Books, as Objects of Affection
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The correspondence re e-books is indeed interesting. Starting as a grad student at Cambridge Univ., I made a vow to keep ALL books I had ever acquired (honestly or not). They were nice to have. And useful for many things. I enjoyed using the massive, tall Oxford English Dictionary as a stand for the chamberpot under my bed. We did not have bathrooms in our rooms in them days.
So I inscribed each volume with my name, and place and date of acquisition. After half a century it was comforting to look at those serried shelves, and feel that one understood, at least in a tiny part, the wisdom they contained. And to revisit, as with an old, valued friend.
Then, in 2002, the "Good Lord" chose to burn my house down, and my books. Along with 39 adjacent abodes. An admitted sinner, I wasn't too surprised, but never realized my neighbors were sinners, too. My wife said it was His way of telling me to retire, but I now think He was envious of my library. After all the Old Testament does say our Lord "is a jealous Lord"! ============================================================ FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College lectures, archives, unsubscribe, maps at http://www.friam.org |
Re: Books, as Objects of Affection
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My father -- and the parents of many people I know -- feel that they are too old to learn how to use computers. I wonder if the "Good Lord" has that problem also. After all "He" is older than anyone and probably most set in "His" ways.
-- Russ
On Fri, May 27, 2011 at 12:06 PM, <[hidden email]> wrote:
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Re: Books, as Objects of Affection
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One today wrote: People used to get into the book business because they loved books! Those people still exist and I work with many of them, but they’re often being managed by executives who don’t care one iota about books and who are purely profit driven. (To be fair, a profit-driven mentality isn’t exclusive to publishing. Corporate greed abounds in all markets.) I’d wager that just about every publishing company currently in existence is totally understaffed, especially the crucial jobs like production and editorial, which is why you’re noticing so many ridiculous mistakes. I make books. The book as object is very familiar territory for me. Actually I make actual books, one of a kind and small multiples. I make traditional books, I make conceptual books, I teach weeklong classes on 'The Book as Object'. I also write and have a traditionally published book as well as a self-published and totally digital book. Because I am an artist and a writer, and made my money as a graphic+logo designer for several years, designing and 'publishing' my own books is straightforward. , at 3:47 PM, Russ Abbott wrote:
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