What Is A Book?

A book is map. Books teach you lessons, show you how to live and sometimes, show you how not to live. But all of this knowledge is gained from the words, not from the illustrations or the thread that went into sewing both covers onto the front and back of the pages. I agree with Joe Meno when he says that the book is more important than the actual form it takes. There have always been words but they have constantly changed the way in which they are displayed. For example, people used to write down important information onto stone tablets, then animal hide and now paper. I think the next step in this line of change is to view the words from a computer screen. Do I personally think that reading off a computer screen is the most comfortable way to view something? Absolutely not, but it’s the way that technology is heading. And it has been proven in the past that no one can slow or stop technology form advancing. I enjoy leafing through the brilliantly colored books at Barnes and Noble just as much as anyone else. I enjoy sitting down in a big comfy chair with a warm latte and reading all afternoon, looking up 3 hours later with ink on my fingers. But if technology is changing that experience for people, then I don’t feel like I can do anything to stop it. Soon there might not be a Barnes and Noble down the street that I can browse through. Said? Yes for me it is, but I can’t really do anything about it. I also strongly agreed with Victor LaValle when he makes the point that we worship the actual physical book too much. It’s not the hardback cover that we pawn over so heavily, it’s the message inside that kept us turning the pages at 2am. The message is what needs to be ‘worshiped’ or appreciated, not the physicality of the novel.