{Photo by Leah Feldon, taken from the roof terrace of our house in Mexico at sunset.}
We’re nearing the end of our half-year stay in San Miguel de Allende in central Mexico. I begin to feel the push/pull of leaving one home and returning to another.
There is always the challenging business of clearing the desk — the piles of papers! — and deciding which books go, and which ones remain behind.
The books that go back and forth are research texts. For pleasure while here, I read almost exclusively on my iPad. There is no longer a good bookstore here (alas!), and ordering on-line is expensive. When I return to Canada, one of my first stops will be at a bookstore.
I love digital reading, but I love books even more, love the sensual dimension of holding a book in my hands, turning the pages, gazing at the cover, making notes in the margins. I love, too, picking out the perfect bookmark (I have quite a collection).
This wonderful YouTube TED talk by Chip Kidd on book design brought all that home to me:
Ah, the smell of a book! As an editor, I loved when the printed book arrived: I would always take a deep sniff. (Books and horses are similar that way.)
What do you love about a book? What books have been extra special physically for you?
I love the feel of a book in my hands. If it’s new all the better-I like knowing I am the first one to open the book and turn the pages. Although that being said, I am addicted to book sales-finding treasures in the piles of books before me. I too collect bookmarks- from all my trips, from museums I go to, cute ones with inspirational sayings. I also love to read books about books. I simply love books!
??? I also LOVE an old old old book with as-yet uncut pages. It almost makes me sad to slice the pages open.
The smell! Walking into the library or a quaint bookstore is like heaven on earth. To be surrounded by it can be a bit heady! :) I also love the weight of the book in my hand, feeling the heaviness of its words makes me happy. Also, physically seeing my bookmark march its way through the pages puts a smile on my face. Enjoy the rest of your days in Mexico! Adiós!
Thank you, Hallie! I once started a bookmark pairing blog, and if I had the time I’d resurrect it. Visual of the bookmark + where I bought it + the books that it marked. I do, at the least, note the books read with a particular bookmark on a post-it. I have quite a collection because I buy bookmarks when I travel.
I also love the scent of books. New, old, musty…it doesn’t matter to me. I don’t mind toting them around with me. I do have an ereader, but can’t flip back through the pages to check on a character or something I’m uncertain about. (I’m sure there’s a way, but it isn’t the same.) There isn’t anything better than glancing at the tbr pile on my nightstand. Yes, my Kindle is convenient for travel and spring showers but I’ll always prefer print to digital. I don’t know what would I do with my collection of bookmarks either!