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I have a dream.
Not a MLK kind of dream.
Not the sleep kind of dream, either.
The wish kind of dream.
{ fin }
Which I guess is sort of like a MLK dream. But not nearly so important.
I’ve had it for a long time.
I have a dream that one day I will I will sit Granny down in her recliner and place a certain gift box in her lap.
There is an Attorney version of the same dream where he is kicked back in his big leather club chair.
Both dreams end the same way.
Each one opens the box to find my first book inside.
My book that I intend to write.
One day.
But I have a feeling that it’s not going to ever happen.
Not because Granny is 94 and who knows how many years or months she has left.
But because who knows how many years or months books have left.
Things like the iNookKindlePad are putting actual real-live dead-tree books on the endangered list.1
That makes me sad.
Because a big part of the reading experience will be lost.
I love that experience. The joy of it comes from more than just the words on the page.
It’s also way the words are typeset on the page; the way the page feels on your finger tips; the size and weight and smell of the book.
You can’t get that from a dry, sterile, flat piece of glass and circuitry.
For example, last summer when I decided to read “Gone With The Wind” for the first time, I discovered several different editions at the book store. Hardback, paperback, this cover, that cover, pulpy pages, smoother pages, etc. I picked up and handled a copy of each one of them until I found the one that felt most like “Gone With The Wind.”
That may sound silly, I know. But such an epic story needed to come out of a book that felt epic.
I doubt that anything I write will be epic or on the order of “Gone With The Wind,” but I’m not too crazy about my life long dream ending with “Here, Granny, this is my first book. It’s inside that thing along with some angry birds and a People Magazine.”
And I don’t think it’s just electronics that is killing books.
I think that, in general, fewer and fewer people read anymore.
Read books, I mean.
Sure, they read blogs, Twitter and Facebook (which is really much more abut faces than books). And admittedly I am contributing to the demise of books with my own blog, Twitter account, and Facebook page.
But up until recently I assumed that people were still reading actual books as well.
I mentioned on Twitter the other day that all the talk about the new Harry Potter movie was fascinating to me because while I got a kick out of the books, I never have gotten into the movies.
I got a response from several people that they loved the movies but have never read the books.
That shocked me. I just figured that anyone seeing the movies had an interest in them because of the books.
I mean, who doesn’t like books?
With a good book and your mind, you can create an infinite world, while a film limits you to the specifics of someone in Hollywood.
As someone who likes to write, it’s hard to imagine that there are people who don’t like to read.
It’s like Willy Wonka discovering that folks don’t like chocolate.
Granted, I’ve haven’t written anything much in over a month.
I think because it’s summer.
I never have written much in the summer.
Maybe it’s a sort of “school’s out” thing held over from childhood.
Where I did always spend my summers reading.
As well as swimming and playing and getting filthy from sunrise until well after dark.
Now, as an adult, I still swim as much as I can. And I definitely still like playing and being filthy.
But it’s a whole different kind of play and filth now.
And I still love to read.
Books.
What am I going to do when they are virtually gone?
- a list that is probably virtual now, too. [↩]
Morning Tony,
I agree with you – people are readng less and less. They browse the blogs and feeds but don’t really read them, just the 10 sec blurb on what’s trending.
Sad really.
I love books. I have book cases of them. My dream is to have a cottage style home in the country some day with a room full of booksm a big comfy chair and a fireplace. A room where you can get away from it all and retreat into the pages of another world of dimension for hours upon hours. Shutting out the real world.
The real world is getting pretty scary. People like Amy Winehouse and Lindsay Lohan are “news”. Not the world I want to live in.
And yes, while we can have some fun on blogs and twitter and such – we are losing a generation to electronics.
I love how a good book can make my heart race and keep me up until all hours to see what happens next. I don’t get that with movies. Trying to cram a story into 90 minutes is just not the same thing.
I think I will head off to the book store today to see what treasures I can find. An importnat reminder to keep my dream alive of filling my room some day. A room full of books with a big comfy chair and stories of far away lands and heroes whose make me hope.
