Sensuality of Reading, Part II

I have a feeling that the discussion about books and reading will continue for a long time to come. And, that is a good thing.
To continue putting down some adnascentia (see Save The Word entry on 8 Aug 09!), let me start with Ursula LeGuin who was interviewed on To the Best of Our Knowledge from Wisconsin Public Radio (heard it while stuck last night eastbound on Eisenhower, blockage due -- we believe -- to an accident). She spoke of publishers regarding books like magazines -- transient, timely, throw-away. And, she thought the solution someday soon would be what we call "Print on Demand," a marrying of technologies that would allow those who want to read a book from a screen to do so and those who prefer something printed and bound could also get what they want or need.
Also, there's a great interview with Sherman Alexie in the October Advance catalog from Ingram Book Company. Now, that's one hardcopy publication I cannot work with online -- I carry it everywhere and take all sorts of notes to help (I hope) us determine which titles to bring into Books on First. It has gotten wet, dog-eared, scribbled on, folded over... Anyway, I digress...
Sherman Alexie was criticised for saying that Kindles were elitist -- for various reasons, like they're expensive to buy (my note: and may be expensive to maintain, e.g., requiring electricity for recharging batteries). However, he does concede they are great for people with disabilities (hey, didn't I say that, too? He said it better!). I can't link you to the interview, but let me see if I can copy some of it here sometime.
In sum, he also used the word "tactile" and told of friends who said pretty much the same things I have heard. There was one thing that he mentioned that I had not articulated quite so well and to which my inner voice said, "Yes!" A friend told him, "I like to measure my progress when I read. ... I like to see that I'm getting near the end of the book. With the Kindle, it always feels like I'm on page one."
While the above comment might have to some the feel of a "Are we there yet?," I think many of us like to see how far we have progressed with a story. At a recent gathering, one family member offered to lend to a cousin The Shack, which is a very popular and raved-about book (it's not for everyone, but it's apparently for a lot of people). The one who had read it said something like, "I didn't want it to end. When I saw I was getting close to the end of the book, I read slower and slower." Now, that's as a good an endorsement of a book as I ever heard. And, how could he have done that unless he physically had the book in his hand, saw the number of pages left, felt the sadness and dragged his feet/eyes accordingly? Not having been given a free Kindle from Amazon.com to play with, I do not know, but suspect there's a little # of ## page indicator somewhere, but I have to believe it's not the same tactile experience.

Downtown Dixon on a Friday Night

What an unseasonably chilly August it has been!
The Dixon Heritage Crossing Riverfront Plaza had a great opening day and night, The actual construction did not take that much time, but it was a long haul to get this going. And, now, if there were only a few more refuse containers... The rumor is that they need donors who would like to apply their gift to the placement of a trash receptacle $800. They are very nice green-painted wrought iron. Think about it!
Tonight, with my sister Connie and our nephew Matthew in town, we will be going to Touch of Thai. Matt does not like Thai food, but he's crazy about sushi. Luckily for us, Touch of Thai also has a great sushi bar. Today for lunch, they and Larry went to Salamandra's, another great Downtown Dixon eatery.

Remembering Les Paul and Frances Fanelli Dunphy

Larry just told me about the death of Les Paul, whom we saw in 2002 at the Iridium in New York (two years before this picture was taken per AP), while in town for the BookExpo at Jacob Javits Convention Center.
That was a serendipitous occasion. Larry was reading one of those visitors' bureau publications put into the hotel room for guests' information for "things to do" (yes, and we didn't even need to fire up a laptop), and he said, "Look, Les Paul is playing. I didn't even know he was still alive." So, we had to go. Already dark, of course, as it was after 9pm on a June night. Walked down Broadway, enjoying the hustle & bustle and lights of New York City at night. Nearly passed the unobtrusive entrance to the jazz club with a lone attendant at the door. Paid the cover charge. Walked into a room where all the light was focused on the stage on which Les Paul sat on a chair with his guitar in lap with two much younger musicians accompanying him. The audience sat at small tables in almost total darkness not more than a few feet away. And, except to respond to the show (ripple of laughter, round of applause), in attentive silence (I recall little of that chit-chat you usually hear in clubs during live music). It was a very intimate setting, and an enjoyable and moving time, being in the presence of a living legend.

Let me also take this moment to mention the memory of Frances Fanelli Dunphy who passed away one year ago Tuesday (11 Aug 2008). I like to think we had a tiny bit in common. We celebrated Mother's Day together, two women who had borne no children yet were (still am) quietly proud and loving grandmothers. She had a rich life, enjoying playing cards and participating in so many groups and extension classes. I loved hearing stories and talking with her about her childhood in Amboy, IL, her stint in the Coast Guard during WWII, her family including her brother who died in The War, her sisters, nieces and nephews, the Fanelli Candy Store where she worked after school (she especially liked assignment to the Dixon branch shop where there was a soda fountain),... And she made the best fruit pies -- especially crust which "makes" the pie. She used to make a special one to order for a family member's birthday. Since Larry's b-day is in February, he once asked for a raisin pie, instead of one made of frozen or canned fruits. I had never heard of a raisin pie until I met Larry and then, Frances. We all miss you, Frances.

