Obsession, Enslavement, Fetish, Passion?

[Pyan]

Less than 10 books? I've always been surrounded by books

Me too.
It always makes me wonder, when I visit other peoples' houses, and they've a 54" tv, games consoles, etc, and on a corner shelf there's about four books, including one Readers Digest 3 in 1 condensed volume. I mean, have these people no imagination at all??

 

[Cloud]

nope. no imagination and no education.

I always look at books in people's homes, and look for them. Even in magazines, I find myself trying to read book titles in pictures.

I've heard that no one is reading books anymore. If that is true, why can I never find a parking spot at my local Barnes & Noble?

 

[Nesacat]

Reading has always been a passion. My parents encouraged it and I always remember being given books as gifts. I have not counted them for some time since they have been in boxes in storage for two years now but there were several thousand and much more has been added.

My friends did think it wierd and I admittedly lost most of them when they discovered I had a book-habit. Most relatives could not get their head around it either and thought I ought to be something else with my time.

My parents however always understood and always tried to find the space to accomodate the books. My mom's gotten quite good over the years in finding places to slot bookshelves.

I don't think it's an obsession. I think it's something more basic and needful almost like breathing. Soul food or nourishment for the mind. Call it what you will. It's as necessary as a beating heart.

 

[Curt Chiarelli]

Reading has always been a passion.
I don't think it's an obsession. I think it's something more basic and needful almost like breathing. Soul food or nourishment for the mind. Call it what you will. It's as necessary as a beating heart.

Here, here!

 

[littlemissattitude]

Me too.
It always makes me wonder, when I visit other peoples' houses, and they've a 54" tv, games consoles, etc, and on a corner shelf there's about four books, including one Readers Digest 3 in 1 condensed volume. I mean, have these people no imagination at all??

Hey! I wouldn't read them now, but my first "adult" reading (which came about the time I was beginning elementary school at about age five or six) came from reading Readers Digest condensed books. My mother had subscribed and we had shelves and shelves of them. I can think of a few books that I love to this day, after having read the complete versions, that I was first introduced to in those books over the years.

On the other hand, I do think you're right about people who have these elaborate entertainment systems but few or no books. They don't want to have to work for their entertainment...and make no mistake, reading is work. I mean, sheesh, you have to make up the pictures in your head and everything.

Cloud: you said:

I've heard that no one is reading books anymore. If that is true, why can I never find a parking spot at my local Barnes & Noble?

Isn't it sad? This past Sunday I drove all the way over to my local B&N and had to just cruise through the parking lot and go somewhere else because there were no parking spaces.

 

[Kitera]

My dream is to have....a two storey library filled with the top books and most books from the top SFF authors!

*sighs* One day...

 

[j d worthington]

Reading has always been a passion. My parents encouraged it and I always remember being given books as gifts. I have not counted them for some time since they have been in boxes in storage for two years now but there were several thousand and much more has been added.

Ditto.

I don't think it's an obsession. I think it's something more basic and needful almost like breathing. Soul food or nourishment for the mind. Call it what you will. It's as necessary as a beating heart.

Again, ditto.

X-ref. to the thread about economic well being of children. One of the indicators was households which have less than 10 books. US landed about in the middle there.

I recall that, back around 1980-81, a survey was taken, and it was found that less "than 1% of the population read more than 1 book a year". I've not seen any figures recently, but I think, from my own experience, that young people, at least, are reading more than the last couple of generations overall, which I take to be at least a (semi-)hopeful sign.

 

[Pyan]

Hey! I wouldn't read them now, but my first "adult" reading (which came about the time I was beginning elementary school at about age five or six) came from reading Readers Digest condensed books. My mother had subscribed and we had shelves and shelves of them. I can think of a few books that I love to this day, after having read the complete versions, that I was first introduced to in those books over the years.

Wasn't knocking the concept, LMA - just the idea that they are an acceptable substitute for the real thing.
One of the very first "adult" books I can remember reading in full was The Wreck of the Mary Deare, by Hammond Innes - and that was because I was so dissatisfied with the RD version, so you could say they did me a favour as well.

 

[Curt Chiarelli]

I recall that, back around 1980-81, a survey was taken, and it was found that less "than 1% of the population read more than 1 book a year". I've not seen any figures recently, but I think, from my own experience, that young people, at least, are reading more than the last couple of generations overall, which I take to be at least a (semi-)hopeful sign.

Yes, but what are they reading, what's the quality?

Not to contradict you J.D., but sadly my observations out here in California are precisely the opposite. The only books I've ever seen young people consistently carry have been those Japanese manga graphic novels that have recently become so popular.

A recent incident seems to confirm my worst fears: I went into a local restaurant and was greeted (if such sullen impertinence could pass as such) by a piggishly dressed girl in Sonoma State University sweats. The first thing out of her mouth - which had just curled with barely restrained disgust along with a beetled brow and narrowed eyes - was, "Dude, is that like, you know, a book or something?"

