Sunday, December 2, 2012

December Nostalgia: Book Love & Recommendations

December is a month I get completely bogged down in nostalgia, usually starting with a December 1st dive into my box of old letters and postcards.  One particular letter from an old best friend reappeared two years ago at a time when I really needed to find it.

On the last page was this incredible excerpt: 

I love everything about this, but most of all I love that it's physical proof of my first book buddy, I love that it's a sign of how many of my best friendships would be built, through love of books and reading.  I love that 12 years ago this is how a book recommendation was passed on to me, through accidental discovery of a book and then communication in a letter.

These days it's a google of the author, a casually dropped text or throwaway line in an email; it's a book title caught on twitter or picked up from a "best of" list online. It would be impossible to be properly surprised by the existence of a sequel/prequel/new work.

All the technological advances are great, but part of me yearns for this slow moving search and selection, the thoughtfulness and care of old school correspondence. 

1 comment:

  1. Ahhh I love this post!!! So cool, and you're right, that's how it's done now, but the letter part is just awesome

    ReplyDelete