The Sensuality of Reading

I read an article in the NY Times (online!) the other day, about a musical instrument found in a dumpster broken, smelly and covered in grime, which turned out to be a rare although not highly, highly sought-after (read, "someone will pay megabucks to have") harp made by John Egan, described by historians as "the father of the modern Irish harp," because Egan revived an ancient instrument and tradition. Egan did it by combining elements -- old and new, from different kinds of harps -- to create "'a completely new romantic type of Irish harp, which was very successful, and which formed the basis of all subsequent revivals'."

This found object has been adopted by a musician who looks forward to restoring and then, playing this instrument.

"In the meantime he has been savoring the instrument, which he said he thought dated back to before 1820 and which he considered beautiful even in its damaged state.

"'Finding an Egan is like finding a fossil,' he said. 'It’s a piece of history, and for the rest of my life I will be in awe of this instrument.'"

There is a concept that niggled in my brain. My reading this article came straight after talking with Suellen of Kinkoona Farm's mattress topper fame in this blog and after conversing with many others about the advance of technology heralding (prematurely) the demise of books -- not e-books but "hardcopy," paper & ink (& bound) books which we happen to sell in a bricks & mortar establishment. They all said things like "I am a very tactile person," or "I like the feel of paper/smell of ink/weight of a book in my hand," or "I like to open up a book and curl up to read it/sit next to my little girl/boy/children and share it/read it together," or "I like to browse in a bookstore for both new bestsellers and books I've never heard of and flip through the pages, read a paragraph here and there and maybe even the last line of the book to get a feel for whether this is the kind of book I would want to read. You can't do that online even if they give you the whole first chapter free."
The operative word is "feel" or "tactile." Or, maybe in a broader sense (pun or no pun), "sensual" is how we could describe the experience of smelling, feeling, touching and holding certain objects -- made of cloth, wood, paper, porcelain, living fur & flesh... a mattress topper to stroke, an instrument to play, a vase of flowers to smell and admire, an apple to polish, maybe cut and eat, a child's head of hair to comb and fuss over, a book to open, turn the page and read.
To expand on the benefits of book in hand:
A book can be lovingly stroked.
It can be ripped in anger or dropped in carelessness and hastily or painstakingly restored.
It can be jealously cherished in pristine condition and it can be generously shared with personal scribbles in the margins.
True, a printed book can get heavy. If truly destroyed, we can only go back to the store and buy a new one.
I find the argument about saving the environment specious (the word as Larry would use), because it seems (no geek data link here, sorry) we use a lot more trees to make disposable cups, plates, catalogs, floor dusters, (nearly equally disposable) furniture and one-sided hardcopy first (and second and third and final) drafts of documents, besides being able to use kenaf instead, and I won't even get into our world's waste of plastic, styrofoam, electricity, water, clean air and arable land (paved over for another parking lot or one-story, football-field-sized stand-alone store). It assumes the creation of a book is temporal and thus, wasteful, when in truth, most books live numerous and very long lives. Even when someone decided to discard that harp, it was brought back to life, so too do printed books. Larry just finished reading Graham Greene's Monsignor Quixote . It was published in 1982, and not being one of Greene's classics, it was out of print by the time we opened in 1998, so Larry, a great Graham Greene fan, did not happen upon it as we initially stocked our shelves. An old paperback was given to him by one of our customers, and he thought it was still out of print. And then, someone picked it up and thought, let's reprint this (in 2000 and then, in September 2008) , so in a way, it has both stayed alive and been revived, and we carry it now. It is not available as a Kindle book and it is not yet old enough to be a free e-book. But, you can still buy it new or in a used bookstore (bricks and mortar or online). We have it now at Books on First.

The paper ones will not go the way of parchment and papyrus in at least a few years, so I'm glad we all will be able to enjoy the benefits of both. We are fortunate in our times to have the wonders of books, both the "hardcopy" and electronic kinds (I especially like the idea that they will help those with limited vision). And, while "hardcopy" ones can double for paperweights, doorstops and hammers, the electronic readers can serve as small beacons at outdoor concert venues and nightlights when you wake up in the middle of night and need to write down the details of your dream or details for the better mousetrap.

All I can say is touch, stroke, open the book and read on!

A Day at the Fair

Joined Larry at the Eighth Annual Renewable Energy & Sustainable Living Fair at the Ogle County Fairgrounds yesterday. First off, it was considerably cooler (at least 5ºF -- no exaggeration) and less humid than in Downtown Dixon, probably because it had rained there. Still, though, the covers of books we displayed had a good curl on them.

