Reading Between the Times

Dear Mum,

In September 2011 I blogged about the new-fangled and trendy way to read, books apparently having failed the reading public and requiring a new model replacement.

The Kindle. The arch nemesis of the book. The Moriarty of machines versus the comfy traditions and security of Sherlock.

Some eight months have passed since writing this blog, I have reviewed my reactions and attitudes toward the Kindle.

I throw my hands up. I’m waving my white flag of surrender, my white flag actually being a paperback book...

I did download the Kindle application onto my computer.

I’ll give you a minute while you peel yourself off the floor.

I have downloaded a couple of books – one written by my hairdresser’s Dad, a book of Horace’s Satires for an exhibition at Bateman’s, and ‘Three Men in A Boat’ after visiting the Writing Britain exhibition at the British Library.

This is because they were all FREE. I might have strong opinions and resent the digital reader but I’m strapped for cash and recognise the need to curtail the spending of cash.

Reading them on a computer was not the most comfortable. I would much rather have read all of these texts on paper, thumbing the pages, folding down corners that particularly take my fancy, inspecting the cover in contemplation as I pause the story to enjoy a cup of cha.

I am about to go on a four day holiday (AT LAST!) and am anxious about my chosen novels (Hideous Kinky and The Midnight Palace) weighing down my cabin luggage. And will those two novels be enough?

I admit a Kindle would solve my packing problems.

BUT the Kindle editions of books that parade in Waterstones windows are just as expensive as the paper edition. I bought a second hand edition of Hideous Kinky from Amazon and the Kindle edition is more expensive than the price I paid.

Plus you don’t have the joy of plucking tomes off of the shelf, smelling that crisp new book smell, nor glimpsing the front cover that peeks up at you tantalisingly between the kaftans and dresses that are folded (not so neatly – I’m not the best packer) in your suitcase.

Furthermore, a friend’s Kindle broke - something books don’t tend to do, never snapping down the spine and falling in two or disintegrating between one’s fingers.

I am, therefore, unmoved in relation to the Kindle. We are not amused. However...

Queen Victoria’s private diaries have recently been digitalised, meaning the great British public now have access to the innermost thoughts of one of the country’s greatest monarchs.

I find this exceptionally exciting.

In fact, I find a great many historical documents and manuscripts published online fascinating. Caxton’s edition of ‘The Canterbury Tales,’ for example, or Shakespeare’s Quartos.

What a privilege! To read these significant and compelling texts from the comfort of your own home with a coffee in hand.

I can accept that reading an illuminated manuscript, or academic book, or historical document on a digital advice is pretty wonderful.

Of course, it cannot quantify the joy of reading the original but most of us don’t have access or funds for such opportunities.

And reading such fiction on these devices is like attending a garden party at Buckingham Palace in your pyjamas with last night’s dinner spilt down the front. Unspeakable. I would shudder if the ghosts of Shakespeare and Chaucer materialised in my bedroom to witness this.

I encourage you all to read ‘The LibraryBook,’ which includes stories, accounts and anecdotes from a varied host of writers and personalities, describing their own experiences with books and their adopted parent; the library.

Bali Rai writes “No e-reader will ever replace the beauty of a fully formed 3-D book. Technology has its place, but it would not even exist without books and libraries.”

Well said, Bali! Bravo bravo! But alas! Our libraries are being shut!

With more and more digitals texts threatening the printing of literature along with funding cuts closing these book sanctuaries, readers are to be disappointed.

Are we facing a future where books are forgotten entities available only to those in the know, like the Cemetery of Forgotten Books?

The Woman’s Library is a case in point. Facing a skeleton service, pilgrims have to carefully plan their voyage to the shrine, knowing its future is pretty bleak. After last week’s blog you’ll realise I think this devalues all that women have achieved.

But I would say the same of any fading library. It is sad for both the authors who can share their love for print with the public and, more importantly, readers who can revel in rich realms of fictional fantasy free of charge, whatever their age or race or sex – a universe of worlds at their fingertips all with a tiny plastic library card.

Along with sketches from Sesame Street and the Chuckle Brothers theme tune, my nostalgic memory of childhood is headed by Arthur’s wise words: “Having fun isn’t hardwhen you’ve got a library card.”

Pure poetry for the soul...

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Please sign the petition to save The Woman’s Library. You can read more here. It doesn’t take long and is a worthy cause!