Book Stores - To E or not To E...

I love walking into bookstores.  The smell of fresh, unturned pages, redolent with hot ink and the plantations, pine resin and sunshine.  It's as if the air resonates; the vibration of words, knowledge, entertainment and enlightenment tingling every sense as I enter through the door.

Exclusive Books have my number, and are onto a good wicket with my Fanatics card.  I relished a trip to their emporium today, clutching sixty rands worth of vouchers to spend. 

I've looked forward to this treat all week, Cheshire cat grin in place.  What a win, they sent ME some vouchers to blow on books!

Lets ignore what I spent in that shop to get these vouchers in the first place, and just look forward to the expedition and browsing.

Nearly an hour later, I exit, arms groaning under the weight of 3 'must have's' that proved irresistible.  And burned my credit card for a further R460 AFTER the precious vouchers were surrendered and redeemed!

Personally, I believe that hell has a special level for the marketeers who dreamed up the 'loyalty' programmes I love so much.  Not only are they securely pocketing a substantial sum out of my monthly pay packet as I loyally shop their emporiums to earn the points, but  they issue reward vouchers knowing full well the impossibility of my spending only what they are giving!  A sucker bet which many of us fall for.

Tree Hugging - eReaders

It is mindboggling, though, to wander through the bookstores.  So many books, so much choice, and this only a skant fraction of what is out there. A veritable rainforest flattened, making reading a guilty pleasure for greenies.

An eReader?  Not for me, not right now, at any rate.  In no particular order, my reasons -

- see my opening paragraph - eReaders don't have the feel or smell of printed books.

- the 'romantic' experience of snuggling up in one of the bookshop chairs, perusing the selection of books before deciding on the final choice - not gonna happen electronically.  Even if eClusive Books turns into an electronic book version of Musica, that'll just turn book buying into the same clinical experience as buying CD's is.

- as you'll have guessed from the above, yes, I AM a Luddite!  No, I don't have an iPod, either.

- something else I have to worry about securing, dropping, leave lying around?  No one is going to steal the book I leave on my seat in the restaurant...

- can I read it in the bath? (OK, to be honest, now that reading glasses are essential, not by choice, the happy evenings spent engrossed in a book whilst wallowing in candlelit suds are pretty much gone.  Until the genius who invented a pen that can write upside down on the moon can make glass lenses that don't steam up!)

- how do I share the books that were special reads to me, with my friends, if we aren't all electronically sync'ed?  Even if we all get onstream eventually, emailing a link just won't be the same as lovingly handing over a beloved book!

- maybe the tree cost of a e-book is nil, but how about the minerals dug out of the earth for the electronics?  And the electricity to run it?

eReaders have their place, but are a long way from making any sort of inroads into tree conservancy by replacing printed matter.


Libraries

Join a library - most towns have them, and the more support they get from ratepayers, the less chance of them slowing dying away, as they seem to be doing.

A sign of the times when I recently eturned to the small town I grew up in was seeing the beautiful old library building now converted to a Boxer grocery warehouse, complete with razor wire and cruddy advertising signage for cheap products. 

My heart broke to see the shabby disrespect shown to the grand building I'd haunted during my school years.  Catching the bus into town to spend hours in the research section for homework, declaring and having stamped the 4 books I could legally borrow, and hiding the extra 2 or 3 in my bundled up school sweater.  4 books were swiftly despatched in as many days, I needed back up for the rest of the week!

Now litter blows around the majestic steps, and a pile of rags against the corner defines the living place of someone homeless.

Second Hand Bookshops

I can't think of any better place to stock up, at reasonable prices, a suitcase full of detective and mystery novels, easy beach reading and something light and easily forgotten.  The shelves filled with books by authors you've never heard of, a reminder again of the sheer volume of printed reading material published and plonked on the planet. 

Making this my stop for the bulk of my books goes a long way towards offsetting the carbon footprint of my addiction.  For anything specific, I love online shopping.

I've learned, over the years, what to expect from my local second hand bookstore, but sometimes, Ingrid has a surprise or two for me.  Delving into the biography section before going away on holiday, I scooped up and treasure a range of books, from Mamphela Ramphele's 'A Life' to Richard McCann's 'Just a Boy' - great reads and a fantastic feeling of having unearthed some hidden jewels.

I'm not alone in this, either.  Digging through the book exchange in Inhassoro, Mozambique, the first book I laid my hands on was stamped 'White River Book Exchange' - clearly her customer base travels broadly!

Bookclub

This is a challenging category to write about.  Bookclubs are largely formed by groups of women, who could be friends in their daily routine, or who may just enjoy a knees up together once a month.

What goes on at bookclub usually stays at bookclub, but without revealing many secrets, the evening generally has very little to do with books.  Those are sorted out, swopped, passed around and discussed in the dying moments of the meeting, as we scratch in oversized Guess bags for our car keys, and decide who hosts next month.

I have to say, though, that thanks to my fab bookclub I've discovered South African authors (and am eternally indebted to Amy for this), and in an effort to provide for Kay's detective mania, discovered Karen Rose. It also meant that I got the chance to give up Eat, Pray, Love in disgust, without having actually bought the book.

I can't imagine bookclub, the electronic version.  What - no heavy boxes of books to lug from host to host?  No index cards with comments (helps to remember whether you read the book or not)? No testing of interesting new recipes?

In fact, the greatest reason of all on the FOR printed books side, is the thought of eBook Club - a group skype session, each in our own homes, sending links across the ether. 

Drinking alone is a slippery slope...even if it was your monthly, remote, bookclub meet!