Books vs E-Readers

The other day I was reading one of my favorite websites. The topic was the new Sony E-Reader, which is being promoted as the best electronic book in the known Universe. Whatever. The questions posed: "How do you feel about the E-Reader; would you buy this tech reader as opposed to a "real" book..?" I had to respond, of course, as I think an electronic book is a total abomination. Really, I do.

Yesterday I went back to the website and discovered that the majority of people who also responded to these questions agreed: there's really nothing like the feel of a good book in your hands. Though the (alleged) ease of downloading books to a small electronic gizmo, burning your eyes out reading on a computer screen, but being able to carry around said books more conveniently than a real book seems to appeal to some folks, I just can't get on board with it.

So. Mulling this over, and thinking of all the reasons I will never give up the real thing, I went back in my memory to one day that encapsulates all my feelings on this subject.

A few years back, Alan and I went to Dublin for a 5-day longish weekend. Dublin is very hectic, crowded, lively and very cool, though after awhile the hubbub gets a bit much. Dublin never seems to sleep or calm down. I wanted to see the Book of Kells in the Old Library at Trinity College, so off we went on our first afternoon there. We fell in love with Trinity. You walk through the double archways and suddenly the rest of the world disappears and you're surrounded with peace, beauty and history. It was totally awesome. We ended up going back there every afternoon to just sit, talk and enjoy.

How does this relate to Books vs E-Readers, you must be thinking..?? Here's how:

In the Old Library there is a separate library called the Long Room (though in my mind it's always been the Long Library). This is where they keep the ancient tomes, manuscripts and all things old, valuable and precious. You can't just barrel in either, you have to wait for someone to unlock the two massive doors, and then only a few people at a time get to go in.

Alan and I were lucky, in that it was October, and most of the tourists were gone, school had started, and there were only the two of us. This very (very) big guy was guarding the doors. He took his job seriously too, as he didn't smile or chat or anything, just unlocked these huge doors, opened them with a flourish, and gestured us through.

I stepped forward first, getting my first look at this magnificent room, which was just totally mind-boggling in it's length, height, history, it's everything. As I paused on the threshold, this odor wafted out of the room, enveloped me, and nearly knocked me over. The smell of books. The heavenly, addictive perfume of thousands upon thousands of books.

I stood, stunned, closed my eyes, and took the biggest breath I've ever taken, sucking in all the authors, stories, histories, all of it. Dimly, I could hear the big guy shuffling his feet, then Alan said behind me "What's wrong?"

I couldn't speak, and just held up my hand, took another deep breath and swayed as the smells once again overtook me. Honestly, it was a book lover's opium. Alan came around to look at me and said, a bit more urgently, "What's the matter?" The big guy was wondering if he had a nutcase on his hands, I'm sure.

I turned to Alan and whispered, "Can't you smell it?" He took a deep breath, and the big guy suddenly became more alert, taking his own deep breath, no doubt imagining smoke or some other horrific scenario, his hand dropping to his belt and gripping his walkie talkie thing. "Smell what?" says Alan. "The books," I said, in awe.

Alan knows books are nearly the most important thing in the world to me, so he immediately relaxed, and turned to the big guy, saying with a smile, "Sorry, nothing's wrong, she just loves books." For the first time, the big guy gave a smile, and gently pointed us through the door, into the Long Room. We spent quite a bit of time in there, though to be truthful, I think I was drugged on book perfume, because I don't remember much after I crossed the threshold. What I do remember will stay with me forever: that first, heady aroma of BOOKS.

So, you see, I can't even understand the concept of an electronic book. Where's the magic, the mystery, the smell in something made of plastic or metal..?? Look at what's in this photo and tell me you would replace it with anything electronic. Not in my world, thank you just the same.


The Long Room, Old Library, Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland. The House of Heavenly Book
Perfume.