Sad, sad, sad
Posted on May 28, 2007
I just read this article on Yahoo which says a former book dealer in Kansas City burned his remaining stock of books as a protest. When he closed his shop, he had around 20,000 books remaining. He tried to give them away to thrift stores and libraries, only to be refused – they already has too many. Since the books were sitting in storage, he decided to burn a bunch as a protest to the lack of respect for books nowadays. He plans on lighting bonfires monthly until they are all gone.
It’s sad he felt he needed to resort to this, but I also understand in a way. One of the quotes from the article was from someone who paid $10 to save some books from the flames. He said, “Not reading a book is as good as burning it.” Ouch. Apparently, less than half of Americans reported reading for pleasure in a recent survey. With competition from other media outlets, such as the internet and TV, books have become like the Rodney Dangerfield of media…getting no respect.
I know some people who are voracious readers, who will read book after book after book. Although I’m not one of them, I do enjoy reading for pleasure. I wish I could say it was inconcievable for me to imagine — people not reading books — but it’s not. I just tell myself that it’s their loss for not reading.
I tread aside the vast wasteland and enter the realm of magic.
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