Recently I read a blog post by a writer
Jill Smolinki, who says she does not keep many books in her house. I’m stymied. I have never met a writer who wasn’t a bit of a book hoarder.
http://www.jillsmolinski.com/heythere/2012/9/14/do-you-hoard-books.html
Granted some of us now use e readers. I read in any
format: books, e books, clay tablets. When I was in college, living in a small
apartment, I had stacks of books under my bed and inside my kitchen cabinets. Later,
when my then boyfriend moved in, he explained the kitchen was for cooking; it
was not a branch of the Columbus Public Library. He insisted we place food and
dishes in the cupboards. But he and I were both big readers, so the stacks of
books doubled. The only solution was to give some of them away.
I often reread books, so I tend to hold onto them. You can
tell my favorites by the post-its sticking out from the pages, and the
underlined passages. Being in the company of paper books soothes me the way
others might be placated by sitting on a park bench on a sunny afternoon.
Granted I love that, too, but nothing beats a rainy Saturday in a bookstore,
relaxing in an overstuffed chair, poring through a stack of books to choose which
will go home with you. But as the photo on Jill’s blog shows, one’s attachment to
books can get out of hand without sufficient space.
On a design show once I saw how books can be used a decor by
arranging them on the shelves by color. One of my living room shelves has books
arranged by tones.
Don't they have a nice aesthetic? They blend well with the family photos. Books are family.
Don't they have a nice aesthetic? They blend well with the family photos. Books are family.
I recently spent ten days on business/vacation in Seattle,
where I set aside time to visit Elliot Bay Books. http://www.elliottbaybook.com/
I entered Nirvana: rows and rows of books, real ones, not a dressed up toy shop
like Barnes & Noble. Call me old school, but this is what a bookstore is
supposed to look like. I was on my way to SEA TAC and had dragged my rolling
carry-on bag with me. A bookseller offered to hold it for me at the counter as
I browsed. I looked for staff recommendations, and someone named Kenny has similar taste in books, so I picked up a few he liked. (I was hoping to meet him and talk books, but he was off that day.)
I spent two hours (and seventy dollars) inside the bookshop.
I picked out five books (one was a gift
for Elizabeth.) Since my bag was full, I had to choose which books to ship home
and allow myself one to read on the plane, and had the rest mailed home.
A few days after I got back from the Northwest, the package arrived
from Elliot Bay. Inside were two carefully bundles wrapped in craft paper.. I took
the parcels out of the box and set them on a bureau in my living room, where
they sat for a day before I opened one. The other still remains an anticipated
gift. Yes, it’s silly. I know which book is in there, but because it’s still
wrapped, I look forward to the jolt I will get from studying its cover and
contents.
There is an aesthetic to a paper book not found in digital
format. I like the rough hewn paper, the fresh inky aroma of a new book. I like
to flip back to the cover and study the cover art, or gaze at the author’s
picture. Which can be done with an e reader, but not without jumping
though a few fiery hoops. I kept forgetting the title of the book I just finished
reading last night on my kindle, so each time I turned the device on I had to
hit the home key to see which title appeared at the top. And forget about
trying to find the cover illustration or the author pic.
All my kindle book smell the same.
For more on this see related post; http://bit.ly/12b77I1
Happy Writing ( and Reading).