For the Love of Books
Even in this digital age, with the ease and convenience of eReaders, nothing compares to the look and beauty of a book. Even if it’s a paperback.
I haven’t got anything against eReaders – I have one and I do find it handy – but, given the choice, I always gravitate towards a physical book.
I’m glad I grew up in the pre-digital age, in a book-loving family; I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t around books.
I was never a sporty child or all that physical – hence the rotund shape (heh) – preferring instead to give my imagination free rein to travel to far away, usually imaginary, places and indulge in all kinds of derring-do.
It was thanks to my father that I acquired the love of the written word; he loved to read, and I can still picture him totally absorbed in a book. My mum also loved reading, but she was more of a magazine-and-newspaper kinda gal. To be fair, my mum was the one who made sure we had ‘child-friendly’ books as were growing up.
Loads of fairy tale books and Enid Blyton books – ‘The Enchanted Wood’, ‘Famous Five’, ‘Malory Towers’ – that’s what I remember reading in my growing-up years.
And a personal favourite, ‘My Friend Flicka’ and the sequels by Mary O’Hara.
Into my teens and my reading flowed from fairy tales to fantasy, and serious reading of comic books.
I also enjoyed thrillers and westerns, my dad’s favourite genres. In return, my sister and I got him hooked on fantasy.
In my younger days, I also devoured horror stories; Stephen King and F Paul Wilson come to mind. These days, I prefer to be unnerved/scared in a more understated way.
Into my 50s, I find myself reading all sorts, even though fairy tales and fantasy are still my go-to genres. I try and branch out, to read out of my comfort zone, but invariably I find myself re-reading favourite books.
That probably has a lot to do with my becoming less patient in my old age. These days, I have no qualms about not finishing a book.
Holding a book, the feel of it, the smell of the pages, the soft rustle as the page is turned… for me, it all adds to the overall sense of being transported into the story.
I never really gave it much thought, but the last time I read an eBook, it came to me that I wasn’t as fully ‘in’ the story as I could have been; almost as if there was an invisible barrier between me and the story.
As with films, so with a good book – I start it fully prepared to completely immerse myself in it.
What about you? Do you remember how and when you acquired the love of the written word?