I just stared at her in complete disbelief: "Are you a student at Sonoma State?"

- "Yeah."

- "Okay, you're a student right, but you seemed shocked to see me with a book? Aren't you assigned reading for your classes? Don't you enjoy reading in your leisure time?"

- "F**k no! Dude, no one normal reads unless they gotta. What you're doing, that's just too f**king weird."

The future of our country just flashed before my eyes. I'm afraid my appetite was spoiled and I left abruptly.

My generation was certainly no great shakes, but I'm seeing a worsening in illiteracy and, by connection, a deepening of cultural ignorance in this country that is beyond apalling.

 

[Pyan]

That's worrying, Curt.
There are at least three pubs within easy strolling distance of me where there is at least one shelf of books in the lounge bar (definitions, possibly pictures supplied on request!) for the use of solo customers - mainly short stories, with a few novels and non-fiction thrown in. The landlords started them off, but now regular customers add new titles and keep the content ticking over.
One of the pubs also has newspapers attached to a wooden rod down the spine, hung on a rack by the door, for patrons to read and return. And no wide-screen tv in the corner!
Very civilized.

 

[Nesacat]

Definitely a reason to lose one's appetite Curt and very worrying.

The pubs here do not have magazines or newspapers, let alone books; wide screen TVs being the order of the day.

However, my favourite bookstore encourages people to come in and read and even feeds them tea/coffee and cookies or cake for free. It has one section which is an entire library of rare books which are not for sale but it is open for people to read in.

I know it's a small drop in a huge ocean but it always makes me smile to see kids or teens come in, pick up a book, start reading and keep reading.

 

[Curt Chiarelli]

That's worrying, Curt.
There are at least three pubs within easy strolling distance of me where there is at least one shelf of books in the lounge bar (definitions, possibly pictures supplied on request!) for the use of solo customers - mainly short stories, with a few novels and non-fiction thrown in. The landlords started them off, but now regular customers add new titles and keep the content ticking over.
One of the pubs also has newspapers attached to a wooden rod down the spine, hung on a rack by the door, for patrons to read and return. And no wide-screen tv in the corner! Very civilized.

Believe me that's good to hear! The restaurant I mentioned (of course) had a huge widescreen TV that the patrons were transfixed by. And of course the music was pounding too. Many restaurants - especially if they have bars - are like that now in the states. This recalls a fascinating essay published in 1949 by our good pal George Orwell that addressed this very same trend of distracting patrons from having any kind of meaningful conversation or quiet moment of reverie. Very disturbing . . . .

 

[Curt Chiarelli]

Definitely a reason to lose one's appetite Curt and very worrying.

The pubs here do not have magazines or newspapers, let alone books; wide screen TVs being the order of the day.

However, my favourite bookstore encourages people to come in and read and even feeds them tea/coffee and cookies or cake for free. It has one section which is an entire library of rare books which are not for sale but it is open for people to read in.

I know it's a small drop in a huge ocean but it always makes me smile to see kids or teens come in, pick up a book, start reading and keep reading.

Excellent! Although the food and coffee certainly aren't free, some of our major chain bookstores like Border's have cafes attached to them. As can be expected, I enjoy visiting the one local to me. However, I would like to see a revival of the conversational arts, chess tournaments, literary recitals and live musicians. One criticism I have of the ambiance is that most people who congregate there are quite cold and unsociable. Still, at least they're reading - and that's what matters most!

 

[j d worthington]

Well, Curt, I've run into much the sort of thing you're talking about, but not around here. Down where I come from originally, (Pasadena, near Houston) it is that way. Around here... reading is very much in, though unfortunately the independent book stores are (with a handful of notable exceptions) not.

Mind you, this town may be a serious aberration... Take, for instance, a conversation I overheard in my last retail job (keep in mind -- these were seniors in high school!)... just a brief bit of it...

"Yeah, she was the 'It' girl..."

(My thought: "Huh? Surely they can't be talking about Clara Bow!" Well... that's exactly who they were talking about... and Buster Keaton, and Charlie Chaplin, and Louise Brooks.....)

And then they got on the subject of sf books... and were mentioning writers like Brunner, and Zelazny, and Delaney.....

Thing is, that's not unusual around here; so it's not entirely bleak, Curt... just 95%....

 

[Nesacat]

This at least would appear to be universal. You walk into most restaurants, cafes and pubs here and are immediately assaulted by several televisions running different programmes very loudly, music also being played very loudly, lights in several colour. It's impossible to even think about talking let alone reading. Tend to not go into these places. It bothers me personally when something totally blocks my senses, like the smoke and the noise.

And yes about people not talking. Sometimes you can't blame them. Things are pretty scary in the city and everyone is wary. At least at Silverfish the ones who come regularly start talking.

And no JD it's not all bleak, it just seems to be that way sometimes.

 

[Nikitta]

I lost almost all of my books when we moved about one and a half year ago It also wasn't the only things we lost.

