Wednesday, January 2, 2013

I LIKE PAPER.......I'M OLD FASHIONED THAT WAY!



Throughout my life, I have had two constants, art and books.




As a very young child I would get lost in books. My grandfather read me Treasure Island and Black Beauty I don't know how many times.




When I was in school I would take out as many books as I was allowed. I loved the look of the library card and seeing who had read the book before me. I especially liked to be the first to sign my name on a new card. In High School I spend most of my lunch hour in the library I loved the quiet and being surrounded by my favourites, Bram Stoker, George Orwell, C.S. Lewis, Harper Lee ( To Kill A Mockingbird is my favourite book.)




I have the same feeling about books now as when I was given my first book to read. To touch the cover and binding of a book and open the pages to the wonder held within. The magic of the journey you are about to take and the characters you will meet, some you will love and some you may despise. The tears shed and the smile brought to your face with each chapter. The longing for the adventure to be just a little longer as you reach the end.



There is nothing like spending hours in a bookstore. The thousands of possibilities. Finding just the right one and taking it home. I love to spend a rainy afternoon engrossed in a book, turning each page and feeling the paper touch my finger tips making sure to never bend the back. I sip my tea and get lost in a good book.



This is not a book. There is no way you will ever convince me that these are as good as books.

Recently a friend of mine who is also a book groupie, told me he had one of these and he loved it. I was shocked. "How can you say that is as good as a book, it has no pages." " Yes that is true" he said " but, I can take it on vacation and it does not take up as much space as a paper book and I can make the letters as big as I want." I asked how much it cost to buy a book for this and he told me it was around the same for a new release in hard cover as a regular book. "But you don't have the book later." was my response.



And what about the bookmarks. I love bookmarks. I have quite a collection of them.


I fear for the day that there are no longer paper books. That a child will not know the joy of touching the pages.


And what about our libraries? And book stores? Are we coming to an age when there will no longer be rows of books lining shelves in libraries and little old books shops. I cannot bear the thought of not going into a shop and seeing the shelves sagging under the weight of all of the knowledge and adventures waiting to be had.


This is how I feel.


I will forever get lost in the pages of a book. I will hold them, smell them, and love them like old friends. I will sit in the library for hours in the quiet enjoying every moment of my book not rolling my finger across a screen to turn a page.

15 comments:

  1. Ditto my friend, great post....I have always loved books, reading, the turning of the pages, to be treasured .......still buy and read, a great love affair.......Blessings Francine.

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  2. I agree....this is an awesome post and I loved your story and photos. Very creative and fun. Books are the greatest.

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  3. Lovely post! As a child I was an avid reader. My dad subscribed me to the readers digest book collections and I had the complete set of nancy drew books. Sadly I don't read like i used to. And.i will admit I did buy a book on my ipad to try it out. I prefer a real book but surprisingly reading on the iPad isn't too bad ;)

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  4. Great post! I totally agree with you!

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  5. You know I agree with you wholeheartedly. No 'readers' for me. Give me a real book every time. That's my vow. You wrote beautifully about this, my friend.

    xo
    Claudia

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  6. I am conflicted as well. But I do worry about the loss of actual books in our world. My girls already have text books that exist only online. I love the library and the smell and I feel books are a real treasure. I hate the thought that they could go away.

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  7. This is a great post and I truly feel the same way. But i did get a kindle for xmas. Due to my circumstances I can't buy books much anymore. I have to borrow them from the library and I'm finding more of the books that I want to read, the library only has the digital version. I will always love actual books, but I will make do with the digital when I have to.
    blessings
    ~*~

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  8. I was given a Kindle some years ago. I always said I wouldn't get one, but I like it well enough, and have read a number of books on there, usually novels. However, I still love the real thing, and there are some books that I just wouldn't want to read this way. Nothing beats going into a bookshop and browsing for ages, and I love second-hand bookshops.
    Happy New Year to you!

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  9. I am not sure that electronics will ever take the place of books. I bought an Ipad to take with me on a trip. The recharging, connecting and all that was a pain. I have not finished paying for it and its now the proud possession of my 3 year old gr grandson. There is nothing like a book. Nothing like a book shop. Especially an old book shop even with book worms. I love my books, I wont be around to see the demise of the book because my grandkids love them.
    Janice

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  10. I agree 100%, the is Nothing like a book! They are truly one of the great loves of my life!

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  11. Totally agree! I collect bookmarks too. And Happy 2013!!

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  12. I agree...to hold a book is to have a new journey at hand. I will always buy the written word on paper.

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  13. I am astounded by this beautiful post and agree with every word, every picture illustrating so beautifully your love of books. Bravo!

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  14. I am so happy to have found you tonight. I cannot imagine living without reading or my life without my books around me. I love the smell of old and new books. I do have one thing to say about the Kindle. As I get older (72) my eyes are not as good and I have arthritis in my hands. The kindle has been a Godsend. I have been able to read books I would have never tackled because of their weight or small type. I have finished "Les Miserable" and "Anna Karenina"Your post was so beautiful and I agreed with all you said but I do think the Kindle can be helpful for elderly or handicapped people. I will be a faithful follower.

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  15. Hmmmmm, so i'm nosing around past posts ~ and I come upon this. Books. I dread there coming a time when REAL books cease to exist, not sure I want to live in that world.... a small computer with a story in it is NOT a book. I have so many books, i fear for the house's foundations; but I love my books, and magazines too... I will have my Hubby shore up the foundations before i give up my books. I grew up in a library... I love books... and learning and curling up with the cats and blankets and tea, and a good REAL book.
    I'm becoming fairly convinced that we were siblings separated at birth! ha ha :)))))

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