Because she exhibited just steps away, Larry was able to talk with WI-transplanted (via NYC!) Australian Suellen Thompson-Link about the sheep she keeps at Kinkoona ("Laughing") Farm. See what we spent our saved dollars to buy: one of her beautifully (and totally sustainably) made mattress toppers. She assured me that they are perfect for both winter and summer (having used one all year 'round in native Perth). Too tired to arrange it on the bed last night, but can't wait to do so.

Larry reports that this year, one repeat visitor to the fair and to our table, was able to present and share with others some of the projects he had going on, like a straw bale building, assisted by books he bought from us. We are happy that we have been able to help -- inform, educate, enlighten, inspire.

I was also able to give Larry a break so that he can buy some organic vegetables from John Barnhart of Oregon, IL. Can't find a website for you to link, but here's the program from the fair, so give him a call or drop him a line if you need to find his produce or want directions to his place (let him know how you found him). Larry said the big q this year is "Are you getting any red tomatoes yet?" I believe that's been the big q for a number of years now. I would say in my recent memory, I haven't seen regular sized tomatoes (that is, not grape or cherry tomatoes, but Big Boy and Rutgers and the like) turn red and ready to eat around here until the end of August, but Larry says my memory deceives me.

I walked around a bit and really enjoyed seeing some wonderful adult/children interactions, among visitors and exhibitors. I spoke with a duo from Western Springs, IL selling their own Bread from the Heart baked goods and honey from Blue Island (Chicago), IL. (I didn't get a chance to clarify the relationship, so I'm going with mother/daughter.) Mother is Class of '76 from Bed-Stuy HS in Brooklyn, NY, and daughter as a high school sophomore (and Honors English student) is hoping to go East to college. Of course, I made a pitch for my alma mater Vassar.

Dudley & Rachel Fowler and their family were displaying, among others, products to help with the Japanese beetle infestation. Daughter Gwen was helping out with the booth and was delighted to know that Books on First sells more than just books on renewable energy and sustainable living. I wished they had spoken with Larry on Saturday. As they had stayed overnight in Dixon and we're open until 9pm, it would have been great for them to visit the store with all that we have to offer for children and to hear those progressive acoustic guitar sounds of Steve Schad.

Having talked about this outing, I have to put in a word about our next big fieldtrip: Nachusa Grasslands 20th Annual Autumn on the Prairie which is always on the 3rd Saturday of September, being this year on 19 Sep. Look for Larry and Books on First there in between enjoying other great things at a beautiful place.

Save The Word!

I am glad to see that I am not the only one on Twitter who can go more than 5 minutes without tweeting. But if you are interested in following our infrequent tweets, please do! It's @booksonfirst, of course!
Right now, I am following @bookavore who works at @WordBrooklyn (which is an indie in Brooklyn, NY), and through their following just discovered a great website to share as a counteraction to losing words. Adopt a word today! Not sure if the adnascentia of our efforts for endangered words will forestall the end of even mundane words like "you", "are" and "though" from disappearing (through texting -- the usual reason for lack of proper spelled use!) from English language, but hey! let's make the attempt. (Can you tell which word I adopted? Means those root shoots that plants like trees establish into the ground from above ground. Kind of reminds me of Toastmasters times, making effort to use the "Word of the Day")

Dixon's Own Little Shop of Horrors

Here to report we had great fun and were suitably impressed with VIVA! Performing Arts School's first summer musical production Little Shop of Horrors. Unable and thus, not going to attempt to mention all the wonderful performances (ok, let's mention that the plant costumes were awesome (in every sense of the word)), CONGRATULATIONS to EVERYONE involved. Yes, yes, we said it is The Next Picture Show's Performing Arts School and I'm not sure if I know the connection, but there are connections and one of them is Dixon! We are proud and happy to be a part of a community that enables such creatively and professionally done work involving volunteers of many different ages, talents and experiences.

And what's this about re-stocking the Rock River with channel catfish after a devastating fish kill in June? Did we find out for sure what happened? And, the way I discovered it was through a blog! Thank you, Stray Casts & Dale Bowman!

Here's... August!

Cannot believe that August has come!

You can still catch the first production of Dixon's new theater group The Next Picture Show's Performing Arts School which performs Little Shop of Horrors this weekend (31Jul - 2Aug) at the Dixon High School Auditorium. Larry & I hope to catch the Sunday matinee tomorrow at 2pm.

August heralds the beginning of a new Melissa & Doug special -- buy two packs of art supplies and get a third one free!

Also coming up is the Heritage Crossing Riverfront Plaza (also known as the Dixon Riverfront) Dedication on Friday, 14 Aug. What a gala event-- eleven straight hours of a great time, with music starting with Dixon's Community Band and ending with Shades of Blue and the Late Night Blues Brothers Revue. The riverfront is looking great, a far cry from when Larry first introduced me to Dixon over 20 years ago, where most of this prime space was occupied by a municipal parking lot that had so few casual takers that there were posts with signs reserving spaces for private individuals who leased by the month or year or something like that. I was appalled. It's been a long time coming after the concerted efforts of many good citizens. Yay, Dixon!