Judging by Covers

Stumbled onto the latest blog posting by Sugarland's Jennifer Nettles today, and frankly, I wish (on the whole) it was something I'd written about the state of publishing/book buying/music buying, and what effect that has on inter-personal relations (no matter how shallow they might be).

n the super high tech world of iPads (which I love, but not for books), kindles, etc., I find myself sad at the potential of losing the tangible literary arts to the digital deity of convenience. I love books. I love the way they smell. I love libraries. I love the way they smell. I love discovering the artwork and choice of paper by the author and publisher. I love book marks. They can be beautiful little pieces of functional art in and of themselves. Metal and hook-like. Beaded. All sorts of book marks. I love book stores. I love the way they smell. I love the way you can see so many different kinds of people searching through sections of so many diverse subjects and disciplines. Sigh.

Look, I realize that Borders or Barnes and Noble aren't just about to ,poof, disappear. But, if you look at the way the music industry has changed with technology, well, let's just say your friendly, neighborhood record stores are neither in the neighborhood nor record stores for the most part. (Don't get me wrong. I love the ease and convenience of going online and getting the latest album of interest! I just miss the romance). Does anyone remember "High Fidelity"? Or the awesome scene in "Pretty in Pink" when Ducky comes in and does his killer dance to "Try a Little Tenderness" by Otis Redding? Record stores were a place of culture. A place to find culture. A place to share culture. So are book stores.

Read the rest...

While I'm at it, shouldn't mention a band without some sort of reference to their music...here's their new, ever-so catchy video

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(for balance's sake, should add that Jim C. Hines had a good post with a different angle on the state of publishing today, as well)