Part of the Books of Our Kind Project
Article author: Alwyn Ash
Reading is an essential part of every day life. But what is it about a novel that keeps us coming back for more?
Four words. Four words and yet... an ocean of answers. So just what is a book? What does it mean to find a story on the turn of every page, coming to life before your very eyes? What wonders are concealed behind the author's synopsis, or a novel's front cover illustration? Footprints within literature. They cannot be washed away so easily, even by the seas of time. It is always a pleasure to find a book, long since out of print, resurrected for a new generation of readers. There is something of a magical essence about the novel, regardless of its subject. Inside each and every book are people, places and moments, all bound together, their destiny the author's gift or sacrifice.
Perhaps Jeanette Winterson said it best, "Book collecting is an obsession, an occupation, a disease, an addiction, a fascination, an absurdity, a fate. It is not a hobby."
A good book cannot so easily be put down, or forgotten. It is as timeless as memory. A novel is our very own private love affair, that part of us longing for excitement and adventure, romance and desire, travel and beyond... Whether it be the shores of Treasure Island, the secrets of Thornfield Hall, or Tom's adventures in The Wardstone Chronicles, the steps of each page promise to lead the reader onward through something appetising and inviting. We are the book's traveller, and companion.
The Story Book (1877), William-Adolphe Bouguereau
Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons
Article author: Alwyn Ash
Reading is an essential part of every day life. But what is it about a novel that keeps us coming back for more?
Four words. Four words and yet... an ocean of answers. So just what is a book? What does it mean to find a story on the turn of every page, coming to life before your very eyes? What wonders are concealed behind the author's synopsis, or a novel's front cover illustration? Footprints within literature. They cannot be washed away so easily, even by the seas of time. It is always a pleasure to find a book, long since out of print, resurrected for a new generation of readers. There is something of a magical essence about the novel, regardless of its subject. Inside each and every book are people, places and moments, all bound together, their destiny the author's gift or sacrifice.
Perhaps Jeanette Winterson said it best, "Book collecting is an obsession, an occupation, a disease, an addiction, a fascination, an absurdity, a fate. It is not a hobby."
A good book cannot so easily be put down, or forgotten. It is as timeless as memory. A novel is our very own private love affair, that part of us longing for excitement and adventure, romance and desire, travel and beyond... Whether it be the shores of Treasure Island, the secrets of Thornfield Hall, or Tom's adventures in The Wardstone Chronicles, the steps of each page promise to lead the reader onward through something appetising and inviting. We are the book's traveller, and companion.
The Story Book (1877), William-Adolphe Bouguereau
Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons
The way in which we read has opened up to new possibilities, perhaps, embracing technology with the launch of ebooks and interactive websites, but the very essence of literature remains. Regarding digital books, writer Douglas Adams once said, "Lovers of print are simply confusing the plate for the food." He is, of course, referring to the device used to deliver the author's words, that whether it be print or other, the flavour of the piece is much present for all to experience. Indeed, even how we define a "book" has evolved in recent years: what used to be simply
The definition of “book” has become more flexible in the last few years.
It used to be that a “book” was defined as a collection of printed
sheets of bound paper, encased between two covers. But with the
advent of the e-book, the definition is changing almost daily. One
would have to conclude that a story written and read on clay tablets is
no less a book than one on an iPad.