Thinking about some of the physical limitations of a printed book – they become worn with age and may fall apart with use – unavoidable characteristics of physical publications. Printed media may endure damage through love or mistreatment, and it’s something that e-books, online articles, do not have to bear.
Recently, a good friend returned to me a book of mine; Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut. This ratty, paperback book was first given to me by another good friend as a birthday gift. I received it unexpectedly in the post; it smelled very strongly of cigarettes, the corners already dog-eared, and the pages yellow with age. The copy is from the year 2000.
I loved reading this book. I read it commuting to and from campus, and sometimes before bed or just at rest in my room. I can’t know if Billy Pilgrim’s unreliable narrative is so memorable for Vonnegut’s witty writing, or if my experience with the story was influenced by the interaction with this particular copy of the book. I’ve yet to read any other books by Vonnegut. (Though I found this book funny where as the friend who gifted it to me found it lonely.)
Another book that I had made strong emotional ties to would be an ex-library copy of The Little Prince by Antoine De Saint-Exupéry. My mother brought the hardback home one day when the city library cleared out many of its old books. It already had loose binding, and the cover had been sun-bleached. I read it once I got my hands on it, but being a child, didn’t fully grasp the depth. Revisiting it as a teenager I wasn’t much more moved. Reading it as an adult, I was.
There’s an illustration early in the book of a boa constrictor having eaten a elephant, Drawing Number One. It was ‘drawn’ by the narrator in childhood – and those I’ve discussed the book with tend to bring the picture up for it’s significance; the adults in the narrator’s life dissuaded him from pursuing a career in art only after a couple of drawings!
During summer, I saw a stranger wearing a t-shirt with Drawing Number One printed on it, and immediately felt overwhelmed by sadness and bitterness, and I do not consider myself a sentimental person. The illustrations in this book really left an impact. But the significance of the story did, too.
It’s difficult to say if the impression these stories left is because I feel that they are well-written or if it was because the objects’ presence felt more like a person; battle scarred and weary. I was less anxious to treat the books so carefully as they were already worn and kept them on-person while reading them.
Now, an e-book doesn’t wear out. An advantage, and yet, could it be a loss? Can you tell if an e-book has been well-loved?
I need to look closer at e-books and the platforms that digital books are accessed on to get a better understanding of their advantages over print.
DESIGN WORKS 