I'm only slowly rebuilding my book collection. We plan to move back to Scandinavia during this year and I'm not parting with any of the books I bought here and I know they're heavy for shipping, but I'm so not going through that feeling again. If it wasn't for that, I'd probably buy more books than I do.

This time, I'll send the books in advance, little by little, by post. Then I know that they're there when I arrive.

When I grew up, there was a limit to how many books you could loan at the library, pr user, so my mother made sure that I got a library card when I was 6 months old. Just thinking of the main library in the town I grew up makes me smile. There is something magic about libraries.

 

[Pyan]

When I grew up, there was a limit to how many books you could loan at the library, pr user,

I'd forgotten about that! 4 fiction and 2 non-fiction was the rule when I was young!
And you had little cardboard half-envelopes with your name on - the book had a ticket in it that was put in the envelope after it was stamped, and the librarian put it in these long thin wooden racks.......
And nobody talked above a whisper on pain of being thrown out......
Wooo. Happy days!

 

[Curt Chiarelli]

Well, Curt, I've run into much the sort of thing you're talking about, but not around here. Down where I come from originally, (Pasadena, near Houston) it is that way. Around here... reading is very much in, though unfortunately the independent book stores are (with a handful of notable exceptions) not.

Mind you, this town may be a serious aberration... Take, for instance, a conversation I overheard in my last retail job (keep in mind -- these were seniors in high school!)... just a brief bit of it...

"Yeah, she was the 'It' girl..."

(My thought: "Huh? Surely they can't be talking about Clara Bow!" Well... that's exactly who they were talking about... and Buster Keaton, and Charlie Chaplin, and Louise Brooks.....)

And then they got on the subject of sf books... and were mentioning writers like Brunner, and Zelazny, and Delaney.....

Thing is, that's not unusual around here; so it's not entirely bleak, Curt... just 95%....

J.D. you're about to gain a new neighbour!

Aberrations? Grow 'em like a holy cancer cell in a Petrie dish! Metastasize I say! Up, up! Scour the last remnants of illiteracy from this country!

You know, I really did do my research before moving to this area. Very low crime rate. College town. Quiet, so I could have a chance of getting some work done. Sounded promising to me at the time. Well, apparently there was some data missing from the Big Picture that only personal experience could fill in . . . . the hard way, of course.

Some colleges elevate the local quality of life and some merely devolve it into an outtake of Animal House. Let's be frank about it: Sonoma State is hardly the Harvard of the West and standards out here are, generally speaking, lower than elsewhere in the country. And we can thank The Gipper for that. When he was the governor of the State of California he spent his entire term of office dismantling one of our country's finest public educational systems so that his corporate buddies could have a pool of poorly educated and, thus, easily exploited people to draw their labour from.

 

[j d worthington]

Some colleges elevate the local quality of life and some merely devolve it into an outtake of Animal House. Let's be frank about it: Sonoma State is hardly the Harvard of the West and standards out here are, generally speaking, lower than elsewhere in the country. And we can thank The Gipper for that. When he was the governor of the State of California he spent his entire term of office dismantling one of our country's finest public educational systems so that his corporate buddies could have a pool of poorly educated and, thus, easily exploited people to draw their labour from.

Oh, yes... don't even get me started about that one! I've not forgiven him for his part in the whole HUAC fiasco... (I also never forgave Elia Kazan.)

I wish I could say that the entire state were like that, but it's not. I mentioned having run across the sort of thing you mention when I was still living in Pasadena.... Was in a book store, browsing through the sff stuff (which was, at the time, right up front, if you can believe it! I remember because the Ballantine edition of HPL's Fungi from Yuggoth & Other Poems had just been released with that bizarre Gallardo cover...). Anyway, this fellow comes into the store looking for a book and literally dragging his girlfriend with him, who was fussing and whining the whole way. "Why are we going in here? You're not going to buy a BOOK, are you?" "Yes, I am." "But ... whyyyyyyyy?" "Because I need it for one of my classes." [College student, this one.] He lets go her wrist, and she all but bolts out the door. He starts after, she stops, looks sullen, and says "You know I get this DISEASE when I'm around books..." with total venom in her voice.... *sigh*

Now, see, that's the sort of thing I grew up with..... So I quite understand your experience; I'm just glad I'm not around that sort of thing around here... yet....

 

[Lenny]

When I grew up, there was a limit to how many books you could loan at the library, pr user, so my mother made sure that I got a library card when I was 6 months old. Just thinking of the main library in the town I grew up makes me smile. There is something magic about libraries.

Until recently I'm sure there was a limit of 10 books out at once. In the early 90s I can remember it being 5.

I went to one of the local libraries a couple of months ago, and asked if there was still a limit to the number of books one could take out. They just laughed at me and said, "As many as you can read, ****."

EDIT: Gah... it's blanked out the word!! It's an expression that all the old people around here use. Not old as in adults, but elderly people... you know, like "love", "chick", "pet", except this one is a male chicken shortened.