Mourning the passing of paper
I, along with most of the planet, have been enjoying books in an electronic form these days. They are cheaper and easier to buy etc. Today, however, I was going through my actual book collection and delighting in the very booky feel and connections with the past they engendered.
A Harry Potter book I have is stained with the juice of cherries from when I sat up til dawn one summer night after its release eating cherries and reading. A train ticket is in The Turn of the Screw from when I took the train from Amherst to St. Albans and then a bus to Montreal one January. Others have phone numbers and notes to myself written in them.
I took photos of two books that sort of made my heart break. Time marches on I suppose.
First is a copy of Wodehouse that I got in a used bookstore.
It was printed in 1945.
The paper feels thin and delicate but it's stood up remarkably well. Plus you can send it to any boy in the armed forces for just 4 cents.
The second book is Gately's Universal Educator from 1883.
With marbled end pages and illustrations throughout.
Sometimes I use leaves as bookmarks and forget about them.
Gatley's views on other cultures make for interesting reading. I like his view that the Scottish are henceforth more loyal to England than the English.
I wonder if Gately would mourn the passing of penmanship.
There's an amusing chapter on medicine. I think he's trying to describe the treatment for someone having a stroke. He says, "First make sure the subject is not dead-drunk..."
Good advice never goes out of style.
A Harry Potter book I have is stained with the juice of cherries from when I sat up til dawn one summer night after its release eating cherries and reading. A train ticket is in The Turn of the Screw from when I took the train from Amherst to St. Albans and then a bus to Montreal one January. Others have phone numbers and notes to myself written in them.
I took photos of two books that sort of made my heart break. Time marches on I suppose.
First is a copy of Wodehouse that I got in a used bookstore.
It was printed in 1945.
The paper feels thin and delicate but it's stood up remarkably well. Plus you can send it to any boy in the armed forces for just 4 cents.
The second book is Gately's Universal Educator from 1883.
With marbled end pages and illustrations throughout.
Sometimes I use leaves as bookmarks and forget about them.
Gatley's views on other cultures make for interesting reading. I like his view that the Scottish are henceforth more loyal to England than the English.
I wonder if Gately would mourn the passing of penmanship.
There's an amusing chapter on medicine. I think he's trying to describe the treatment for someone having a stroke. He says, "First make sure the subject is not dead-drunk..."
Good advice never goes out of style.