A bookworm's diary

One of the things I have always enjoyed in life is books. Not just reading books, but generally enjoying them as an object: the texture of their cover, the smell of the pages in it, the colours, the letters... I like magazines and newspapers as well, but these have a more temporary feel to them. Especially newspapers, where the news you read in the morning are already old by the evening. I like the habit of reading a newspaper on Sunday mornings though. It's a good company for coffee and here in Greece, Sunday issues are always accompanied by interesting magazines and booklets. I love libraries and big, organized bookshops, where you can get lost in the corridors, among the titles. I also enjoy visiting old ones, in which the characteristic smell makes you wonder how old could those books on the shelves be, and through how many hands have they already passed.

My bookcase is my little treasure, and I believe it's a treasure in every and any home. They say that if you want to have a picture of someone's personality and interests you just need to glance at their bookcase's shelves. I wonder what will happen in a few years, when e-books will deluge our everyday life. The practical , environmental and economical benefit of 2000 titles in one piece is undeniable, but will we accomplish better and more profitable reading? Umberto Eco claims that our traditional way of reading won't change, and that the reason for this is our own nature. The shape of a book is designed in a way that comfortably serves the human visual and tactile needs. It is not easy, indeed, to read from a screen, when compared to a leaf. Moreover, the reader himself misses one thing that way, the personal and emotional contact with the book (and indirectly with it's writer): he can't grab a pen and write notes, he can't fold a page, he can't feel a certain and characteristic smell...

Nowadays, record stores resemble antique shops; people rarely buy cds. Will we witness something similar with bookshops? Will books become luxury items? And from the educational point of view, how will e-books affect learning? Too many questions to answer, lots of aspects to think of.

We may have broadened our horizons in the music industry (we replaced walkmans with ipods, cassettes with tiny USB devices filled with countless mp3 files) but listening to music is different from reading. Reading demands a certain mental concentration, a certain psychological mood, that it is not always a given factor. Time will show how we will adjust to this change. Changes have always had their pros and cons anyway.

For the time being, I enjoy being a bookworm. I like dawdling people who read at the metro station, exchanging books with my friends and discussing about them.

I don't know if books are the most loyal friends in this world as they say, but they are always great windows and gates to other worlds. I'll give an example for those who have read Harry Potter (I have it recent because of the movie): Just think of how many Hogwarts sceneries have been created in our teenage minds before the movies were out and we could have a universal picture. Millions! And that's the power of human imagination after all :)

Photo by : RachelLovesToLaugh's