MobileRead Forums - View Single Post

Poppa1956 · 07-08-2010, 02:05 AM

I grew up loving books. I used to spend hours perusing books my grandfather got when my mother was little, or even before she was born. I learned to appreciate the arts of typography and binding that would help make great classic books works of art, or nearly such.
As the son of a journeyman printer, I had the privilege of occasional trips to work with my father. I got to see him compose pages from fonts that were held in bins (and "uppercase" letters were in the upper case of bins, "lowercase" letters in the lowers). Changing the font might require a significant physical effort. The Lithograph (or Linotype) was a wonderful labor-saving machine involving molten lead, some things called "pigs" that didn't look porcine in anyway I recognized, and my father typing using one finger on each hand.
Holding a well-crafted tome will often evoke all these fond memories. The scent of ink from a new book, or the musty aroma of ancient volumes can move me to tears if I allow myself to get mawkish about it.
I enjoy the fact that I can read a page in smallish print in the morning, and enlarge the type as my eyes fatigue near the end of the day. I enjoy being able to carry three Bibles, as many devotionals, some headline news, Bulfinch's Age of Fables, a few Dummies® books, the MR Book-of-the-Month selection, and almost whatever my little heart desires and it weighing 343 grams in toto.
I do not miss the smell of ink, or the textures of the paper and covers of traditional books while I am enjoying my Nook, nor have I forgotten those sensations.
Am I allowed to enjoy each reading experience while partaking of the same?

07-08-2010, 02:05 AM	#70
Poppa1956 Evangelist Posts: 487 Karma: 344188 Join Date: May 2010 Location: Oregon, USA Device: Verizon Ellipsis Tablit w/Kindle and Nook apps.	My .00025¢, allowing for inflation. I grew up loving books. I used to spend hours perusing books my grandfather got when my mother was little, or even before she was born. I learned to appreciate the arts of typography and binding that would help make great classic books works of art, or nearly such. As the son of a journeyman printer, I had the privilege of occasional trips to work with my father. I got to see him compose pages from fonts that were held in bins (and "uppercase" letters were in the upper case of bins, "lowercase" letters in the lowers). Changing the font might require a significant physical effort. The Lithograph (or Linotype) was a wonderful labor-saving machine involving molten lead, some things called "pigs" that didn't look porcine in anyway I recognized, and my father typing using one finger on each hand. Holding a well-crafted tome will often evoke all these fond memories. The scent of ink from a new book, or the musty aroma of ancient volumes can move me to tears if I allow myself to get mawkish about it. I enjoy the fact that I can read a page in smallish print in the morning, and enlarge the type as my eyes fatigue near the end of the day. I enjoy being able to carry three Bibles, as many devotionals, some headline news, Bulfinch's Age of Fables, a few Dummies® books, the MR Book-of-the-Month selection, and almost whatever my little heart desires and it weighing 343 grams in toto. I do not miss the smell of ink, or the textures of the paper and covers of traditional books while I am enjoying my Nook, nor have I forgotten those sensations. Am I allowed to enjoy each reading experience while partaking of the same? Last edited by Poppa1956; 07-08-2010 at 02:06 AM. Reason: Not everything is either/or, but I do still look both ways before crossing the street. It is either the bus, or me.