Donovan
beer, I want beer
I have a particularly large Barnes and Noble in my neighborhood known for purchasing quantities of used books. Because they get lots of volume, they can be very selective about what they buy. Occasionally they'll get a particularly sweet collection from an old person dying, or just getting rid of their collection. Having packed and lifted and moved my own collection more than once I understand the desire to ditch all them heavy fuckers and buy a kindle.
But today I walked outta there with two books, hardbound and with slipcases, published in the forties and fifties and in beautiful shape. Back in those days "collected works" series were not uncommon like the Harvard Classic series and often went on for years. I picked up a collected volume of Lincoln's writings, and the Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin.
There were a dozen more to choose from, all in similar excellent shape, ranging from 8 to 20 bucks depending. Unfortunately my vacation drained my resources or I'd have walked outta there with a bunch of books. The two I got ran 20$ for the pair.
Thing about old books is, they were written in a different time when description was much more important and tv wasn't the standard. When you read old works and words the richness just comes right through. Also, new editions of classics tend to be heavily edited, abridged and even sanitized for less than PC language. For example, the story of Mary Jemison, a local famous historic character who figures into some of my research, has been reprinted dozens of times since it was first written almost a century ago. I've read a number of these version both new and old, and the older ones invariably contain more detailed accounts, that over the years get edited in bits and pieces until entire passages and sections are gone.
For this reason the e-book will never replace actual hard copy in my heart and mind. I would never be so damn tickled to post that I had downloaded Ben Franklin and Abe Lingoln for twenty bucks and planned to read them.
Maybe that's just me...
But today I walked outta there with two books, hardbound and with slipcases, published in the forties and fifties and in beautiful shape. Back in those days "collected works" series were not uncommon like the Harvard Classic series and often went on for years. I picked up a collected volume of Lincoln's writings, and the Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin.
There were a dozen more to choose from, all in similar excellent shape, ranging from 8 to 20 bucks depending. Unfortunately my vacation drained my resources or I'd have walked outta there with a bunch of books. The two I got ran 20$ for the pair.
Thing about old books is, they were written in a different time when description was much more important and tv wasn't the standard. When you read old works and words the richness just comes right through. Also, new editions of classics tend to be heavily edited, abridged and even sanitized for less than PC language. For example, the story of Mary Jemison, a local famous historic character who figures into some of my research, has been reprinted dozens of times since it was first written almost a century ago. I've read a number of these version both new and old, and the older ones invariably contain more detailed accounts, that over the years get edited in bits and pieces until entire passages and sections are gone.
For this reason the e-book will never replace actual hard copy in my heart and mind. I would never be so damn tickled to post that I had downloaded Ben Franklin and Abe Lingoln for twenty bucks and planned to read them.
Maybe that's just me...
