June 3, 2008 by

an article i enjoyed (about books)

1 comment

Categories: General

Many books are screwy, a great many are dull, some are irredeemable, and there are way too many of them, probably, in the world. I hate all the fetishistic twaddle about books promoted by the chain stores and the book clubs, which make books seem as cozy and unthreatening as teacups, instead of the often disputatious and sometimes frightening things they are. I recognize that we now have many ways to convey, store, and reproduce the sorts of matter that formerly were monopolized by books. I like to think that I’m no bookworm, egghead, four-eyed paleface library rat. I often engage in activities that have no reference to the printed words. I realize that books are not the entire world, even if they sometimes seem to contain it. But I need the stupid things.

One Response to an article i enjoyed (about books)

  1. didofoot

    Nice.

    I kind of don’t mind Oprah’s book club and the chain stores and all the books-as-teacups people. I think it’s ok to spend your life reading only books that make you feel warm and fuzzy and unchallenged if that’s what you like to do. (Or why would I own so many Wodehouses?)

    I liked his paragraph about remembering where a quotation is because you can visualize the page. I do that too.

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