|
As
related at the start
of that seminal
science fiction film
"Dune", the beginning
is a very delicate
time,
indeed................
I'm Mark, and the Word Smithery is my place to talk about books (and pontificate of course - one of the proprietors privileges in any book store). I've been a reader upwards of 47 years, ever since my parents got tired of me constantly asking to hear another story................. From my childhood memories of reading King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table in Classics Comics, through my YA period, devouring Hardy Boys, Tom Swift (and eight changes of glasses in five years, from eyestrain from reading too much), to my adult discovery of Tolkien, Shakespeare, Rudyard Kipling, Howard Pyle, Conan Doyle, Dorothy Sayers, Robert E. Howard, Robert Heinlein, H. Beam Piper, Michael Moorcock, and of course the inimitable Jack Vance, books have been an integral part of my life. I am very tech savvy, understanding the insides of computers intimately, as a hobby, but, contrary to all those doomsayers, reading their Kindles and eBooks, when it comes to reading, all my technology gets turned off ............... in favour of a REAL book. I
don't know how many of
you out there, reading
this, feel the same
way, but there is
NOTHING like reading a
real, live book -
electronic documents
contain the text,
providing
entertainment for a
short while, but there
is nothing like
holding and reading a
beautiful volume,
leather bound,
beautifully
illustrated,
highlighting a
wonderful authors
work. It is ART and an
EXPERIENCE.
Someone once said that there is a difference between the experience presented by a photo, as opposed to a painted picture - a photo is instantaneous, containing a small snapshot of A MOMENT in time, while a painted picture CONTAINS time - It is painstakingly done, by an artist sitting for hours, examining a scene or a person, under various lighting conditions, or exhibiting various moods, over an extended period - it represents a complex composite of an idea........... That is what a book is to me. Perhaps bulky, perhaps too large to slide into a tiny purse, in this day and age where the majority wants everything convenient, small and light. But real, physical, infinitely comforting, when matched with a cup of your favourite tea (or a glass of good wine), on a cold winter night, beside a roaring fire, with a cat curled up on your lap (what is a book, without a cat, I ask you?). The obsession with eBooks as a sole source of entertainment, in my opinion, precludes one of the greatest integral joys of reading - namely discovery, in the form of that legendary edifice - your local book store! One of
my greatest pleasures
growing up, was haunting
my favourite bookstores,
on a Saturday or as a
holiday, going on buying
trips once a year, from
my home in Winnipeg,
Manitoba, Canada to the
largest US city easily
accessible by car (ie.
Minneapolis, Minnesota,
an eight hour trip). You
would hear gossip about
your latest favourite
authors and their
upcoming books, but most
importantly, you would
also discover OTHER REAL
LIVE READERS, who may
spontaneously recommend
something of fascination
to them, and, while
haunting the stacks,
looking for something,
you may discover A
SURPRISE, in the form of
a new, unheard of
author, or find a
completely unexpected,
interesting story, to
add to your already
loaded arms.
And that is what is missing today, with the demise of the local bookstore ............ Our technologically obsessed society, again, in my opinion, is creating what I term a lot of LINEAR thinking - looking on the internet to answer questions almost instantaneously, focused on a specific subject, you may miss thousands of related subjects, or something you stumble upon, simply because because it was the next subject, alphabetically in your encyclopedia. I was very fond of hardcover encyclopedias, growing up - the number of fascinating subjects you could discover in an afternoon was endless - and that is something that I feel is missing in reading today. I am what I term a LATERAL thinker - I take a lot of pleasure out of finding various and sundry disparate subjects, wondering how they all fit together - and a bookstore was the place where that all started .................. So welcome to GET A SPINE Books, our attempt to fill what we perceive as a growing gap for a certain percentage of readers out there, which may include you as well - I hope any of you browsing our site will find our selection of books of interest. But most of all, we hope you discover some new thoughts and ideas, or maybe a new read to try, in our little global bookshoppe ............. Best,
and Welcome!
 I
have little interest
in Facebook or
Twitter (a subject I
will explore in
future), but always
am interested in any
comments you may
have -
stimulating debate,
discussion, new
thoughts and ideas
are always welcome
at Mark@getaspine.biz
(Check out our full inventory with prices and shipping info here) |
 |
| |
 |
|
|
|
