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Alisa · 10-17-2009, 01:54 AM

Wow. This thread is packed full of great stuff and I'm sure I've missed plenty. Please forgive me if I'm going back to anything already addressed.

I would like to address the paper book love. If your mental image when you speak of paper books is the lovely embossed leather-bound volume of yesteryear, I just want to say that it doesn't reflect now. If it did, that would mean only the rich could have books and I certainly don't want to go back there. Get over it. Yes, books can be gorgeous. I take joy in a lovely artisanal printing of a great book. While I love the aesthetic idea of a vast library of these lovely works, the reality of my book-loving life is that this is rare. Most books I read are, by both definition and connotation, ephemeral. I shall read them once and not again. Printing them even on cheap paper and binding would be a waste. I could count on my hands the books that I would read over and over through the years. I have very few high-quality paper books. Most of my books are mass-market paperbacks and cloth-bound hardbacks. Since I do not own a stately home with a large library, my largely low quality books overflow my space. If you make this pro-paper argument to me, be prepared to show me a vast room of leather bound volumes. If you can't, shut your fantasy self up. Most book lovers I know have libraries that look like mine: cheap paper cramped on shelves and full of dust.

Part of my sentimental self would like to have my best beloveds in beautiful bindings so I could have every aspect of them glorify their great art. They don't need to be glorified to me, however. If what you want is a library that speaks your interests to others, dead trees on a shelf aren't the only way or even the best way. They reach very few people. I might occasionally spy an interesting book on my friends' shelves but I guarantee you I've spent less time taking them in than they've spent thinking about them. I'm a guest. I'm busy visiting. I'll get more book ideas out of conversation than I will looking at their shelves. I've seen plenty of folks with stocked shelves and barren minds. After all, I don't know what you've actually read and understood. What I see on your bookshelves won't make that big of a difference in my opinion of you compared to a few minutes of conversation. If you want to show me your collection, the web can do that better than a dust-gathering shelf in your house.

Oh, and the bath thing, just get a freaking plastic bag. Is that so hard?

10-17-2009, 01:54 AM	#69
Alisa Gadget Geek Posts: 2,324 Karma: 22221 Join Date: Aug 2007 Device: Paperwhite, Kindle 3 (retired), Skindle 1.2 (retired)	Wow. This thread is packed full of great stuff and I'm sure I've missed plenty. Please forgive me if I'm going back to anything already addressed. I would like to address the paper book love. If your mental image when you speak of paper books is the lovely embossed leather-bound volume of yesteryear, I just want to say that it doesn't reflect now. If it did, that would mean only the rich could have books and I certainly don't want to go back there. Get over it. Yes, books can be gorgeous. I take joy in a lovely artisanal printing of a great book. While I love the aesthetic idea of a vast library of these lovely works, the reality of my book-loving life is that this is rare. Most books I read are, by both definition and connotation, ephemeral. I shall read them once and not again. Printing them even on cheap paper and binding would be a waste. I could count on my hands the books that I would read over and over through the years. I have very few high-quality paper books. Most of my books are mass-market paperbacks and cloth-bound hardbacks. Since I do not own a stately home with a large library, my largely low quality books overflow my space. If you make this pro-paper argument to me, be prepared to show me a vast room of leather bound volumes. If you can't, shut your fantasy self up. Most book lovers I know have libraries that look like mine: cheap paper cramped on shelves and full of dust. Part of my sentimental self would like to have my best beloveds in beautiful bindings so I could have every aspect of them glorify their great art. They don't need to be glorified to me, however. If what you want is a library that speaks your interests to others, dead trees on a shelf aren't the only way or even the best way. They reach very few people. I might occasionally spy an interesting book on my friends' shelves but I guarantee you I've spent less time taking them in than they've spent thinking about them. I'm a guest. I'm busy visiting. I'll get more book ideas out of conversation than I will looking at their shelves. I've seen plenty of folks with stocked shelves and barren minds. After all, I don't know what you've actually read and understood. What I see on your bookshelves won't make that big of a difference in my opinion of you compared to a few minutes of conversation. If you want to show me your collection, the web can do that better than a dust-gathering shelf in your house. Oh, and the bath thing, just get a freaking plastic bag. Is that so hard? Last edited by Alisa; 10-17-2009 at 01:58 AM.