Down the Rabbit Hole

Bookland - What's the World Coming Too?

“She breathed deeply of the scent of decaying fiction, disintegrating history, and forgotten verse, and she observed for the first time that a room full of books smelled like dessert: a sweet snack made of figs, vanilla, glue, and cleverness.”
― Joe Hill, NOS4A2

I recently was given tickets to a Great Book Weekend when it was hosted in my region. I eagerly planned my day, noting which talks with authors and workshops I wanted to participate in. I browsed the tables with all the shiny new books on display and gazed at the authors in their panel discussions with the anticipated mix of jealousy and admiration. All the while, something begged my attention like a pesky gnat buzzing in and out of the range of my swinging hand. It wasn't until I was making my last pass through the author's tables that I realized what it was...most of the people in attendance fell into the "Over the age of 60" range. Once I noticed, it became painfully obviously that there were very few young people and only a smattering of middle-agers like myself. What was happening out there in Bookland?

I had to wonder, again, if the technology of e-readers and ipads was making actual printed books so obsolete that we were losing the connection with the medium completely. I recognize that e-readers have had a wonderful affect on new and unrepresented writers achieving greater publication success with many firms specializing in delivering works directly to kindle-type devices. I know that I myself have benefited from having my work accepted by various ezines and websites. I'm grateful for the exposure but I've also resisted the lure of the devices themselves. There is, in my opinion, just no substitute for the tactile feel, smell, heft of a book. It is part of the experience, part of the passion of the pursuit of a good read, to wander through the aisles in bookstores or libraries, browsing the titles, the cover art, flipping it over to read the author's bio. It's part of the ritual for me to climb in bed with a good book, crack it open to where I've likely dog-earred the page where I left off the night before, my fingers automatically smoothing the fold line flush again as I submerge myself in the printed words. E-readers don't give me the same thrill, electronic ink does not stir me in the same way. It feels too sanitized in some way, too sterile. I get that its easier to travel without one or two books crammed in your purse everywhere you go. I understand that those slim devices hold mini libraries and take up far less room. I may be a silly hold-out but I don't mind leaving room for Wally Lamb's latest three pound masterpiece in my carry-on. I don't mind brushing the sand off my page before I turn it, or balancing it on my lap on the train. I would be missing something essential if I were to give up the book, give up print. Likewise, I'm far prouder of my pieces that have made it into print anthologies and actual magazines than those that have enjoyed a limited life in electronic ink. They seem somehow more credible, more tangible for me.

There is also this,...In our recent history, we have lived through several decades in times when books have been banned and even burned. Anyone who's glimpsed those burning pires of literary gems and rebels can't help but understand the importance of preserving them. Men and women have been driven to write with the same voracious appetite and insatiable passion that the masses have yearned to read. Books have been smuggled, hidden, preserved, banned, scandalized, destroyed, revered and protected all over the world since the beginning of time when scribes first put ink to scroll by candlelight. Books are symbols of our human journey.

So maybe I am one of the few left that still prefers my fiction without the technological bells and whistles...well, me and most of the female population over the age of 56....but that's okay. I let my daughter read her ipad stories as her friends do, but I also take her to the library. I let her roam the aisles, browse the books and pick out the ones that catch her eye. I tell her stories but I also read to her from books. Whenever possible, I order from her scholastic book flyer to give her personal library a boost and I hope she gets the same rush I did when her new books come in. When she gets old enough, I'll get her a library card and hope it becomes her passport to wonderful and amazing worlds like I did for me.