much more attentive to the condition of their books in that they will go to great lengths to preserve the physical condition of the book, use bookmarks, etc. Their books, therefore, remain pristine, 'mint' as it were.
Now what I had some differentiating thoughts on, were that for one, I don't like to be bolt-holed as one or the other, but I can definitely say that typically I'm more visceral with my books. There's also a situational aspect to the treatment of books. Like, I wouldn't mistreat the Family Bible that goes back fifteen generations, or I would certainly treat a First Edition American Gods with respect and reverence. At any rate, I think that many authors expect a book to be treated viscerally as a result of the relationship between the author and the reader. Some books are destined to be worn and ragged during their lifetime - that it's a part of their raison d'etre. Anyhoo, more perhaps, later.
But a parting curiosity: where do you feel like you typically fall in? Visceral, Courtly, or some hybrid like myself?
Hasta!