books

I like technology as much as the next person. Possibly even more than the next person. I've had this blog for over six years, I've been online for at least a dozen years. I've met most of my closest, dearest friends online.

There are some technologies I've embraced wholeheartedly. Email, of course. I can't imagine what life was like before search engines, IMDB, Wikipedia, and the constant information stream that comes from the news on the internet.

- Which also leads me to mention that I am beyond happy about the passing of the same-sex marriage bill in NY. WAY beyond happy. Giddy. Triumphant. Proud to be a lifelong NYer, a voter and a taxpayer here. -

But, as the title of this post hints, I'd like to talk about books.

My mom once said that when I learned to read, I stopped watching TV. She was right. I'd rather sit with a book on my lap and the thoughts that it generates in my brain than watch a screen passively. Not that I don't enjoy movies, or the occasional TV series, but books changed my life. The thinking that accompanies reading changed my life. I grew up less than two blocks from a public library, and I LIVED in that building. It was my refuge and my escape from everything in the world, as well as an introduction to the world outside my everyday life. I had sections of the card catalog (remember those?) memorized.

I've embraced a lot of technology, but have balked at a few. I don't have a "smart" phone. Until the day when someone is actually paying me to be constantly available via email, I don't see the necessity of it. But I do have an iPod that allows me to check email, weather, news, and ... read books on the go.

Seriously, I love having a book in the palm of my hand, on my iPod,  on my subway commutes. When I traveled to Italy, being able to read while waiting on a huge line to get into the Uffizi was a godsend. But nine times out of ten, when I come across a book I want to read, I buy ... a book. A big, fat, bulky, PAPER book.

I love the paper. I love the words on paper. I love turning pages and being able to flutter back through them to re-read something that affected me profoundly.

Tonight I heard that the St. Mark's bookshop was going through hard times. Click here to read about it.

This is one of my all-time favorite bookstores in the city. An oasis of calm, thought, browsing and inspiration. When I read the above post/link, I nearly died inside. I've been guilty of buying on Amazon for cheaper prices, many times. But I grew up as a child of parents who ran a small, neighborhood retail store. I understand how hard it is to maintain a brick and mortar shop these days.

The thought of losing a place like the St. Mark's Bookshop makes me incredibly sad. If I didn't have somewhere to go, to browse shelves and leaf through the pages of books, new and old, I'd have lost something intrinsic to my life. While I love the internet, love the instant gratification of life online, there's something human and direct that would be lost without places like this.

Basically, I want to say this: if you can stop by the St. Mark's Bookshop, do it. I plan to go there tomorrow. Give them my support, my money ... and come home with something wonderful and thought provoking to read. I can't imagine life without books, but when I think about it, I really can't imagine life without bookstores. I don't want to live in a world without places like this, and supporting them is the only way to keep them around.

Comments

[carolyn]

oh man. I have whiled away many a pleasant hour in that shop. sorry to hear it.

[MmmYarn]

Despite having a smartphone that could have e-books, I'm still firmly in the printed-on-paper book camp. I don't have an e-reader. I am sorry to hear your local bookstore looks like it is going under. While I can't do anything to save yours, your post encourages me to gently remind my friends to support their local shops.
I decided a few years ago to buy from my little local bookstore when possible after I finally applied the logic that local yarn stores are only around if we buy from them (I think we knitters all know that) to other local stores. This little shop obviously can't stock what a giant book warehouse can. While Amazon has always had everything I looked for, my local shop is within walking distance so I get an in-stock book there faster than if I were to buy it online. They usually can order everything else, although not with overnight shipping. It takes self-restraint to ignore the inner two-year-old ("I want it now!") when a book is just so interesting that I don't want to wait a week or two to get it; I have to tell myself that I have not yet personally experienced a book emergency. :)

[regina]

The prospect of losing yet another indie bookseller in NYC -- and such a fine one, at that -- makes me want to cry. My husband bought me an e-reader for my birthday a couple of years ago, and while I do use it on occasion, I still prefer to buy books (and I prefer to buy them from independent bookstores, challenging though that may be). Though I'm no longer in the city every day, I'll make it a point to get over there this week. Thanks for posting this.

[Nebraska Knitter]

Support your local bookstore. We lost a very good one in my community. Thanks for posting and raising awareness.

[Paula O'Neal]

"I love the paper. I love the words on paper. I love turning pages and being able to flutter back through them to re-read something that affected me profoundly." AMEN and AMEN Thank you for words near to my heart. Paula in Iowa