The Importance of a Cover to a Book and to our Relationships

There are many discussions going on now about the print book vs. the ebook. Will one take over the other? Is one bringing more readers to the page? Are more men reading now? etc. But I loved this discussion by Amy Preiser in her blog post. While she just bought the Nook, she defends her print books and her bookshelves.

One point she brings up is the visceral quality that the book itself holds, and how it can trigger conversations and even reletionships: How many of us have wandered around the home or apartment of a new lover to check out the books' spines and covers, hoping to see something in common? Have you ever been reading a book, cover out, on a train or plane and had someone ask you about it? Do any of your inscribed books bring back special memories? All this she says disappears in the slim screen housing thousands of books we will never see.

But this post gives me hope that the two will live together in cyber and print harmony.

Here's the link to the full post: http://www.shelterpop.com/2011/01/03/...

And note my collection Where the Dog Star Never Glows is coming out in ebook version (yes, I am taking the eplunge) around Jan. 20 from Untreed Reads.