Miss Kathleen
At the Libraries: Bookshelf Porn
by Miss Kathleen - September 8, 2010 - 1:10 PM

Every Wednesday, Miss Kathleen provides links to a variety of stories about libraries, authors, and books. If there’s something fun going on in your local library, leave us a comment!

Ah, the many issues that can divide a couple — he likes e-books, she prefers print. Will they ever make it work?
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Since I work in a library, I already feel like I have every book at my fingertips, so an e-reader just isn’t practical for me. In fact, I don’t know anyone who has truly transitioned 100% to e-books — do you? Are you one of them? Please share your perspective with us!
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If you do get an e-book reader, what can you do with all of your old books? Why, turn them into fabulous jewelry, of course! Check out these amazing pieces by Littlefly. Or, you could turn them into book sculptures. Either way, they are gorgeous additions to your home or wardrobe!
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Maybe books aren’t on the way out, but what about the publishing industry? Publishers are struggling, and here’s some more bad news: marketing guru Seth Godin is giving up on them! “Mr. Godin plans to release subsequent titles himself in electronic books, via print-on-demand or in such formats as audiobooks, apps, PDFs and podcasts.” Could this be the future?
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Reading on the wane? Not in this teen’s life! Brittany Lopez, 14, won the NYPL’s contest by reading a whopping 325 books this summer! She’ll go far, especially with an attitude like this: “It helps your creativity. It’s not only for entertainment, it helps your knowledge.” Congratulations, Brittany! There were some other winners, too — check out the round-up here.
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Three weeks ago it was book cover voyeurism. This week? Bookshelf Porn. Feast your eyes!
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Friends, I do Storytime every week, and I like to think that I do it well. But I am no Zach Galifianakis. I would have loved to see him reading to kids at his hometown library in North Wilkesboro, NC, this summer! [Image credit: Jerry Lankford/The Record.]
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You can do a lot with Twitter, as Kanye West proves to us again and again. But did you ever think you could write a cihldren’s book via Twitter? No? Maybe you should think like NBA player Da’Sean Butler — he just did it! But I’ll save your some money — you can read the whole thing here. Now get tweeting!
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Every librarian has seen it: the dreaded bowel movement that is not in the toilet where it belongs, but in a book, on the shelves, or just somewhere it really has no right to be. Check out one librarian’s essay on his library’s “Poo Bandit” and you might just get hooked on a new blog.
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A bunch of libraries are renting out electricity meters to gauge how much power your home uses. Pretty cool idea — I wish my system had one!
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We recently found out there was going to be a new Peter Rabbit tale (although the why was never properly explained). This week, The Little Prince goes graphic. Could be good, could be … weird. Who knows?

If you follow a great library blog, site, or twitterer, please share it with me! Hit me at atthelibraries@gmail.com or leave me a comment. See previous installments of At the Libraries here.

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Comments (25)

  1. I would so love to know how much it would set me back to have a book made into a bracelet. No prices on the website of course, which means it’s probably well beyond my means. :( Too bad.

    posted by Sara on 9-8-2010 at 1:28 pm

  2. I originally bought an ebook reader (Sony 505) so I could read Project Gutenberg in bed. It grew from there. I refuse to buy DRM-restricted ebooks, but thankfully my favorite publishers agree with me and sell their books DRM-free, and I’ve found other wonderful authors as well. Plus, of course, the whole thing about reading Project Gutenberg (and MobileRead, ManyBooks, Feedbooks, etc.) in bed.

    posted by Worldwalker on 9-8-2010 at 2:22 pm

  3. When I do finally get an Ereader, I will still keep my books and probably expand the collection as well with worthwhile hardcovers. The ereader will be because I don’t really have much selections for books locally.

    posted by hockeyzombie on 9-8-2010 at 3:30 pm

  4. I swore I would never get into e-reading…and then I bought and iPad. It’s rocked my world. Currently going through a free copy of Tom Sawyer since I haven’t read it in about 10 years! :-)

    I’m curious to see if Brittany Lopez remembers half of what she read. Sure, I love to read, but what’s the use if you don’t remember the plot or the characters?

    posted by Meg on 9-8-2010 at 3:52 pm

  5. Upon entering my local Barnes & Noble, I noticed a large empty space right in the middle of the store. Perplexed, I asked an employee what they were doing. Here’s what he said. “Since the printed book is dying, and eBooks are all the rage, we have to make the store reflect this growing trend. This section will house ebooks, electronic teaching tools for children and whatnot.” I asked him if he really thought the printed book was dying. He said yes he thought so. I told him printed books would never die because the majority of the book buying folks like to feel a printed book in their hands, to smell it, turn the pages, etc. Am I wrong?

