Books and Notes, Notes and Books

My niece posted on Facebook last night that she had been going through some old books that she needed to get rid of and she came across an old receipt. It was from the mid-’90s, from a grocery store that I believe has since been torn down, and it was for one candy bar.

She was quite delighted with this find, and I knew exactly how she felt. It is always interesting to find an old note or slip of paper tucked into a book. If it’s your own note, it can bring back memories of where you were and what you were doing at the time. If it’s in a used or a library book, it provides one small puzzle piece to another person’s life. Who was this person? Where did they live? Are they still alive? Did they have a happy life? What did they think of the book? It’s a little clue to a mystery that will probably never be solved. Isn’t it fun to speculate, though?

Anyway, it made me think about how fun and intriguing it is to come across a little note like that, and it made me decide to write little notes and tuck them away into books, especially ones that I borrow from the library and ones that I donate to them. I might even put some notes into books that we plan on keeping. I sometimes read books over or look for references in them, and it would be fun to come across even my own notes!

I’m not the first person to think of this, of course, nor is my niece. It’s just something that I’ve never done on purpose, and I’m looking forward to it. Maybe I’ll look up some neat quotes that I like. Maybe I’ll write a haiku. Maybe I’ll draw a little picture for the next reader. Maybe I’ll even slip a buck or two in there and leave a note that says, “Have a coffee on me!” What fun! Whatever I do, I hope it will brighten someone’s day. I know it certainly would brighten my day to run across something like that! Even if the librarian happens to find it before it gets reshelved, or the warehouse worker sees it as they go through the donated books, it might make them smile, too. Sometimes little acts of kindness can make a difference if someone is having a bad day. It sure can’t hurt! Of course, I will not write IN the book…just a little note on a separate sheet of paper.

A huge thanks to my niece Michelle for the inspiration. Love you, Niecey!

***

A bit of follow-up to my previous entry, in which I wrote about the Duran Duran art book written by Andrew Golub. I was checking my blog visits the other day and saw a significant uptick in the number of visitors. As I checked further, most of them were checking out that particular entry, with multiple visits from Facebook and quite a few from Twitter. I wrote to Andy about it, because I was so pleased that my review got some attention for him. He said that he knew that the band shared it on their Facebook page, and he was very happy about that. I checked, and sure enough, they had shared it there and also on Twitter! They even quoted me from the review. I was absolutely thrilled! And yes, I’m sure it was their publicist who actually saw it and posted it, but I don’t care. My blog post got shared on Duran Duran’s Facebook and Twitter pages! Fangirl was very happy!

So to all those Duran Duran fans from all over the world who checked it out, thanks for stopping by! If I knew you were coming, I would have tidied up a bit and maybe even made a cake! And a huge thanks to the band (band’s publicist) for sharing it. It made my day, and I still love you guys! Look at ’em…how is it that they just get better-looking? I bet they have portraits of themselves in their attics.

Books instead of kooks

My plan was to write about Christine O'Donnell and her bizarre comments concerning the First Amendment, but I wrote plenty on Facebook today, and I find that I'm feeling just way too mellow to write anymore about the perky little idiot tonight. I can only handle so much ignorance in a day, and it seems that I have reached my limit.

Instead, I'm going to write about books and e-readers. I'm fortunate to be friends on Facebook with one of my favorite authors, F. Paul Wilson. He writes the Repairman Jack novels (I just got the penultimate one!), one of my favorite characters in modern fiction, as well as many other excellent horror/science fiction novels. Today, he posted that his latest book, a collaboration with three other authors, was available for download. Draculas is on Amazon for a measly $2.99! You can't beat that with a stick—or a crucifix! I popped on over to Amazon, used one-click ordering, and badabing, badaboom, I've got the book.

I don't have an actual Kindle (yet!), but Amazon offers free Kindle downloads for PC and Mac. (Just go to the Kindle store, and look for 'free reading apps.') I honestly can't recall if I've written about it here before, so if I have, please pardon my redundancy. Until I can get an actual Kindle, this is a pretty nifty option, and you can sync your Kindle editions so that you have your books on all of them. There are millions of free books available, some through Amazon, others through Project Gutenberg and other digital book sites. It really is amazing what you can find on there, and I've already got a bunch waiting for me.

