The Value of a Paperback Book

[yodamarie78]

Posted: 3/3/06 at 9:48am

"But to me, "Mansfield Park" is that one edition. Like many readers, I have a visual memory for books. It is easier to remember just where a passage appears, spatially, than exactly what it says. Replacing that old familiar edition means learning a new map of the text. That is the peculiar thing about living with so many books. I can often picture just where I need to look inside a book, though I can't remember for the life of me where the book is actually shelved. The thought of remapping my literary memory is simply too much to stand."

I was particularly moved by this OpEd in the Times this morning. This is something that has been on my mind lately as I read Rebecca one of my favorite books and an edition that was my mother's in high school (I posted my feelings about this edition in the Currently Reading thread last week so I won't go into that). I also work with rare books and happen to have a job that involves Digitizing books.

My work ensures that the contents of these books will most likely be around for posterity, but what about the books themselves? Like the author my experience of certain books is forever linked to my particular copy. There is something about the feel and smell of the paper that can never be replaced.
Yellowing Paper, Stiffening Glue and the Sudden Demise of a Library

[Kitzarina]

Posted: 3/3/06 at 9:51am

I always get so depressed when I read a book to the point that it falls apart and I have to buy a new edition. It's like losing an old friend.

So far I've had to do this with Matilda by Roald Dahl, Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, and most heart-breakingly with my copy of Les Miserables.

I read Les Miz so many times that my edition literally split down the middle. The cover was dog-eared, the book was held together with packaging tape, and it was full of little Post-it flags marking my favorite passages. I finally bit the bullet and bought a new copy, but I still kept my old, well-loved one as well. And truth be told, that's the one I still read more often.

Updated On: 3/4/06 at 09:51 AM