I had an interesting discussion the other night about audiobooks, e-books, and regular old books. It seems to be that audiobooks are on the rise and books are on the decline. For me, part of the joy of reading comes from flipping the pages of the book and slipping into a world that isn’t my own. I don’t see the joy in listening to someone read to you. Usually, when someone talks to me for an extended period of time I tune them out. I only have a listening period of so long before my thoughts take over and I don’t know what they said. I feel the same would happen with an audiobook. And, why are audiobooks so much more expensive than a plain old book? I heard someone say their audiobook cost $119. WTF! Why waste that money when you can spend 24.99 and it won’t scratch, you can’t lose the file and if you did misplace a book, its much easier to replace it (and less expensive).
E-books. Oh sweet e-books. another rising trend that I could not partake in. I don’t understand how people can read at the computer for extended periods of time. Imagine having your eyes pierced open reading Harry Potter on your laptop… talk about a headache. And doctors have said that its not good to stare at monitors for so long. It has so many harmful effects that I can’t and won’t name. And sure, you can print out an e-book, but wouldn’t that be same as buying a book (probably waste more paper actually)? I just don’t see the logic. I think this goes back to that dependency on technology.
I love a book. I fantasize about one day having a grand library in my home and sitting there reading books I want. It would have dark wood (because it just looks so nice) and I’d have first editions of all my favorite books. I’d also have one of those cool ladders that slides across the shelves because I’m too short to reach the top shelf. I was devastated when I was younger, my grandmother threw out lots of my books when we moved once. I mean I had a slew of Baby Sitter Club books, Christopher Pike, Goosebumps, and every book from the Little House on the Prairie series including the not so talked about one after Laura got married. AND I had a first edition of Richard Wrights The Long Dream. I’m still searching for that book everywhere. I think if libraries had better hours and maybe even a coffee shop they’d thrive still. I see plenty of people, myself included sitting at Barnes & Noble reading books they don’t intend to buy. I know I’d have my ass at the public library because then I could borrow the book and take it back without a problem. Some books make it home and others don’t. So here’s a cry to our local libraries-Take back your throne. Open Later, Serve coffee/tea and snacks. Trust me!