Sources of Inspiration

I just finished reading this NY Times article about reading and thought it might be worthy of some discussion here. I know our resident children’s librarians will probably let go with a hearty “Hell, Yeah!” when they read this. I know I did.

Reading involves more than a firing of synapses. For dyed-in-the-wool readers, it’s a tactile as well as a cerebral experience. It’s the turning of pages, it’s feeling the smoothness of paper and marveling over the vibrant colors in a new picture book, it hearing that slight thpffft as a book is opened for the first time…you know what I mean.

I admit, my Kindle is my best friend these days, but I’ve had it long enough now to have noticed that I go through periods where I load it up with all sorts of goodies, from Dickens to Libba Bray to James Rollins, then carry it with me wherever I go and read whenever I can. But then I start to miss the feel of a book in my hands, and suddenly find myself among the stacks in the library, adding book after book to a pile that I then lug home and read, curled up in a corner of the living room.

I’ve also noticed other differences in how I read a book versus an e-book. I find that I remember the books, long after I’ve forgotten the stories on the Kindle. I’m not associating memories with the e-reader the same way I do with the book. For example, last summer I spent a lot of time at our family cottage on Black Lake in northern NY. When I’m there, I read. A lot. Usually camped out in a comfy chair on the deck overlooking the lake. Last summer, I clearly remember reading The Historian there in book form. I remember the weight of the book and the heat of the sun. And I remember the story. And if you’re a Dracula/vampire fan and you haven’t read The Historian, go get it right now. It’s fantastic. But I digress.

I also read a ton of e-books last summer. Sitting in the same spot, on the same lake, under the same sun. But I can’t tell you the title of a single one of them. Not. A. Single. One. Sure, I can go back and look on my Kindle and see what titles are there and probably jog my memory enough to know which ones I read last summer. But isn’t it strange that the two experiences are so different.

I’m sure there are cognitive experts out there who could provide some explanation for this, but it makes me wonder what the long-term ramifications are of our culture becoming more and more e-immersed. Are our brains wired to absorb and assimilate information differently based on how we ingest it?

Heavy thinking for a Sunday, I know. But here’s something else to chew on. Do you think  libraries fit into the tactile experience of reading? I do. Using libraries is part of the whole reading experience for many people. I’ve known many library users who have a whole routine — they keep track of everything they read and everything they want to read in little moleskin diaries that they tote everywhere. They routinely clip little blurbs about new books from newspapers & magazines, or frantically scribble titles and authors in those notebooks whenever they come across a new author or interesting title.  Then they log on to the library website as soon as they get home and start trolling for their new treasures. They know how to use the catalog better than we do. They place holds as easily as they pour their next cup of coffee. And when they come to the library, it’s a little like coming home.

These are the people who continue to make libraries an important part of our culture.

Anyway, I’d love to hear your reactions to the NY Times story…

Patty