As amazing as the e-reader technology is, can it depose printed books? Most of the avid readers that I know love our hard copies...but most of us are also embracing the ease and convenience of the e-reader. After posting the link to the Kindle edition of his book, Mr. Wilson commented that the extras available with the Kindle version would never see the light of day in what he called "p-books." (I'm assuming that means printed books.) There are tons of extras included, like the emails that the four authors exchanged when discussing, planning, and writing the book. This is an amazing thing; I liken it to the evolution from VHS tapes to DVDs. The deleted scenes, alternate scenes, outtakes--all of those are easily accessible on DVD. Including large quantities of notes, discussions, and correspondence concerning a book would never happen with a traditionally published book. This really changes the game, and readers are the big winners here.

There has been much speculation about what would happen to printed books, bookstores, and especially libraries, with the advent of e-readers. As someone who reads a lot of online content but still treasures holding a book in her hands (as you can probably guess from the bookshelves pictured here), I foresee a peaceful coexistence. If I'm sitting up at the table, it's easy to read online. If I want to relax on the couch or in bed while I read, I don't take the laptop; I have a book to hold in my hands...and eventually let drop as I doze off trying to read just one...more...paragraph. (To be honest, I always try to place my bookmark and set the book aside before I doze off. I don't want to harm the book.)

I read a really interesting article the other day about how libraries are coping with e-readers. Many thought that it spelled the demise of the public library. [climbing on soapbox] We must not let this happen. Libraries serve many functions beyond lending books. They provide access to computers for those who don't have them at home, they offer meeting rooms for community groups, they conduct reading groups for kids to encourage them to read.

They are one of our most precious treasures, and we must preserve them. (And oh yeah...they're a government program!) [climbing down from soapbox] Anyway, some libraries are purchasing and loaning out e-readers! I think this is a fantastic embrace of the technology, and a way to stay current. Libraries must go along with current trends and advances in technology if they want to remain viable, and I applaud them for doing so. (By the way, I remember using card catalogs. Does anyone else?)

It's a brave new world, people, and I welcome our e-book providing overlords. It will never take the place of what Mr. Wilson calls p-books, at least not for me, but it's a fine addition to my reading experience. I look forward to finding many classics and essays that I normally wouldn't have read. When it comes to reading, it’s not like the Highlander. There can be more than one.

For the love of reading

A week since I updated! O the shame, O the horror, O the humanity, O...what the hell.

It's been for a good cause, though. I'm still reading plenty of stuff online, especially political stuff, paying special attention to the oil spill. I look at pictures of oil-covered birds, feebly flapping their heavy wings, struggling to move, and I feel incredible rage at all parties responsible. BP is obviously the biggest criminal here, but there are other problems. Why were they given free rein to drill deeply offshore without having a swift backup plan for just such a disaster? What sort of chicanery was going on at the MMS? Why did President Obama bow to the shortsighted opportunists playing upon the public's need for oil, the ones bleating "Drill, baby, drill!" like some mindless drones?

We all have our hot buttons. I love the people of New Orleans, and I feel heartsick at the thought of them suffering this so soon after Katrina; there are families whose livelihoods have been in the fishing business for decades, and they may not be able to continue their family tradition. But I'm also a birder and a nature lover, and I can tell you that the pictures of these dying birds makes me nauseous and so angry I can barely stand it. I read threads in which people continue to say that we need to "drill here, drill now." I guess it's not enough that we have befouled the Gulf of Mexico and the Gulf coast for the foreseeable future. They would also love to see us risk areas like ANWR. I just don't understand the inability of some people to see the longterm consequences of some of these actions. Our ecosystems are fragile and must be protected. There is a domino effect when the natural order is interrupted, whether it's the massive influx of toxic oil into the Gulf or the eradication of natural predators to deer in areas like mine, allowing deer to overpopulate and strip the land of its natural flora.