I have something that’s in my lap that you left me, lol. (I wish!)
Technologies may change, but there will ALWAYS be books.
If you lose battery power or electricity, you can still read a book.
When I look at my bookcases I see old friends.
I do not have to remember what is loaded on the ‘device’.
They are there for all. Not only personal consumption. Vive le press!
I was having a discussion on this topic with a librarian friend and colleague of mine the other day, and she offered a perspective that got me thinking about my long-held dislike for e-readers. She reads a ton of stuff, both because of her profession and because she’s a book-lover. But not everything she reads is something she necessarily wants to buy and take home with her to keep. Using the e-reader allows her to sample new stuff fairly cheaply, and if she likes it, she can then buy the dead-tree version to keep it around. Another thing she likes about the e-reader is that it makes taking “books” along when traveling (for vacation or otherwise) considerably easier.
As someone who’s been addicted to the printed word since he learned to read at age 4, that last point resonates with me. I always take books with me on vacation, or even when I’m making a quick business trip. There’s the endless waiting around at the airport, and quiet moments (or rainy days) that need filling. But dead-tree books take up space and add weight–both negatives in this day and age where we have to pay extra to bring luggage along–and schlep it through the airports ourselves. It might be nice to be able to load up an e-reader with interesting things, and tuck it away in my briefcase. Of course, being me, I’d probably still pack at least one dead-tree version. You never know when the batteries will die on an electronic device, or something else will screw it up.
On the negative side, I like to read in the tub–which is dangerous enough with the dead-tree versions, but at least if I happen to drop one of those in with me the only thing that’s damaged is the book. Dropping an e-reader might have other unpleasant consequences!
I doubt I’d ever go fully electronic, though. You’re right: interacting with a real book is a joy to more than just the eyes. There’s the heft and feel of the book itself, the texture of the pages as you turn them, the smell of the ink (or that lovely “old book” scent that you get when you walk into a library or an archive)–things you just can’t get from electrons lighting up an LED screen.
I take umbrage with your commenters views on
Amy Winehouse, a beautiful voice with a tortured soul about whom many hardback books will be written. I always worry when you are gone for a long period. Like the country song Where’ve you been, Im just not myself when you’re away. What you do for your grandmother may become your book. I do find some fascination that as independent as you are I always leave your blog wanting to know more. Dwight Williamson
I haven’t bought a paper based book in years. I’ve gone completely electronic. My computer, my phone, they all have the Kindle app on them.
I really won’t miss packing up a ton of books when we decide to move. And having them instantly accessible is quite nice too.
Hi Tony,
1. The good news is there isn’t enough time in ones life to read all the books that are already in print, so clear a room and make yourself your own private library!
2. I read one harry potter book. Liked it. I saw the movie of that first book too, and, as expected, it just didn’t cut it.
3. I hope you are having a good summer!
- David
I felt the same way about vinyl records. I missed the larger artwork and handling the piece of vinyl. But, our world is changing and I’ve learned that vinyl is not dead and, yeah, if and when I ever have to move, I won’t have to lug a ton of vinyl (they are heavy!).
I do still read (occasionally) a harbound book. On an recent trip, I was one of the few that I observed, actually reading a book! Just about everyone had their electronic device.
As a former school teacher, I did feel that we are losing our young to “reading”, at least in the traditional way. I was asking my students to take their books home and read and felt I was fighting an uphill battle most of the time. I strongly urged our school district to invest in lap tops, though I know they are expensive, so that our students would continue to read. But there is SO MUCH money invested in “traditonal” reading series that it would be bucking powerful and rich textbook companies.
We are really living in such a transitional time, where what we know, what is familiar to us, what we grew up with, is now becoming something new and different.
As long as there is demand, books will be around. I still regularly visit my library and enjoy browsing the aisles to select books I want to read.
I think its great that people are using eBooks to read as well. People can now leverage all their books in a personal handheld library. How fantastic is that?
I think that your dream is safe; Granny and the Attorney can be given a book if you write and publish one and maybe someone on the other side of the planet can download and read your story on their iPad or Kindle.
