I'd Rather Have A Book, But In

To Use An Electronics Analogy, Closing A Book On A Bookmark Is Like Pressing The Stop Button, Whereas When You Leave The Book Facedown, You've Only Pressed Pause.

It Has Long Been My Belief That Everyone's Library Contains An Odd Shelf. On This Shelf Rests A Small, Mysterious Completely Unrelated To The Rest Of The Library, Yet Which, Upon Closer Inspection, Reveals A Good Deal About Its Owner.

My Daughter Is Seven, And Some Of The Other Second-grade Parents Complain That Their Children Don't Read For Pleasure. When I Visit Their Homes, The Children's Rooms Are Crammed With Expensive Books, But The Parent's Rooms Are Empty. Those Children Do Not See Their Parents Reading, As I Did Every Day Of My Childhood. By Contrast, When I Walk Into An Apartment With Books On The Shelves, Books On The Bedside Tables, Books On The Floor, And Books On The Toilet Tank, Then I Know What I Would See If I Opened The Door That Says 'private--grownups Keep Out': A Child Sprawled On The Bed, Reading.

Some Day, As Soon As A Book Is Printed It Will Be Simultaneously Put Into Digital Form. That Will Be A Wonderful Research Tool, But It Will Never Substitute For Holding The Book. I Feel Certain That At Least Within My Lifetime, Everyone Will Still Be Going To The Bookstore And Buying Printed Books. Thank God I'll Die Before I Have To Worry About Whether The Printed Book Itself Will Disappear. That's Something I Don't Want To Live To See.

Some Friends Of Theirs Had Rented Their House For Several Months To An Interior Decorator. When They Returned, They Discovered That Their Entire Library Had Been Reorganized By Color And Size. Shortly Thereafter, The Decorator Met With A Fatal Automobile Accident. I Confess That When This Story Was Told, Everyone Around The Dinner Table Concurred That Justice Had Been Served.