My Paper World

It will be a very sad day for me if books are not published any more. The electronic format isn't interesting to me. The electronic book is always the same.... On the one hand, technology is fantastic. On the other hand, if you have an apartment and the book shelves are empty and there's one Kindle standing there, that's depressing." – Veronica Teuber, artist, in the Wall Street Journal

Oddly, given her love for books, the artist is mummifying part of her own collection in beeswax. It’s an interesting story, an eyebrow-raising story, and you can read it here.


Meanwhile, the larger story of the future of books, with e-reader wars, the Borders financial woes and eternally springing bibliospes (book hope) continues to unfold. Last night, in that last-named spirit (yes, I named it, and no, I never studied Latin), I read the prologue and first chapter of The Man Who Loved Books Too Much: The True Story of a Thief, a Detective, and a World of Literary Discussion, by Allison Hoover Bartlett. All that great gossip from the New York Antiquarian Book fair—okay, I’m hooked! So was the author:

As I roamed from booth to booth, I felt the sensory enticement myself—the feel of thick, rough-edged pages, the sharp beauty of type, the tightness of linen or pigskin covers, the papery smell.

Then there's the smaller picture. Here in Northport, I recently received the news that our wonderful, welcoming little Leelanau Township Library will be closed for the month of February! Help! What will winter residents do? The library has not been painted or had new carpeting for 43 years, and the Board decided it’s time, and I’m starting to wonder (I grind exceeding slow) if I’ll see more people in the bookstore next month, if only for the duration. Maybe an invitation is in order? “Drop in for a visit. Feel free to bring a sack lunch. Please leave your e-reader at home.” What do you think?

I’m having a sale these winter days on my notecards (photo on front, blank inside), dropping the price to $2 each or three for $5. There may be one of your favorite “Books in Northport” images here, or perhaps one you haven’t seen before that will capture your heart and insist on being sent to a dear friend you haven’t written to in way too long.

Words and images, images and words. It’s a big chunk of my winter world.