Sunday 15 January 2012

Page Turning


I've made a pledge to read the printed word & added the button to my side bar. It was not a difficult pledge to make because there is a certain something about books that never fails to draw me in (especially when, having watched the video clip, you realize what they get up to at night!)

When I was a child, an elderly relation told me that disappearing in to a book was like entering another world. That feeling of wonder has never left me. The enjoyment levels are raised even higher when a previous reader has scribbled notes in the margins or left tantalizing glimpses of their life behind (postcards, tickets, letters, sketches, bookmarks, pressed flowers, money...)

I am no Luddite; I understand why kindles are so popular. If I was constantly on the move or going on a very long holiday or studying literature or living in the middle of nowhere, a kindle would be wonderful.

But, on the whole, the lure of the kindle seems to have passed me by. It's the page turning of an actual book that kindles my flame.

20 comments:

Frances said...

I do agree with you in seeing how electronic books might be wonderful for folks always on the go.

However, I absolutely love my New York City Public Library and also my subscriber library, The New York Society Library (www.nysoclib.org)
and just love turning the pages of paper books, old and new.

Cheers!

BadPenny said...

Oh I agree ! My daughter has a Kindle ( and hundreds of books ) It's wonderful to see her reading so much now as she is Dyslexic but it's a book for me and I read several on holiday !
That film is wonderful. I'm going to tell them about it at the charity shop as we are sure that things go on in the night !

KatEzat said...

Oh! I love that video. Dancing books!

I have a kindle which I love to read under the covers at night as the cover has a built in light and there is no page rustling to wake my hubby! Got Jane Eyre on the go now. :)

However, I also love the evidence of a book's previous life and regularly book swap, leaving my oldies for people to find and picking up others at a friendly book sharing shelf at Desy (science institution in Hamburg). Every business place should have a shelf like that!

litlove said...

Love this post! Would you believe, I am STILL trying to get that button into my sidebar? It's not just the fact that I much prefer paper in my hands that keeps me away from a kindle. It would be years before I ever managed to tackle any of its functions beyond turning the page...

tea with hazel said...

oh dear..i had to google 'kindle' to find out what it meant..

i love the tactile experience of a book so i can't imagine reading electronically..so when it comes to e-books i am definitely a luddite..

Marigold Jam said...

Love it! For once I managed to get the little video to play too so that was an added bonus! I too love books and can't imagine life without a library. Even when we lived in France we belonged to the library and I used to get non fiction books such as crafts and cookery or gardening and so on as with the pictures I could usually make out the text too - but one of the joys of being back in UK is being able to read everything!

Suzanne said...

I was sent this video too!! Probably because I adore books and feel the same way as you.

Fran said...

You also cannot beat the smell of a leather bound book and the rustle of pages as you turn them!

The Coffee Lady said...

I do love paper books, and wouldn't be without them; mainly because I buy a lot second-hand. I am attracted to the portable nature of a Kindle though - mainly because I'm the sort of person who will take a choice of three or four even if I'm only going to have an hour to read...

Anonymous said...

Whilst I agree with you about real books I do have a Kindle which I take with me whenever I go out in case I ever have to wait. Since it has several books ready to read at any time, I can choose which to read rather than being restricted to one which I might not be in the mood to read.

Annie Cholewa said...

Books are scribed or printed on vellum or paper and mostly have pages that turn, is there any other kind ;)

Seriously, I hear what the e-book lovers say, but no. Give me foxing, marginalia and old bus tickets as book marks. Give me leather bindings and glorious endpapers. Give me iconic cover art and exquisite/funky/ground breaking illustration. Give me the smell of new ink and new paper. Give me a falling apart Penguin printed on cheap yellowing paper that smells of old dog. Just do not give me a Kindle anyone, okay!

Which leaves me unsure whether I should take the pledge or not, does it mean anything if you pledge to do something you're already addicted to?

By the way, did anyone else see the programme on BBC4 last week about the old illuminated books. It was amazing.

Mrs. Micawber said...

Hear, hear! A book feels so nice in the hands, and there's a pleasant anticipation in turning the page (which must be entirely missing while scrolling from one screen to the next). I love to be able to look up a quote by visualizing its location on the page - I don't think that would be possible with an e-reader. (Of course they probably have search functions.)

Used books are especially endearing for all the reasons you mentioned (as well as being thrifty). Inscriptions and marginalia just add to the pleasure. It's like getting a gift from the past, from a friend you never met. I haven't bought a new book in years, except as gifts for others.

I noticed your button right away and will be adding it to my blog.

noknittedknickers said...

Oh I am with you Mrs. TH. I have just shipped books at vast expense across the Atlantic and I am happy as a clam to have them with me. Forget plants - for me books mean I'm home. C.x

Anonymous said...

The problem has always been stopping reading to do something else. And yes, real books, please!

Cheryl said...

Love the video. Couldn't help admiring someone's patience in making it!

I love printed books. The Kindle just does not appeal to me. Maybe 20 years ago when I commuted, but I really don't have the need. I love old books, big books, discovering new books. I might read the on-line reviews, but picking up a book and flicking through it....well it wins each time. I've added the button to my blog.

Penny said...

Here here, me too xox Printed word is a sensual experience as far as I m concerned.

Karen S Booth said...

BRAVO! I will NEVER own a Kindle, not ever! They do NOT appeal to me and I am a printed word lover all the way.....here's a little tale; on the train, reading a paperback book, young lad gets on, takes out kindle, turns it on, battery goes flat....I sit smugly reading my non battery run book!
My blog has moved by the way...from blogger to Wordpress here:
http://www.lavenderandlovage.com

Anonymous said...

Books line the walls of my sitting room and I can't part with any of them. And I love buying second hand books in charity shops which you can't do with a kindle.

Ginnie said...

I love books and reading, too! And you should read, if you haven't already, "84, Charing Cross Road" by Helene Hanff. Now THAT was a book lover. True story.

Thrifty Household said...

Yes Ginnie, I have a very battered copy of that book on my shelves (it manages to survive each book-cull...)

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