Comments on: Books as Fingerprints

By: Michelle

Michelle — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 07:01:55 +0000

I’m going to break with the flow here and say I love my e-Reader so much it has replaced physical books. But it’s not because I don’t love books – it’s because now I can take my entire library with me wherever I go. Recently, I found a secluded corner of the gardens in the Alhambra, near a water fountain, and was able to pull out Gabriel Guy Kay’s Lions of Al Rassan, which it reminded me of, and begin to reread it.

I never thought eBooks would replace books for me, I always thought the romance of the smell and feel and page turn could never be replaced. But given that when I’m reading, I can have the house fill with smoke from burning cookies, or miss my train stop, and not notice… it doesn’t matter how it’s delivered, it’s the world and not the medium that is important to me.

As to the fingerprint, the flip side to that is that it means you can read the books you’re not proud of – the guilty pleasures – without judgement. On the plane, I was reading the Mysterious Benedict Society, and no one blinked at me reading a book obviously aimed at a younger audience.

I’m not saying you’re wrong – I’m just sharing the reasons why I went over to the dark side.

By: Meagan

Meagan — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 21:22:31 +0000

I love used bookstores too! To me it’s the smell and the feel of the air when I step inside. It’s like the outside world falls away.

By: Tim

Tim — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 20:44:59 +0000

Perfect post. I think books are a unique thing, not at all like the video player comparision, because when we look at them we get a sudden flash of rememberance from them, e.g: A favourite scene, a least favourite scene, some rememberance of the point of time that we read them. It’s like hanging up a trophy (although I’d rather hang something fitness relatedXD).
Also, I think readers are a sneaky way of getting rid of the second hand book business. I love walking into a second hand bookstore:O

By: Meagan

Meagan — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 13:58:13 +0000

I love this comment!

I will say that it was living in Australia that convinced me that I would eventually get an e-reader for certain things. I had to leave me whole collection of books behind in the U.S., and while my housemate had an AWESOME collection, there were still some books I wished I could get at!

By: Glaiza

Glaiza — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 05:23:42 +0000

I love this post. I looked up at my bookshelf straight after reading your thoughts. I realized the books on my shelf which resonated with me the most also have tangible memories of reading them at a specific time and place whilst also being swallowed whole by the book itself in those memories.

That said – I recently bought an e-reader to buy books that are difficult to get in Australia and e-released novellas because the computer screen hurts my eyes. Although, I’m already making mental notes to buy the print versions of the really good books I’ve read once I have enough saved

By: Meagan

Meagan — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 18:35:31 +0000

I love that this post has found me so many kindred spirits! Sometimes I feel like one of the only people on the planet who sees books this way, as identity, not just entertainment. <3

By: Meagan

Meagan — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 18:34:49 +0000

I’ve read a books on my mother’s Kindle, and I have to admit my experience reading them just wasn’t the same as with a physical book. Maybe it’s something you get used to? But while I wouldn’t mind one for reading manuscripts, when it comes to total immersion… I still want a BOOK.

It’s totally an accident of alphabetization that your books are SMACK dab in the middle of my bookshelves! I love them there, though.

By: Meagan

Meagan — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 18:33:23 +0000

Unsettling–I agree! As a realist, I have to say that there’s probably some day in the future when physical books will cease to exist as we know them now. But I don’t think that’s going to be for a long time, yet. And I hope that even when they’re not in bookstores and so forth, I hope you can still GET physical books as keepsakes/physical reminders of the books you love!

By: Meagan

Meagan — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 18:32:16 +0000

I’m so glad you liked it!

Donating books is great–I do it, too! But the ones I keep are all important to me in some way. They’re the ones that even if I’m not planning on rereading them, they’ve still touched me in some way as I’ve grown up.

By: Beth

Beth — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 13:22:24 +0000

This is exactly the way I feel. When I stand in front of my bookcases, I see a history of my life through books. I’m sure I’ll get an e-reader someday, but for the books I truly love, I’ll buy a hard copy too!