It's all connected, people. Thinking that offshore drilling, or drilling in ANWR, is going to end our dependence on foreign oil is not just simplistic. It is simpleminded.

That's a mini-rant (rantette? rantini?) for now. I will probably revisit this soon. I didn't even write about the low-wattage Palin saying that this spill is because of "extreme greenies" not allowing drilling onshore. You do all realize that she's stupid, right? If not, I plan on reminding you.

What was I saying? Oh yes. I haven't updated for a while for a good reason. Yes, I stay busy with reading things on Facebook, but I also resolved to get back into real reading. You know...BOOKS. Yeah, baby! I finished a couple of books of short stories I had going (John Grisham and Joe Hill), then moved onto a book my brother-in-law loaned me. It's called Sin in the Second City: Madams, Ministers, Playboys, and the Battle For America's Soul by Karen Abbott. It's about the vice trade in early 20th century Chicago, and specifically the famous brothel the Everleigh Club. It is fascinating! I was drawn in immediately. Growing up in close proximity to Chicago, I've been there often, and I've read quite a bit about its Mob involvement (everyone knows about Al Capone), but I don't think I realized just how depraved the place was for so many years. Everyone was on the take, from the cops on up to the judges. Brothels and taverns paid protection and operation fees to city officials, and everyone made a pretty good living off of graft for a while.

Although most of the houses in Chicago treated the women poorly, the Everleigh sisters, Minna and Ada, ran a pretty tight ship. No drug addicts or alcoholics, no drugging and robbing the customers, and a general sense of decorum. No, I'm not condoning it, but the sisters treated it as a business, and believed that happy workers were loyal workers, and the waiting list for girls to get on the roster at the Everleigh Club was a long one. The life of a common street whore was much shorter than that of an Everleigh girl, who received frequent medical examinations. It's just a really fascinating read, and I'm enjoying it very much.

I've also been watching a DVD my sister loaned me about the 1893 Chicago World's Fair, the Colombian Exposition. A few years ago, I read The Devil in the White City, a historical novel by Erik Larson. It was about the fair itself and its chief architect, Daniel Burnham (a big name in Chicago architecture), along with H. H. Holmes, who was one of America's first serial killers, and preyed upon young women coming into town for the fair, whether visiting for enjoyment or coming for employment in one of Chicago's "sporting" houses (see Everleigh Club, above).

It's been very pleasant to step away from the computer for a chunk of time and sit outside and enjoy the nice weather as well as some actual books. I posted a story today (yes, on Facebook...shut up!) about a study that showed that kids with lots of books in their home generally did better in school and went on to pursue at least some higher education. I think that's probably accurate. My parents were both avid readers, and it wasn't unusual for us to sit around reading our respective books. I spent quite a bit of time going through our set of Collier's Encyclopedias, and reading was always encouraged in my house, and perhaps most importantly, I saw my parents reading often. I think it makes a huge difference if at least one parent exhibits a love of reading.

So I hope you'll forgive my frequent absences from Blogtropolis. If I'm lost, it's only in the printed page. (And yes…those are my bookcases in the picture above, and I’ve read most of the books within. This doesn’t include the bookcase upstairs with unread books.)

The article raised another point: is it important that the books be the printed kind, stacked into bookcases? Or are e-readers and iPads just as positive an influence? I feel that any way a person gets information and learns is important (except for ClusterFox, heehee!), so I don't know that one is more important than the other. I know that there is nothing for me like holding a book in my hands and turning the pages as I progress. I have read the occasional short story online, but I don't see myself reading a full novel here. I don't think I'll be the type of person that ridicules kids who only read online, though. I realize that, as Roland said, the world has moved on. Still, for me...I love the printed page, and would encourage any kid to read actual books.

What do you think? How do you feel about online vs printed books? How do you feel about kids and books? Do you think it's important that they read things other than online? How important is it to you that public libraries survive? Do you support such a socialist institution? Questions...I gots questions!