BosGuy
I think you are right…the art of reading is slowly disappearing. I won’t let my kids go see a movie in the theater until they have read the book. While the movies are fascinating, they never do the book justice. My girls count 78 inconsistencies in the last HP movie…things that were missed or placed out of order.
I used to have tons of books, but the move across country 13 years ago, saw the donating of cases and cases. My library is small now.
Mostly the books that I know I will reread again and again. I have tried to read on my iPad, but it is not the same as turning a page. I have one book that I have reread some many times it is falling apart, and sadly to replace it is becoming impossible because it has been out of print for so long.
It is becoming a lost art. Whenever I read my Niece’s or Nephews FB pages talking about how bored they are….what is there to do…I always suggest reading a book.
I don’t think books will ever disappear, but bookstores are closing at an alarming rate. Sometimes technology isn’t so great!
Thanks for the post.
Longtime library staff guy here. Tony, there is so much “information” out there that retrieving it electronically makes it easier. But when I read fiction I want a book to hold and carry. I loved reading my mother’s copy of Gone with the wind. It made it special, but damn that was one heavy hardback!
So, I think the two can co-exist. So many factual books are out of date when published, while a great novel will never be out of date. mwg
Welcome back. I missed your writing.
Love this post, Tony. Yes, I read internet stuff (or else I wouldn’t have discovered you and your great writing) but nothing can take the place of a book in my hands for enjoyment. Once my mind connected letters to words to sentences, I have never looked back. A day without reading is a day unlived. E-books may be the craze but I hope and pray that the joys of “real” books never dies. Think of all the knowledge lost if the grid dies.
It is summer and I have found my self re-reading a number of things, Tales of the City, Harry Potter (I don’t have all of them, so some to go yet)some biographies and a really scholarly tome on of all things same sex marriage in pre-modern Europe. I too love the feel of a book, I am so behind the times with the electronic stuff, I am writing this on my 9 year old computer…
I recommend Nicholas Carr’s The Shallows. His discussion includes the neurologic differences between e-reading, dead tree reading and the possible impact that these differences have in how we think and act. As others have noted above, I think that there is a place for both types of reading. However, reading a dead tree product is much more sensual – from the paper, to the typeface, the art, the binding etc. and is probably why it is more satisfying and engaging.
Wonderful post—you have beautifully described how I feel about reading actual books. And I’m privileged to have inherited some awesome old books from my grandparents and mom—they are treasures, especially the ones that are inscribed. My mom grew up in a family which gave books for every birthday, Chanukah, graduation, any other occasion, and a sentiment was always written on the first blank page.
I love running my fingers over these inscriptions, and feeling the love and warmth of my grandma and grandpa.
I love to read, always have. Just got a Nook as a gift and am seriously considering returning it. It just doesn’t feel right. The world is sterile enough as it is. The reading experience shouldn’t feel that way too, it is an escape from the real world.
Looking forward to reading your first book as a real book. Now get it started, remember, one word at a time.
I just finished reading the fifth book in the Game of Thrones series by George RR Martin and am now reading the Mistress of Nothing. I also just got a nook for my birthday. I think it is good to save trees, although they are a renewable resource. Books are heavy and I’ll see if I miss them when I use my nook. I agree that people should read more and think they don’t mainly because they are stupid and lazy.
Do you know what your book will be about? If you do, you should start right away. Life is a gift and we don’t know how long we have.
my Mom gave me a Kindle for my birthday, and it’s convenient, but like you, I find I miss the feel of a book …
almost as much as missing real books, I hate that bookstores are going out of business. The smell, the quiet, and the ability to lose one’s self among the shelves while browsing, reading a few pages of a potential buy, etc., just can’t be duplicated.
can’t wait for your book.
I have pondered about buying an E-Reader and decided against it. I love books, I love the feel, the anticipation of turning the page and the smell, yes books have a distinct smell.
Books forever!
I love books too… don’t worry friend. There are still some of us who will continue to read