The novel is dead. The book now dwells in a deep grave, covered by the dirt thrown on it by the Facebook app on your smartphone, by that Snapchat message you just got and by that 17-hour Netflix binge. Right?
No.
Because for some of us… the book is the pinnacle of it all.
Here’s a quote from Anne Lamott’s Bird By Bird, which I just started this afternoon and already has me wishing I’d read it sooner.
Because for some of us, books are as important as almost anything else on earth. What a miracle it is that out of these small, flat, rigid squares of paper unfolds world after world after world, worlds that sing to you, comfort and quiet or excite you. Books help us understand who we are and how we are to behave. They show us what community and friendship mean; they show us how to live and die. They are full of all the things that you don’t get in real life – wonderful, lyrical language, for instance, right off the bat. And the quality of attention: we may notice amazing details during the course of a day but we rarely let ourselves stop and really pay attention. An author makes you notice, makes you pay attention, and this is a great gift. My gratitude for good writing is unbounded; I’m grateful for it the way I’m grateful for the ocean. Aren’t you? I ask.
Well? Aren’t you?
On Books and Writing 
Yes, very grateful. And my bulging bookshelves are a testament to it! Great post as always.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks. And yes, my bookshelves are the hardest working piece of furniture in the house.
LikeLike
I cannot imagine giving up precious time to a Netflix binge. They say the average American watches 4-5 hours A DAY of tv. Think of all the books they could read in that time.
LikeLike
4 hours a day = 24 hours a week = (wait for it)…. just over 7 whole weeks of nothing but watching TV a year.
*epiphany*
I’m never watching TV again!
LikeLike
Horrifying, isn’t it?
LikeLike
Yes, so much this. I often reflect on how many lovely things there are that I miss because I don’t stop moving and allow myself to see them. This is especially on my mind now that spring has finally sprung, and I’m trying to remember to pause every once and a while to watch things grow.
Thanks for sharing!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Once in a while*. It was bothering me. :)
LikeLiked by 1 person