Tuesday, May 18

Are books dead?

God, I hope not. For me, reading a book is an experience. It is curling up on the couch on a snowy Sunday afternoon, it is that bittersweet feeling of excitement and regret as you thumb through the last few pages of a particularly fantastic novel, and it is the feeling of the crisp, stark white pages contrasted against vibrant sheen of the thoughtfully-planned cover art and book jacket (and yes, I DO judge a book by its cover- c'mon, who doesn't?)

That being said, I am on the fence with this whole Kindle/iPad business. Now I am a digital, 21st century girl. I love my mac, my ipod, my DVR. I facebook and blog stalk so much I should get paid for it as a part time job, and yet I cannot embrace this idea of digital literature. Cozying up to my kindle next to a roaring fire? using tiny digitized numbers in the lower left corner as my bookmark? oh no no no, that simply won't do.

and the most ironic part of all of this? In the fall, I will be going to grad school in Publishing and Writing...and I wonder...are books dead? am I jumping aboard a sinking ship? The New Yorker just had an interesting article about books making a revival (DIGITAL books that is) with the surging Kindle and iPad markets and yet I can't help but feel like crying out "wait! nooo! But real books are so awesome!"

Who knows, I'd like to think of myself as some vigilante book crusader, arriving onto the publishing scene with a fervor to save the literary world from complete and utter degradation (I'm really pulling out all the big-girl vocab words today eh?), but it is more likely I will be a broke, stressed-out grad student whose only opportunity to do reading will be from textbooks and the only real fervor I'll have will be put towards my time management skills so I can appropriately balance my deadlines with NBC's Thursday night lineup.

In the meantime, I will continue to read my hardcovers and my paperbacks. I will buy magazines and newspapers and cherish all the wonderful, glossy, paper goodness they offer me (but I'll be sure to recycle, I promise. I may hate digital literature, but I do enjoy Mother Nature which is a conundrum in itself)

Meanwhile, here are some of my tried and true favs:

1. anything by Emily Giffin. I just read Change of Heart. I have mixed feelings about it. However, I do NOT have mixed feelings about my excitement over hearing they are making a movie out of Something Borrowed! Starring John Krasinski! yummmmmm....

2. In the Defense of Food by Michael Pollan. Incredibly interesting insight (yay alliteration) into the food industry

3. all of Jodi Picoult's books. What can I say? Yes, I know all 20 of her books are pretty much identical in plot line but I thoroughly enjoy them anyway.

4. Harry Potter. read them all. love them. waited in line at midnight on more than one occasion for them. proud of it. 'nuff said
(looks just like Sean and I, no?)

5. The Great Gatsby by F.Scott Fitzgerald. Once a detested high-school required reading book, this story climbed the ranks over the years to become one of my most cherished books.

In my opinion, it is one of the best classics ever written, way better than Catcher in the Rye. Love Jay Gatsby. Cannot stand Holden Caulfield. (plus, Catcher in the Rye is infamous because serial killers use it as their Bible to help work out their mommy issues- I mean, really?!)

What are your favorites? Any reading recommendations?

3 comments:

Running to the Chapel said...

LOOOOOOOOVE Great Gatsby! one of my all time favorites! However, Catcher in the Rye... not so much.

Anonymous said...

Outlander. I totally judged this series by it's cover, and kept skipping past it to pick up a better looking book. However, after much persistance from a fellow book lover, I started the Outlander series. And oh.my.god, I am in love. Historical literature, a little science fiction and by far one of the greatest love stories ever, all mixed into one book. Please read it. The beginning may bore you but I beg you to keep reading. I am right there with you with all of the above, but the Outlander series far surpasses any of those. I will end my rave by saying that I really love your blog. Keep blogging, lady, and I will keep reading.

Preppy in Polka Dots said...

I am having an internal battle about wanting to get a nook. But I just love real life books. I love to flip pages, I love the way they look on a book shelf...i just love them BUT I love technology. I feel like I am just not ready but maybe someday I will make the jump.

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