A Book is an Ocean

A book is an ocean. Books hold a pool of knowledge and can tell us a story just in the way that they are. You don't always discover what you're looking for or find something valuable right away right away, but when you do it's like a treasure chest full of pearls and diamonds on the ocean floor. The books themselves have a lot more to offer than just the story they contain. They are made from trees, and are essentially just as much alive as we are. You can almost feel the weight of time itself when you hold an aged book, and know that because books exist and have changed over time, so have you. They have been around for thousands of years and people have enjoyed reading and learning from them for just as long.

I agree with Nancy Jo Sales when she says that we need books, but I also agree Joe Meno that a story is a story and the medium it's in is less important. I think that books are part of our story, as human beings, and that they should never disapear because they represent history and the way of life for the many years that books remained number one in our lives. But I also think that Nancy Jo Sales may need to consider that we are changing as a society, and books are becoming more obsolete. She may want to be more accepting of the fact that we will always have information available to us, in whatever form that we find to be the trend at the time.

If books aren't as trendy as they used to be, then fine. That will just make them seem more special to the faithful few anti-ipadders. Maybe books will become so vintage and cool that more people will realize that they prefer them to computers and the whole trend of books will flare up again. Books aren't and will never be the same as an ipad. Whether they are better or not still remains unclear to me and many other people. I prefer not to take sides. Yes I think there is something magical about the smell, feel and weight of a book, but those things (that ebook or ipad lacks) has never stopped me from reading through other mediums.

And I really hated Scribble by Victor LaValle. He kind of made fun of people who hold books in that high regard. I just didn't like his blunt opinion nor the way that he criticized "the old testament way of thinking."

Q: Do you think that books will ever become completely obsolete?
A: No, I dont. Books are still valued and will always be valued in our society. Aside from the literary and genuine character they hold, they will always be used as a back-up. Computers have failed us in the past and aren't always available. People will always be safe in knowing that the have a hard copy of information on hand. Books are as updated and "now" as computers, but they are a solid and tangible part of the story and information. And I think that people are sometimes comforted by the fact that books aren't changing and you know exactly where to find them when you're looking. The computer and internet is vey vast and can be confusing/stressful/frustrating. No. Books will never become completely obsolete.

One of the best feelings on the world is curling up with a hardcover book on your window seat.