The Message in the Medium
10 days ago
- #physical-books
- #book-collecting
- #provenance
- The author describes the unique experience of reading a special edition of 'Middlemarch' with unopened pages, requiring effort to separate them.
- Physical books carry historical and personal significance, as seen with the author's signed copy of Douglas Adams' 'Mostly Harmless' and ephemera found in old books.
- The concept of 'book magic' is explored through personal connections, provenance, and the physicality of books, contrasting with digital media.
- The importance of honesty in provenance is highlighted, using Robert Frost's 'The Road Not Taken' as an example of the temptation to lie about origins.
- The author discusses the value of physical books as mediums connecting past and present, inspired by conversations with Andrew McLuhan about his grandfather's work.