I joined into this on a new site I've joined called Book Blogs. This "Blog-A-Licious tour" is a blog hop sponsored by Pandora Poikilos where you will get a new site to visit on each site after you've read their take on a weekly question. Hopefully you'll find 30 great new blogs that you want to follow. Some bloggers are having contests and giveaways, so don't only go forward from my link, but also, go back if you just started from mine. And the blog stop before me is Anna's Obsession.
The question for this week is what would a world without books be like? This question reminds me of a few books actually. There is always Fahrenheit 451, where books were burned. The Last Book in the Universe by Rodman Philbrick. It's about a world where again, books are gone. And the third is a newer book that I've read, called Matched. In this dystopian world, there are only 100 books left. The government has decided to choose what are the 100 books, 100 pieces of art, 100 songs, etc. that are most important and should be saved. Everything else has been destroyed.
Other people lament the rise of e-readers, saying that they are going to ruin the book world. As a bookseller at a store that sells their own e-reader, I disagree. As many of those that we sell, and even I own one, there are still books I want. I will always want real books, the ones that I want to read over and over, I want those. Then there are books that you might call "coffee table" books. Those are ones that I can't imagine just wanting to have on an e-reader. Years ago when the mass market size paperback came out, people then were saying it was going to be the end of the book world. Not true, if anything, it made books more accessible for the price and the ease of reading.
Now, what do I think a world without books would be like? Miserable for me. I can't imagine not having a book to read. Before I started working at a bookstore, over 10 years ago, when I didn't have money for a new book, or wanted something to read, I just reread something I had. Since I've been working at a bookstore, I hardly have time to go back and read all the books that I used to read over and over. But it's okay, because I'm reading so many great books. I can't imagine not having something to read. When I am stuck somewhere with nothing to read, I find something, a cereal box, the graffiti on the bathroom wall, whatever. What do you think a world without books would be like? I'd love to hear your responses.
And, to hear what the next blog on the tour has to say about this, go on to Jessica's blog at Finding One's Way. It's a blog dedicated to shedding light on domestic violence and sexual abuse.
