I have four books for my nightstand now. When I got home today I couldn't wait to open the package that arrived today. Even though I know what's inside I always think of my packages as presents and I love to open them and finally hold whatever is inside in my hands.
There's this stange thing about ordering books. Although you know what you get you never really know until you finally hold it. I'm talking about material here, fabric, touch.
The boyfriend and I both are bibliophiles. We love the feel and smell of books, especially new ones. The different touch of the covers, sometimes glossy, sometimes not, sometimes with some letters engraved, or some other little specialty.
I loved Wicked for the way the book was designed. The cut out hole in the front, with the glossy page behind it, the neatly designed map of Oz, the strange pictures prefacing each part.
Maybe that's part of why I like to own things, because I like the feeling of things, especially books, and however hard I try, I don't get that feeling from any books in the library. It's just so different. (Besides, the collection of english books is pityfully small at the local library, so I don't exactly feel drawn there anyway.)
So, the nice thing about getting books is that, though you know the title of the books you never know how they will really look like until you hold them in your hand. Concerning today's package I somehow expected to be 'Fingersmith' a lot smaller than it is and also thinner, whereas I thought that 'Guilty Pleasures' would be thicker. 'Born Confused' has a strange size, although it's significantly smaller than Fingersmith, it's a tiny little bit wider even. It also has more pages than I expected.
The nicest book to touch is definitely 'Fingersmith'. It's really smooth with glossy letters. 'Guilty Pleasures' has a glossy cover and rather cheap pages and the chapter headings of 'Born Confused' are written in an indian-like font.
There's not a lot of deeper meaning to this entry, I just thought I'd share my fascination with books with you along with the small observations I made, browsing aimlessly through my new books today.
And maybe some of you know what I'm talking about.
