I'm a lover of the printed word, and yes, that usually means the physical printed word. While e-books have their place with me, it's harder to motivate myself to relax with a novel on an e-reader when I stare at a screen all day at work. So my ideal reading, if I can carve the time out for it, is with a physical book, with pages, relaxed on a couch somewhere.
The next problem for a person such as me is where to put all of these precious books. The first answer should always be the library where possible, because it's a repository of books that you don't need to maintain yourself, and after taxes it's a free service. I consider going to the library the ultimate bookshelf. But, of course there are many well-loved volumes at my own place. Volumes I need to store.
I've had square or rectangular bookshelves since childhood and sometimes think of doing something different. Organizational guru Marie Kondo (author of The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up) suggests hiding your volumes in a closet. Others, if the selection is small enough, advocate putting them inside of trunks or ottomans. But is there a more interesting way?
Talk about reinventing the wheel. Credit: Aaron "tango" Tang / Flickr / Creative Commons
This makes books more of a design feature. What you see above is a walking bookcase, where I suppose the user can read a book while strolling around his or her vast living room. But perhaps not so practical for those of us with small spaces (or those with spaces that are shrinking by the year due to the number of books we accumulate.)
So from time to time I find myself wandering virtually on Pinterest, seeing some neat ideas. Like this reading nook, complete with a bed that has a drawer full of books. Or a staircase wall adorned with volumes that are organized by color. And for the music lovers in our lives, who can resist this grand piano (on a wall, no less) with a bunch of books inside of it?
No matter the design that is chosen, it shows that in the 22nd century, we still find books of importance, even though the development of ereaders would obstensibly erase the need for people to store them. Even though some minimalists advocate getting rid of most or all of your books, a dedicated group of readers happily keep the printed word on hand.
There's an attachment to books that is hard to break. Credit: Wikimedia Commons
More broadly, the fact that books still exist despite a replacement shows that there is a place for old media even as newer media replaces it. Certain PlayStation 3 games are available for play on the PlayStation 4, after a conversion process that requires redownloading the game. Vinyl lovers argue that music can't sound better, even with the advent of crystal-clear digital technology -- on demand, no less. And the number of people who enjoy keeping pieces such as 19th century sewing machines or old television sets show how technology and art can be one and the same.
It's a good trend. It encourages us to hold on to old games and ideas, not replacing them completely with new ones but more using them as a basis. And this means that we can have the same cultural touchstones across generations -- Super Mario Bros., Pink Floyd and others can live on in today's millennials and even those who are younger.
What sort of older things have you held on to, and why?
Top image: Bookshelves can also be in unusual environments, making us think differently about how we store knowledge. Credit: Peter Hindmarsh/Flickr (Creative Commons)
