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This week's question...
In a related question to last week’s–
I was reading the other day a quote from JFK Jr who said on the death of his mother, that she died surrounded by family, friends, and her books. Apparently, Jackie’s books were very much a part of HER, her personality, her sense of self.
Up until recently, people could browse your bookshelves and learn a lot about you–what your interests are, your range of topics, favorite authors, how much you read (or at least buy books).
More and more, though, this is changing. People aren’t buying books so much as borrowing them from the library. Or reading them on their e-readers or computers. There’s nothing PHYSICAL on the shelves to tell strangers in your home, for better or worse, who you ARE.
Do you think this is a good thing? Bad? Discuss!
My answer...
Everyone knows I love my e-reader and I've pretty much become solely an e-reader at this point. I've been spending my time clearing out my books and getting my guest room back.
I had so many books that it all they did was make me look like a slob and disorganized. LOL I don't think people can really tell as much as they think about a person from the genres they read. People seem to have preconceived notions about genres. All genres are not treated equal. Romances are often thought of as "trashy" and even science fiction aren't always considered "good" reading. So, for me, if people can't see what I'm reading because I'm using an e-reader, that's fine. I read so many different genres, they wouldn't have a clue about me anyway. There are still ways to tell about people when going to their house - the way their houses are decorated, do they have pictures, etc. etc. etc.
Just to add one more thing - I do think people can tell more about you from your reading styles by reading blogs or reading people's opinions in yahoo groups (or Shelfari/Goodreads/Library Thing). The different Internet outlets give us more of an insight into people through their books than seeing what's actually on their shelves, IMO.
Just my $.02.
I'm not sure if our reading tells much about our personalities or not. I just know I love reading books, so I guess I'm a worm, a bookworm.
ReplyDeleteGreat answer! I totally agree with you on the digital shelves/internet outlets points. (:
ReplyDeleteI love my e-reader, too.
ReplyDeleteI'm not really sure how much people could tell from shelves anyway. Of course, few strangers come to my house and look at my books anyway and my friends already know my tastes and interests for the most part.
I agree that I really don't think you can map a persons personality from the books they read.
ReplyDeleteSally.
http://theelifylop.blogspot.com/2011/04/booking-through-thursday-13.html
Nice answer, this one does make sense. One shelf does make me look like a slob, I need more shelves so that one is really crammed
ReplyDeleteI love my Kindle also. I agree, I think those that don't know us personally eg. bloggers it is nice to see personality from reviews and post.
ReplyDeleteI just enjoy being known as a reader truthfully.
It is too bad that an e-reader, which is deemed more of a personal item, doesn’t volunteer information like bookcases do. But if you think of it the other way, how often do you get invited to an acquaintance’s house, let alone spending time sizing up the book collection? I do have an interesting encounter at the coffee shop, where a stranger asked what I was reading, which, at the moment, was Anita Brookner’s Fraud. On another occasion, reading from my iPad only invited curious eyes and a bevy of questions on the gadget’s specifications. No interest in what I was reading.
ReplyDeleteI think avid readers of library books or e-readers will always have their own books as well. Too many library used book sales around...
ReplyDelete