Saturday, May 16, 2009

Death of the Book

I know we are living in a world that is insistent on making life easier and accessible all times. You can talk to anyone at any time, update you status, change your flight, and communicate with your entire family with the simple click of a button. I will freely admit I love the advances in technology. I am guilty of of being "connected" at all times.

With that said - I love books. I love the smell of books. There is something so great about getting on a flight, sitting on the beach, or being curled up on the couch on a rainy day with a hefty book. Little books I'm sure are equally good, but there's something about the hefty book that makes me feel like I'm "really reading". Sadly the days of the "the book" are numbered. Everywhere I turn I see or hear about someone lounging around with their Kindle. Kindle this, Kindle that. It makes me ill. If you have a Kindle I mean no offense to you, but I must admit the idea of the Kindle itself offends me greatly and it saddens me.

The days of hanging out in the library and bringing home a bag full of books, wondering how you are going to read them all before they are due are numbered. Mindless afternoons wandering around Borders, Barnes & Noble, and Half Priced Books are numbered. Soon, even those dumb Harlequin romance books that middle aged women purchase will be considered "antiques" because they are actual books. Now if the thought of the Kindle doesn't offend you, the thought of anything with Fabio on the cover being considered an antique or a classic should be offensive.

And for those getting ready to say "Books will never go away", I would like you to please find me a current 45", an 8 track, or even a cassette tape.

So in summary....Video Killed The Radio Star, like Kindle Killed The Book.

Thank you and good day. I said GOOD DAY!

5 comments:

Melissa said...

ALright Fez...lol

I admit, I wanted a Kindle but after doing some research and taking a look at it - its just not the same as a book. The smell, the torn pages, being able to just throw them in my bag...which I can't do with a Kindle.

So, what about Audio Books? What's your take on that? I'm sort of torn.

mp said...

I do not own a Kindle nor do I want one. I don't really understand it honestly. I LOVE the library and that bag you described that we take in and fill to the very top I think the handles might break off. Lately I've been buying my books off Amazon and sadly, not going to the library anymore. I want these books to be mine and all mine. The idea of putting them on my bookshelf when I'm done reading is exciting to me. So I buy them used for a few bucks on Amazon.

My fav kind of books are the kind with the library plastic on the outside of them. Reminds me of elementary school, sitting in a circle on the floor and the teacher reading a library book to us. Ahh, to be a kid again.

Sandrine McCurdy said...

Audio Books - I've never listened to one, but to me. It seems like the slackers way to "read" a book. Although it would be good for road trips I suppose. I have a tendency to cry when a book is sad or something great happens. I wonder if listening to a book has the same emotional pull on you.

I love the plastic library book cover!! Have you noticed library books smell different than store bought books? I'm always torn with dropping a stupid amount of money on a book so I can put it on the shelf, or just borrowing from the library. I love them both for different reasons!

Tiffany said...

I don't want a Kindle either. Books have been such a major influence in my life. I can pick up a book off my shelf and be transported back to different times in my life and places I have traveled. I love how books can be tossed into a bag or purse or shoved into a back pocket and how the creases only give it more character...life! I love buying a used book and finding the original receipt tucked between the pages, and thinking of that person, who they are, what their motivations were. I hope books never go a way. Vinyl is back in! If vinyl has hope so do books!

Christina Buhler said...

hmmm something to think abut for sure... I love your passion! Not sure how i feel ...in canada where i live books cost a ton of money..almost double what it is in the states..Kindle is way more affordable..but i agree there is nothing like a big book on a rainy day! Also i dont think i would be comfortable taking a kindle into the bath!( which i do with books quite often...