    Jo-Ann

    posted by Jo-Ann Burton on 9-8-2010 at 4:09 pm

  6. @Jo-Ann: I think the important consideration is that the majority of book buying folks WHO ARE ALIVE TODAY appreciate all of the tactile sensations that come along with a real-life printed book, but this probably won’t be the case for long. It’s likely (almost certain) that portable electronic devices will only improve, become less expensive and become more thoroughly integrated into our lives. Given that e-books are so much less expensive to produce and distribute than printed books, it seems logical that this will become the preferred method of distribution.

    After a few generations of school kids who have never held or read a printed book, who will be campaigning to keep them around? The B&N associate was definitely being a bit over-dramatic to act like printed books are dying this instant, but, realistically, it’s probably only a matter of time.

    posted by Adam on 9-8-2010 at 6:31 pm

  7. I’m with you, Jo-Ann. I just can’t get behind the whole e-book thing; I don’t get the same satisfaction or enjoyment from reading something on a screen that I get from reading a real book. But I think we may be in the minority. So sad.

    posted by Cristina on 9-8-2010 at 6:32 pm

  8. I read e-books on my Blackberry using Kobi…. love it at night when I want to read when the husband is sleeping or for when I am on the road. Always have a book going on my e-reader, but I am a library hound as well. So, I guess I would say I am about 25%/75% e-reader:book. I can’t see giving up my books entirely, but I do love the convenience of the ebook.

    posted by Lauren Hood on 9-8-2010 at 6:33 pm

  9. I just don’t want to have to rely on an outside energy source to read. Except maybe a light bulb or a candle.

    posted by Michael on 9-8-2010 at 6:39 pm

  10. I love my Kindle, but almost every book on it was free. I think the most I’ve paid for an e-book was $5-7 and that was for book collections (all the Charlie Chan and all the Philo Vance novels). But I am the kind of person who likes older books and thought a Kindle would make them easier and cheaper to find.
    For real books, I go to library book sales. I’m supporting a great cause and can get most books for $1 or less.
    I enjoy both formats, but think physical books have the edge in that they can be passed on to others when I am done with them. I also can’t see children’s books going all digital until e-readers get a whole lot cheaper.
    Physical books may die out eventually, but it won’t be anytime soon. I’m helping at a library sale this weekend. I guarantee we’ll have boxes of videotapes and will sell all of them despite VHS being a dead format.

    posted by CamilleR on 9-8-2010 at 6:42 pm

  11. Wanting to read print books may be an age thing, but even at 25, you can pry my book out of my cold dead hands. I can not imagine just having a Kindle or some such…I almost always have a book with me and it’s more about the feel and the experience. When reading a print book, I can remember what I felt before, whether I still believe it, and that sort of thing. I never have those same feelings with online stuff.
    I frequent my library a lot and am usually pretty happy with their selections. They’re also good about getting books I’d like to read, but they don’t have.

    posted by Kimberley on 9-8-2010 at 7:51 pm

  12. I will NEVER fully switch over to an e-reader. While it would be very useful for someone who travels a lot I prefer to have the physical copy of a book. Mostly because looking at the harsh light of a computer screen for my nightly 2 hours of reading would really do a number on my eyes. Also, an e-reader can’t have the… personality that a good old book does, like the way that it gets creases and folds where your favorite pages are, the overall FEEL of the story (Which, like Kimberly said, cannot be captured by a computer), and the smell, I love the smell of old books you know?

    posted by Keona on 9-8-2010 at 10:29 pm

  13. I would be interested in any studies done on the way people read digital books versus print books. (and what they take from it) I know that there have been studies about the way most people read articles on the computer, that they tend to skim more than thoroughly read it.

