Saturday, March 5, 2011

Books

I have always loved books. I can remember being so happy when I got a new Nancy Drew book, I remember sitting in my room looking throught encyclopedias (at the pictures) on a rainy afternoon when I was a kid. I love going to bookstores.
In my shop, I make bookmarks....here are a couple of samples




I have been wondering though, if people really use bookmarks anymore...I mean are books on the way out and kindles and listening to books online going to be replacing them? Especially in the years to come when my generation (the bookies ) is getting older, and the computer generation that loves their toys, takes over.

I read to my kids every night when they were little. My kids enjoyed the stories. My oldest daughter in particular loved books. She would come home from school with some of the oldest books they had. The real old ones with the stiff cracked cellophane book jackets. I thought maybe she just liked the old style illustrations (that was the artist in me that thought that). So I asked her "why do you bring home these old books?" Her reply made my heart sing, made me love her even more than I thought I could. It still makes me smile today. She said, "I get these books because I can hold it, and when I open it, I hear the crinkle of the old cover, and I know a story is about to begin." She loved the anticipation and the promise that something that she held in her hand would bring, and the sound of the cellophane was the start.

That's what I love most about books. It's a new world about to open up to you, you can hold it close,  peek inside like a treasure chest and then open it an explore.
I hope people still buy books, I hope they still read to their children and show them that they can take an adventure with them wherever they go. I'm going to keep making bookmarks. Keep my hope and love for books alive.