Wednesday, August 24, 2011

The Book

Book, 2011

I fear the loss of them and their beautiful imperfections revealed by time and use.

19 comments:

  1. I feel exactly the same way. Books have meant so much to me, it breaks my heart.

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  2. You are a girl after my own heart.

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  3. I too feel the same way. Ever since I had to leave my book shop job, it's been something I couldn't quite bring myself to write about in depth...perhaps I'm getting closer to sharing in the future...but I do find myself clinging to still buying books and browsing in a book shop. It's the tangibility of a book in my hands that makes everything special. Book are friends that have character especially the more they are used and loved.

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  4. A chain of bookstores has just closed in our area.

    Though I shop at the independent stores whenever possible, I will buy a book anywhere, anytime.

    I mourn when another store closes it's doors.

    It's like living in a science fiction novel. No more books.

    SHUDDER.

    XO Jane

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  5. beautiful beautiful books, real books. i couldn't live without them.

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  6. So do I, so do I. I love that they clutter my house. The feel of the pages, the cracking of the spine, the notes inside a used book. All wonderful treasures to be had and enjoyed.

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  7. I just landed, and I'm in love with this place already.
    Thank you for being here.
    Lilli

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  8. i agree completely. i suppose one day soon they will be like records. le sigh.

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  9. I fear their disappearance on an almost visceral level yet I dare to dream that this ferocious love that so many of us have for their presence will prevail and that beautiful books will continue to find a home with those of us who care.

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  10. Somehow there is nothing like the feel of a well made book. I've had the pleasure of building a few, and handling many. This is something no technology can diminish or replace.

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  11. I once lent my favorite ever book (crime and punishment) with my underlined sentences and notes on the side of the pages and coffee stains to a friend... I never saw it again. It crushed me. I lost it forever, and with it a part of me, all those pieces of me, those notes, those nights spent thinking about the dilemma...just me and Raskolnikov... (Note to self: NEVER ever lend books you care about. Rather buy one and gift the new one)

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  12. I understand both sides of the book v. electronic format issue. Many people are reading more than ever, thanks to electronic devices, and that is a wonderful thing. My hope is that both forms will continue to coexist, forever. When I read electronically, I miss the small details of book design that I'd never noticed until faced with their absence.

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  13. There's nothing quite like a book. Its smell, the sound of its pages turning. I believe they WILL survive. There are so many people who love them and there is an undercurrent in society of people returning to basics, to what's 'real'. Look at what happened with Polaroid, look at the renewed interest in crafts. I'm quietly optimistic. Now, if we could go back to records as well ... I used to love that moment of anticipation when the needle came down, that sound before the music started. I miss it. I also loved the artwork of the album sleeves.

    X E.

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  14. yup. me too.
    but i think they will become like records [vinyl] there will always be those of us that have them.

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  15. nothing can replace a book... we'll keep them!

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  16. I did love album covers, the artwork and the lyrics, but I no longer have a record player. I let records drift out of my life.

    It is clear that most of us feel the book as an actual object is something special. If enough of us continue to buy books I believe they will continue to be made.

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  17. Tempting as the idea of having a wad of books on an electronic device, I don't think I ever could go there. There is something in the look, the feel and smell, the design, the tangibility of an actual book that can never be replaced by a screen.

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