The extinct book…

The house does not have a doorbell.  In fact, it has a thick wood door stained a dark espresso color.  The door knocker is brass and wishes you fàilte or welcome.  Today, I heard a timid knock on my door.  When I opened it up, a girl of about 20 years old stood there with big, wide beautiful eyes.  I knew at once who this girl was even though I had never laid eyes on her.  She was from the Czech Republic, and she was selling books.  She introduced herself to me and I told her that she had recently visited a friend’s house.  She was very happy that I already knew why she was there.  I invited her inside as her pack was quite heavy and she was already covered in a sheen of sweat.

We went into the kitchen where I offered her a chair and she asked if she could share her books with me.  I said of course.  A million thoughts had already raced through my mind when I opened the door.  I know that money is tight right now and that I had no business looking at these books, but I was going to anyway.  I have been feeling particularly nostalgic about books lately.  She showed me her pamphlets and talked about what a good value these books were.  I sat and listened and wondered what her life was like back in her country.  As I am wont to do, I came up with a vision of her life while she was speaking with her accented English.  She apologized for her accent and I told her I understood her perfectly.  I pulled myself back to our conversation.

You see, part of my thinking was going the way of the extinct book.  I recently received an e-mail from the CEO of Borders wishing me a fond farewell.  It was actually quite sad.  During one part of his letter, he stated “The fact is that Borders has been facing headwinds for quite some time, including a rapidly changing book industry, the eReader revolution, and a turbulent economy.  We put up a great fight, but regrettably, in the end, we weren’t able to overcome these external forces.”  My fantasy book loving mind envisioned this CEO with a sword in hand fighting off millions of little Kindles and Nooks as they flew at him much like L. Frank Baum’s winged monkeys. 

Every time you buy a book, you are keeping up the good fight.  Each time you crack open a new hardcover and hear it sigh with pleasure as you hold it in your hands, you are helping.  It doesn’t matter that I am currently reading a 924 page book that is heavier than my dachshund, all that matters is that I refuse to buy a device to replace books.  Join me in my quest to save all books from extinction.  Do not be fooled by your friends who have given in.  I have now supported my children’s love of reading as well as helped a girl raise money for college in another country.

“You can’t get a cup of tea big enough or a book long enough to suit me.” ~C. S. Lewis

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