    Also, why is it easier to read a e-reader in bed than a real book? Unless it’s a lighting issue? There are lamps and booklights out there.

    posted by Nerak on 9-9-2010 at 2:48 am

  14. It’s funny how people say they could never imagine using an e-reader until they actually try one. That’s what happened to me.

    I still go to the library regularly and I’m reluctant to let go of my existing physical library, but my Kindle is with me ALWAYS (I even read it at the library sometimes). The non-backlit e-ink makes the experience totally different from reading a computer monitor.

    @Nerak I’m not sure what Worldwalker’s reasons were, but e-readers can be a lot lighter than some books, and they automatically keep your place in the book in case you fall asleep while reading, not that that’s ever happened to me…

    posted by pc on 9-9-2010 at 3:33 am

  15. Both my wife and I have completely switched over to e-books and I would never go back. I love the portability, the amount of content at my fingertips at any one time, being able to get practically any book, any time, anywhere. We both find we read more often with our B&N nook, we are spending more on books, and (thanks to B&N weekly free book offers) are reading different genres as well.

    Everyone is welcome to their own opinion of course, but for me all this talk about the “feel” and the “smell” of a paper book, taking you back to something, is really over romanticizing reading. I don’t read for the look, feel, or smell of the book. I read for the story in the pages and the places that takes me. Something ebooks do just as well.

    And to those who say they couldn’t stand to read an ebook for 2 hours strait I ask you to give a real ebook reader a try. Reading on a Kindle, nook, or Sony eReader is nothing like reading on your laptop for 2 hours. It REALLY looks like paper! If you still can’t stand it then so be it, just to write it off till you’ve given it look.

    posted by Zed on 9-9-2010 at 8:50 am

  16. My father’s an e-reader! Just about the only reason he goes to the library is because he can’t get a certain book on Kindle, or he’s dropping me off. I have a DS and I read books on that,but nothing can really replace an actual book, for me, anyway.

    posted by Sara in Al on 9-9-2010 at 9:22 am

  17. I love my Kindle. It has made it into the same class as my keys, wallet, and cell phone, as something I never leave home without. I usually read over lunch, and love that I can easily hold my food in one hand, and my Kindle in the other. One handed page turning is awesome! An entire bookstore at my fingertips – what’s not to like?

    posted by Chris on 9-9-2010 at 10:45 am

  18. I like my Nook — I really do. I read it in bed, at lunch, at the doctor’s office — anywhere. But I can never imagine letting go of my physical book collection. For some reason that I can’t explain, I have a harder time reading novels on the Nook — I’m fine with the short stories and non-fiction books, but if a novel requires any thought to it, I’d prefer it be a physical book.

    posted by Kathy on 9-9-2010 at 10:58 am

  19. I purchased a Kindle because I travel, and can never pack enough books to go with me. I like the fact that I have dozens of books loaded, and I can choose any to read at any time. I also like the fact that I can change the font size. Also, it’s nice not to have to hold open the pages (I used to get cramps in my hands).

    The main negative, in my view, is that I HATE the fact that I can no longer share books.

    I’m looking at a couple books now, the price is almost the same for printed or an e-book. Now I have to figure out if I want to share it (Print) or keep it forever at my fingertips (e-book).

    posted by Jan on 9-9-2010 at 11:54 am

  20. I worked at BN for awhile, and I worked the nook counter fairly often. Don’t get me wrong, I thought it was pretty cool, and for a lot of people (especially people who read a lot of books that come out primarily in mass-market paperback form, and people who like biographies and current events) e-readers are a great option. It’s also good for people who travel and don’t have the space to carry a ton of books. If you want an e-reader, go ahead and get one. But they’re not for everyone.

    For me, as a book girl, nothing, absolutely nothing, will replace physical, printed books. I love the smell, I love the feeling of a trade paperback book in my hands. I love the texture of the pages, and the occasional weird printing error. I even love the paper cuts that I get, the occasional greasy finger print from when i was reading and eating at the same time. Spills from water, soda, and tears. It’s all there, in the pages. I love that you can tell my favorite books are; indeed, you can tell my favorite books because of how worn they are. I love looking at my books on shelves, and re-arranging them. It’s like…it’s amazing. You can pick up a book I read five years ago, and whatever piece of paper I was using as a bookmark? Is still there. You can see where I was and what I was doing. It’s a marker of time.

