Someone noted he (she?) liked the smell of books, the feel etc., and was also of the fountain pen persuasion, so to speak.
Well, I have never been a collector, and I honestly think that the "smell and feel" argument is nonsensical. I think it's a question of being a collector or not.
Years before I developed a hypersensitivity to many (extremely many) manmade materials, including printing ink and so on, I didn't like books. I never did; Dust collectors and annoyingly "in your face", just like LP's and later on cd's (or video films for that matter).
So, what I did back then was to hide everything behind doors. There's no need to be looking at it. It's nothing more (or less) than contents for me.
When I moved into audio production in 1998-99, I was propably one of the last persons in this country to learn how to edit on reel-to-reel machines, and although I enjoyed the physical aspects of it (having a physical piece of tape with a sentence on it hanging there waiting to to be inserted was something special. Six months later I was editing on computers, using digital all the way through the production chain.
Why? Well, it was easier, quicker and there was no big machines, no storage room full of useless reels and it was just the thing for someone like me.
I have worked on and off in the news paper and magazine industry (as a journalist, that is), and although I take notes by hand, even when talking on the phone, I don't keep the notebooks. I have a "system" when I work as a journo: Two small drawers, and every time one is full, it get shifted and the last one is tossed out. If it were up to me, I'd toss them out much sooner, but it's good to have one's notes as documentation.
I digress, I'm sorry, but my point is, that even though I'm a minimalist, like to have everything hidden away, and so on, I do like "old fashioned" stuff, the look, feel and smell of it - and my hypersensitivty to plastics, ink etc. have merely made it a tad more pronounced.
I use fountain pens (classic Lamy 2000's - another minimalist pen), my notepad (paper-thingy) is covered in leather, my travel bags are old fashioned and so on. My furniture is all Scandinavian minimalist design, mostly made from oak and ash, and there's wool on the couch and so on.
I
do get the hankering for "feel" and "smell", I just think it's a collector's thing when it comes to books. I bet you that most of the people that use it as an argument for physical books", likes to display them in their home, and prefer to own the books rather than borrow them.
Btw, I'm hoping I'm allowed to attach a picture or two of my dream home. It's the "Ushimado Atelier" by some Japanese architect. The facade is made from burnt cedar which is then oiled, hence the black-brown colour. It has texture, it has everything, and it's about as empty as I'd like it (I'd need some speakers in there, though): Nothing to distract you while you work.
Sorry about the length of this. But it got me thinking.
