Confession of a Bibliophile

I'm a book lover. A bibliophile. A person who is happiest when surrounded by the smells of ink and paper. 

Book stores are my drug of choice. One inhale and my cares wash away and a smile appears on my face. Each shiny exterior beckons me, whispering, "read me" as my fingers lovingly caress the raised text on the cover. Hope is borne on the scent of fresh ink. Each purchase carefully recorded by an author, a teller of tales. I imagine them, holding their breath, praying that all their hard work will pay off.

Old book stores are like vaults filled with fine wine, each tome showing signs of age and love. The slightly musty smell of aged paper is an ambrosia to my mind. I gingerly open the covers looking for inscriptions. To Marie, with love.  Did she read the book with love? Did her eyes devour the pages? Why did she underline that passage? What did it say to her? What does it say to me? Reading the same words that another read, holding the same pages another held, I feel a connection, a link.

I am the child of readers, of people who look at my measly collection of over six hundred books and say, in a voice filled with disappointment, "Is this all you have?" Books filled my childhood home. Books fill my home. My love knows no limits, no bounds. They are art and entertainment and escape. They are my refuge, my friends, my peace.

I recently read a wonderful, yet sad article at Lunch Box Mom. She wrote that childhood might be the last holdout for paper and bound books.  As modern technology becomes more economical and convenient, paper books might just go the way of the record player - something that is great to pull out as a novelty, especially if you're a purist, but not really very common.

I honestly can't imagine that world.

Don't get me wrong!  I understand the appeal of an e-reader. Imagine...downloading your favorite books instantly, not needing to calculate how many books you need for a trip, the extra shelf space. And it's trendy.  Kindles are one of the top gifts of this Christmas season. SmartPhones come with e-readers and free books. A good chunk of the "coming soon" section on Amazon is filled with e-books.

There are a few of us who sheepishly admit that we're not really interested in Kindles, that we prefer paper. I see the looks, the sad looks, of converts. It's the same look I used to give people who had not yet made the transition to email. The look says, "You have no idea how behind the times you are."

In this case, though, I'm okay with that. I love technology but the idea that a cold, hard electronic devise will eventually take the place of my beloved books is like telling me Robot 3598 is going to take the place of my best friend.

Unthinkable.