On the importance of books
A prep school here in MA ditched all the books in their library for three plasma TVs and a cappuccino machine.
A part of my soul just died typing that.
Obviously, I'm not adverse to technology, as I spend many an evening shackled to my computer. However, when I get tired of clicking TV Tropes, I retire to my nook, curl up in my recliner, and read a book. You remember what those are, right? Printed on paper and bound between two snazzy covers? A window into another world where I can get lost for hours, regardless of my remaining battery life? Something that doesn't make my eyes water when I stare too long into the deadbacklight?
There's something comforting about the physical presence of a book. While I'm willing to shop online for groceries, I have a harder time successfully purchasing books on the computer. Personally, I find it a more exciting venture to go to Borders and stare longingly at the shelves with all their pretty spines and cover art and the crackle of pages when I lift out a potential new friend and thumb gently through it. Maybe I'm horribly old fashioned. Maybe I'm just stuck in my ways. But today, Neil Gaiman posted a picture of one of his home libraries, and I literally cried with envy.
This, my friends, is a treasure. And no sign of a TV, let alone a $12,000 cappuccino machine.
What do you folks think about the (possible) death of books?
A part of my soul just died typing that.
Obviously, I'm not adverse to technology, as I spend many an evening shackled to my computer. However, when I get tired of clicking TV Tropes, I retire to my nook, curl up in my recliner, and read a book. You remember what those are, right? Printed on paper and bound between two snazzy covers? A window into another world where I can get lost for hours, regardless of my remaining battery life? Something that doesn't make my eyes water when I stare too long into the deadbacklight?
There's something comforting about the physical presence of a book. While I'm willing to shop online for groceries, I have a harder time successfully purchasing books on the computer. Personally, I find it a more exciting venture to go to Borders and stare longingly at the shelves with all their pretty spines and cover art and the crackle of pages when I lift out a potential new friend and thumb gently through it. Maybe I'm horribly old fashioned. Maybe I'm just stuck in my ways. But today, Neil Gaiman posted a picture of one of his home libraries, and I literally cried with envy.
This, my friends, is a treasure. And no sign of a TV, let alone a $12,000 cappuccino machine.
What do you folks think about the (possible) death of books?