After I finished my summer classes, I've been able to achieve something I haven’t done for at least a year: read an actual book. Not a trashy romance novel that takes me a few hours to read because of their simplicity but a fully fleshed out novel.
My more detailed goal for the summer is to read all of Jane Austen’s novels. They require a certain mindset and intense concentration that I just don’t have when I’m taking classes.
However, I just don’t have access to all of the novels. My copies are downstate in storage and since that trip is easily over $100 and 16 hours driving (without stops), it seemed rather unrealistic for me to get them. Buying them was also out of the question since my funds are rather low. So I defaulted to the oldest tradition of visiting the library.
This is just about as green as I can think of when it comes to books. Some people say that digital books are the best way to be green. They don’t require vast amounts of paper or ink. You can have more than one per a device. But they do require electricity to function and (depending on the device that you’re using) can put a lot of stress on your eyes.
Don’t get me wrong, I actually prefer to use my electronic devices for reading when I’m traveling extensively. It is convenient because it saves space. And I can easily download a book that could help me with the area that I’m in, or studying.
But you just don’t get the satisfaction of turning the page, the feel of the paper between your fingers, the smell of old parchment and leather bindings that greet you the moment you walk through those doors.
Because it’s a library, the book may sit on the shelf for years but it is also read by countless individuals. The book may have seen better days but the words printed on its pages are still strong, interpretative, thrilling, scary, loving, and impressionable as the day the ink dried.
I've worked at libraries for many years, and so it always bothers me a little when someone shells out money to buy a novel. I understand owning a non-fiction type book that you may want to have at your disposal for reference purposes, or that occasional novel that you are going to read over and over (case in point, I own all the harry potter books). But I'll venture to say that most people probably read a novel only once, maaaybe twice in their lifetimes. What's the point of owning it? Aside from the resources that go into the actual production of that book, you're also spending money on it that you could be spending on something slightly more productive.
ReplyDeleteWhy not go to the library, where you are getting an essentially free service (though, everyone actually is paying for them with their taxes... only the more reason to utilize it)? You can still feel those pages turn beneath your fingers, that smell of parchment and old leather binding. In fact, I prefer an old copy of a book from a library, which may have been read a hundred times or more. I feel like you're sharing the joys and sorrows of the story with all those people who've read it before you, and those who will read it after you.
Sorry, every time I read something about libraries, be it positive or negative, I typically fly into "Obligatory Library Rant" mode.