    Ereaders can’t do that. You can bookmark and store a ton of books on them, but I love the romance and the story of a printed book. Because in addition to the story that’s in the book, each book has a story of how it got to you and your life with it.

    That’s perhaps a bit much, but it’s how I honestly feel.

    posted by throwingpens on 9-9-2010 at 1:55 pm

  21. I bought myself a Kindle for Christmas, and I must say, it’s the best investment I ever made. I live in a one bedroom apartment. I don’t have space for the volumes of books I read. Add to that the fact that I can have almost any book I want within minutes (no getting in my car, no walking around to find the book, etc) – win! About the only physical books I will continue to buy are cookbooks.

    As for the “experience”…I read books for he stories (fiction) or information (nonfiction). I don’t need paper to get those.

    posted by Regina on 9-16-2010 at 10:10 am

  22. “Nothing smells as good as a new book, especially if you get your nose right down in the binding, where you can still catch an acrid tang of the glue. The only thing close is the peppery smell of an old one. The odor of an old book is the odor of history, and for me, the look of a new one is still the look of the future.” — Stephen King

    I’m contemplating getting an e-reader, probably the Nook, because of the convenience, but I will never stop reading actual printed books. I’ve got a copy of Dante’s Divine Comedy, from the 70s, that I picked up at a garage sale. It’s a cheap, mass-market paperback for college students, tattered and scribbled in all the margins, and it’s one of my favorite books. There’s so much history there. The students (there are several different types of handwriting in it) who owned it before me, their comments, my comments added to it … and it will live on with the person who buys it at my garage sale and adds his or her own observations. You don’t get that kind of history with an e-book.

    posted by Kim on 9-16-2010 at 2:12 pm

  23. I will never give up my book collection.
    But, I am also living abroad this year and it would break my heart to buy and fall in love with books that I can’t take back with me. I bought a B&N nook so that I could keep reading without the heartbreak and it’s worked out just fine.

    posted by tycho on 9-17-2010 at 10:56 pm

  24. I love books. LOVE them. I buy them, trade for them, and have even swapped them at a swap meet. The experience of holding a book in your hands, turning the pages, being able to physically go back and forth, even the smell makes my heart sing.

    E-books are okay, I guess, but, as with Audio Books, they just do nothing for me. Reading one isn’t real reading to me. Plus, doesn’t anyone worry about the Farhenheit 451 implications of letting the printed word fall to the wayside? I do.

    I see the rise of e-readers as a (possible) marginalization of active readers to only the wealthy, not everyone. Even at $139.99, a Kindle is out of reach for those living in poverty or living paycheck to paycheck, whereas a library card or a cheap paperback isn’t.

    I will gladly take the real deal over “convenience! technology! almost weightless!” any day.

    posted by Brandy on 9-18-2010 at 2:31 am

  25. My heart will always belong to “real” books, solid objects of paper and ink that I can hold in my hands. I derive much pleasure from seeing them lined up neatly on my shelves, crowed and friendly. And with the most beautiful books come the most acute pleasure of ownership. Has anyone seen the recently release clothbound classics from Penguin? Or the Annotated Norton hardbacks? My family and I jokingly refer to these as “mantle books,” as in books that you would display on the mantle like works of art.

    But I find that ebooks have wormed their way into my life, almost without me realizing it. I’ve downloaded a few classic apps to my I-pod touch, and even got into the B&N reader for the same device. It’s nice to have a few “emergency” books at my fingertips, right in my tiny purse, if I ever get caught unexpectedly shorthanded. However, I only download “trash” (brain candy books I would have no intention of keeping if they were real, like anything by Bentley Little). And I refuse to buy an expensive e-reader, like a Nook. It would irk me to have to pay $150 for the device, and then have to pay more money for the books themselves. Also, did anyone read about Amazon deleting 1984 from peoples’ Kindles a few years ago? I can’t shake the paranoia that I might wake up one day and all my books would be gone…

    posted by Kinshukiba on 9-29-2010 at 11:04 pm

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