I started packing a few books today…I’ve been holding off until now. There are stacks hidden all over the house. I get anxiety about having to pack them. What if I need one? I packed and wrote every title down in the first box. Because that’s what I do….I write things down. Of course it took me 5 times longer to pack a single box than it would if I didn’t write things down….
I just can’t go digital. I love the smell of books. I love folding down pages and knowing exactly where to flip a certain book open to a certain passage. I love sharing and passing books on. And I love book covers. I love old books….especially ones that have been handed down through generations. I want my books to be handed down through generations too.
Also, I’ve seen Book of Eli. Books are like currency in the future. Especially when all the iPads and Kindles and Nooks run out of battery life. I’ll just have to refer to my handwritten dewey decimal index in my journal to find the one I’m looking for. And then I’ll trade it for food.
I just like being old fashioned.
In some of the lowest-income neighborhoods in the country there is only one book available for every 300 children.
-from Overcoming Illiteracy
I know this is a digital solution, but you could photograph the piles of books as they go in the box, with a box label so you know which is where. (If you get pressed for time) You could paste the photos into a book afterwards.
Completely brilliant!!
I’m doing this in reverse – nearly 4 years after moving house we nearly have enough storage to shelve all my books (the kids’ books got prioritised, so I had to wait). I am so excited about being able to re-read them for real instead of just thinking them through.
I agree, digital books don’t have the same appeal.
I agree….I have loads of books. I bought a kobo a few years ago hoping it would help me with my book addiction (my roommates would just cringe when I would come home with another bookcase haha!) But I only used the kobo maybe twice. I realized I am a very textile person and I love turning the pages and having a book open while reading. Such a simple but wonderful pleasure and one I take for granted far to often!
You don’t need digital books, just a digital solution for storing them! Taking pictures works if you don’t have them organized by any particular system, but since my library is alphabetized by author, I’m cataloging mine using the Book Crawler app. I’m hoping that once this is done that I’ll stop accidentally buying duplicate titles…
I love reading actual books and folding down the corner of the page too. BTW, I don’t think you’re old fashioned at all. Keep doing what you’re doing and living how you’re living…..I think you are AWESOME 🙂