Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Nothing Like that New Book Smell

One of the reasons I struggled with the Kindle purchase is I LOVE BOOKS. I love the smell of books. I love to turn pages. I love to dog-ear my place. I love to highlight nuggets of wisdom that challenge my thinking. I love to write little notes in the margin. In short, I use a book.

All of this got me to thinking. What is it that I really love about books and reading? It is really the "feel" of the book in my hands? Is it really the smell of the paper? Is it really the fine art of dog-earing my place? After some serious soul-searching (sounds dramatic, huh?), I came to the conclusion that I love books because they are a conduit for the transfer of knowledge from the author to me. They provide an opportunity for me to drift into the world of fiction, created in the mind of the author. Books are a communication tool; a means for one person to deliver a message to the masses.

By the way, there is a highlight feature on the Kindle. You can make notes and store them forever. You can electronically turn pages and bookmark your place. And whenever I get my car detailed, one of the air freshener options is "new car" scent. Surely they can make "new book" scent. Because there's nothing like that new book smell.

1 comment:

  1. I agree. There's nothing like a new book smell. But the old book smell (like really really old books) comes in a close second. Josh has some books on computer and I find them hard to read on screen. Keep us updated on whether it is difficult to read a screen as compared to a book. Thanks =)

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