posted by ![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
owlfish at 12:55pm on 06/03/2006
owlfish at 12:55pm on 06/03/2006On the top floor of Foyle's book store yesterday, I turned down the chance to browse the shelves in any section of my choice. I left without buying anything. The one temptation I passed, marked-down thing-a-day calendars for 2006, were all ones I'd worked through in previous years.
More and more, I find that book stores are places I avoid going to idly. I go to find presents and I go to meet friends and I go when I need fiction and have no particular book in mind. There is nothing like a book store (or open-stack library) for browsing. I am most willing to indulge in unexpected fiction, found by chance or sudden recall of a once-enjoyed author. Even cookbooks or food history books can be an occasional whim; I am new enough to the genre that I know of far more books of interest than I possess. I eke out my purchases, a very few at a time.
Last week, when I placed an Amazon order for two academic books, I included a food book as an extra treat in my order, a classic to supplement the geographic range of my existing collection. Claudia Roden's A New Book of Middle Eastern Food fills a continent-sized hole; but it wasn't why I placed the order. I wanted - needed perhaps - the two academic books, and not just any book could fill that particular niche. I needed very particular books. Sometimes I need them in very particular editions. And given the convenience of online ordering, for the books that matter most, I almost always mail-order these days.
My tendencies war with my deeply-engrained conscience, the importance of keeping independant bookstores alive and well, something which won't happen without my footfall - among others. Small independant bookstores are especially vulnerable to the convenience behemoth. They especially need me and my book-buying compulsions. But I still need them too, especially on days when I have forgotten what fiction I enjoy, or wonder what else is out there I might like to read, and only browsing the shelves, at leisure, will suffice.
More and more, I find that book stores are places I avoid going to idly. I go to find presents and I go to meet friends and I go when I need fiction and have no particular book in mind. There is nothing like a book store (or open-stack library) for browsing. I am most willing to indulge in unexpected fiction, found by chance or sudden recall of a once-enjoyed author. Even cookbooks or food history books can be an occasional whim; I am new enough to the genre that I know of far more books of interest than I possess. I eke out my purchases, a very few at a time.
Last week, when I placed an Amazon order for two academic books, I included a food book as an extra treat in my order, a classic to supplement the geographic range of my existing collection. Claudia Roden's A New Book of Middle Eastern Food fills a continent-sized hole; but it wasn't why I placed the order. I wanted - needed perhaps - the two academic books, and not just any book could fill that particular niche. I needed very particular books. Sometimes I need them in very particular editions. And given the convenience of online ordering, for the books that matter most, I almost always mail-order these days.
My tendencies war with my deeply-engrained conscience, the importance of keeping independant bookstores alive and well, something which won't happen without my footfall - among others. Small independant bookstores are especially vulnerable to the convenience behemoth. They especially need me and my book-buying compulsions. But I still need them too, especially on days when I have forgotten what fiction I enjoy, or wonder what else is out there I might like to read, and only browsing the shelves, at leisure, will suffice.
I'm with you
Re: I'm with you
Someday we will both have enormous houses and an unlimited book-buying budget, I'm sure of it.
But of course
Re: But of course
(no subject)
I also find that I'm less willing now to spend money on an unknown title/author. Even with my favorite authors it seems as if, in recent years, the standard of writing and editing has decreased. I've been disappointed several times by horrendous editing and now am less willing to purchase a book without at least a recommendation from someone else I trust to support it.
(no subject)
I'm powerless in a real bookstore. I'm incapable of a single purchase, unless it is for someone else. I hate to participate in the destruction of indie bookstores by my constant online purchases, but I, and my wallet, are safer that way.
(no subject)
Lamin' Gaiman
What did you think? I loved the scene in the library, but the rest of the movie left me cold. I think I'd much rather read it in long comic form. All the writing reminded me too much of Stinky Cheese Man, since I don't really know Dave McKean's other work.
Re: Lamin' Gaiman
The framing story was a little too cliché, but otherwise there was enough visual niftiness, occasionally intriguing music, and other quirks to tide me through. It's not a strong story, but it's an interesting world. I only know of Dave McKean's work, haven't read any directly, but I this movie has a great deal in common with what I expect The Wolves in the Walls would be like; and that says a certain amount about target age ranges too. I loved the fish, quite liked the sphinx, and remember the chicken fondly. I suspect that "See? That's educational." may become a stock phrase.
The Pain of Print
The more I get into the medieval literature and getting especially acquainted with the manuscript culture, I find modern books to be absurdly verbose and almost cancerous - like verbage is a sick growth on their main point. I find myself dissecting their arguments in about ten minutes, and then checking if I want the book because of the bibliography. It's quite sad.
Now the small, independant stores still draw me - especially if they're dripping with older books no longer in print. That's the thing, my tastes these days are for such rare books that I find I can only find them through the web-based merchants (Abebooks is one of my favorites), but the money is tough to come by.
I miss fiction, but find I get petulant about the time they take to read. Actually, I just read "the Rule of Four" and that one had me rivited. Great Book!
Re: The Pain of Print
I missed fiction too. I didn't allow myself to read it while dissertating, except while travelling or, if an urgent new book, over a weekend once in a while. Being in the middle of a fiction book was far too distracting for me. The Rule of Four was fairly engrossing, although sad in many ways too - so many people wasting away for so much time.
(no subject)
(no subject)
One of the first things I did when I moved here was look for the local library, only to learn it had closed about six months earlier. There's none close, and the one library I'm at regularly and have circulating privileges with has no real humanities component, so is fairly useless for fiction anyways.