Blog: Is the Written Word the Next Fallen Hero?

The closing of a major bookstore chain is yet another sign that another esteemed era is starting to fade away. 

When did it become OK to scrap books and replace them with computer bits and bytes? Why is it becoming passé to walk into someone’s home to find an enormous set of bookshelves stacked with personal mementos, trophies and books? 

Trophies tell you what the owners have achieved, mementos tell you where they have been and what they value and books tell us what they are thinking. Books tell a story even while they sit on a shelf collecting dust. They set the stage.

Think about it. When you've just started dating someone, you walk into their home and gaze around the rooms to see what they are all about. If there is an eReader lying on the table, you know your date is cutting edge and reads but that’s about it. You certainly can’t touch it -- it’s too personal. So, you scan for other clues.

If your date has a shelf of fitness journals, you know you can probably expect a lot exercise in your future, so you suck in your gut and get ready to sweat. If he or she has way too many self-help books, you may want to hide the knives at the restaurant.

If, on the other hand, your mystery date has a book titled, 101 Reasons to Build a Bomb, it's probably time to run out the door screaming.

You get the drift. 

How did we, as Americans, get sucked into this “Made in China” mentality in our bookstores? Books are an investment into our culture, our education and our daily lives. Books allow you, the reader, to subtly tell others who you are and what you value simply by what's sitting on your shelf. 

Bring the dignity back to the written word, the kind that can be picked up and read page by page; it is an art that is to be cherished. Go buy some real books and start showing the world who YOU are one title at a time.