I'm not sure what my fascination is with books. There's something about having stuff bound together that makes it more… tangible, more real, more…. I don't know. For a couple years now I have subscribed to McSweeney's Quarterly Concern which in short is a collection of writings compiled (as you might have guessed it) quarterly. I'm not completely sold by the actual writing in the books, but moreso by it's publishing. Except for iissue #17 each and every one of them seems to fascinate me.
I'll go off of my McSweeney's rant. I enjoy their website as well (but I think the consistently best part is their lists). Anyway, back to the point. I think books are fascinating. I took an English class at one point where the instructor spent a lot of time talking about information, and the types thereof. He had an argument that computers and the information housed on them, would never give the same thing that a book could/did. Despite the fact that I didn't/don't care for the person that this instructor was, he had a good point.
I first read The Hobbit on a computer. I didn't have access to the book itself, and so I sat there staring at a screen through each of it's "pages". I'm not going to get too deep into this thought, but in short, nothing compares to having a book in your hands. The completeness of a work in your hands is truly something to behold. The ability of the internet or computers, is that there is always something else. There isn't ever that closing point. Even here in this random thought, I've given you 4 excuses to leave my site. When is it that you'll consider yourself "finished" with those links, or even with this article?
My grandmother compiled my grandfather's journal entries for 13 years, and put them in a book. Originally undervalued by me, I now see this as a great collection to be treasured beyond my limited time. I have several projects that I would like to start. I'm really all about self-assigned-computer-based-projects. But my real pride comes in those things that end up leaving this false world of 1's and 0's and reappearing outside as something tangible.
Before I die, I want to publish a book. It doesn't need to be anything spectacular, or anything that anybody will really care about besides me. But to have the ability to pass something physical on to somebody besides me is something worth seeking.
Happy New Year
I started the Hobbit but didn't get very far. I probably tried to ready it at too young an age. I got in to a lot of other fantasy books up until about the time we got a computer when I was 14. It's been down hill ever since.
I see you added trackbacks. Maybe we should try them and see how they work. Maybe you already know. Maybe I make too many "maybe" statements. Hm.