Throughout the book, Mole kept repeating that we don’t see books as an object on itself. That we just see the text it contains. Advising in the first chapter to really feel the weight of the book, the texture of the paper, smell it, consider the type etc. Well, I do that. Always.
I work as a layout artist, so I am always interested in the paper, type and layout of a book. I love books as objects and the history they carry. That is why I am such a fan of used books.
And I would guess that most avid readers have deeper feelings towards books than only for the purpose of holding a text. So I was a bit confused about who the author was trying to convince here.
I mean, yes, a reminder of the ways to appreciate books and stories from his own life with books is wonderful, but I somehow had issues with how it was conveyed.
This is why I haven’t posted about the book, though I read it a while ago. To be honest, after a month I couldn’t really remember anything about the book. I only have the lingering feeling that it was a generally OK read. Mostly though, kind of a long rant about reading on devices.
I have written about the environmental sides of books vs e-readers and actually came to the conclusion, that when you read a lot, digital data makes more sense.
But I will stick to my 80% used books buying/reading style. I love paper books, but don’t hold a grudge against those, who opt for reading from a screen 🙂
The Secret Life of Books by Tom Mole, was first published in 2019.
*Btw, I will hopefully soon finish the behemoth The Book soon and will have a more positive review for sure about that one 🙂