We Heart It
Pretty much since forever, I have been a paperback girl. Not only are they cheaper than hardbacks, but they lie limp and vulnerable in your hands. Not to mention, when they get that weathered look about them after reading them so much it makes you feel idyllic and brings a touch of romanticism to their appearance. You can fan them side to side, bend their spines so that their covers are touching, and… wait, wait. I’m starting to since a double entendre, here. Anyways, you get my point. I’ve always been a paperback girl. That is up until recently. I’m not exactly sure what changed it. Perhaps it was the ridiculously discounted hardbacks at Books-A-Million or seeing that my cousin bought all of the Harry Potter books in hardbacks so that they look more like a serious collection. I don’t know. But all of a sudden, I was buying favorite books in hardbacks cheap off Amazon, and now I’m sort of hooked.
Except…I went to pick up one of my favorite books in paperback last night and was nearly seduced by its supple form. “But you just bought this book in hardback so it will look pretty longer!” my mind raged. I licked my lips. But me and this book in its paperback form…we have history. I’ve read it a hundred times and am overcome with nostalgia holding it in my hands. You see, my plan was to start replacing my favorite hardbacks cheap and writing little notes on the inside cover of the paperback versions and leaving them in random places for people to find. You know, as a way to spread good literature for free. It’s sounds so romantic, doesn’t it? It would be more romantic if I actually wrote the little notes and set the books out somewhere for people to find.
I don’t know. Maybe the paperbacks attract me because they’re so pliable. Yeah, they won’t last as long, but there’s a comfort in them, a softness. No, literally, a softness. I was in Target yesterday and found myself picking up an armful of paperbacks that who knows whether or not I’d actually read, just because of their pliability. They molded into my fingers as I opened them and scanned their pages. For a moment, I almost lost control. I nearly considered buying, like, four, but then I somehow came back to my senses (an act of God, probably), and put back all but two. In my more sober state back at work, I wondered if I’d really like them, but Target always has good debut reads, and one of them was a book I’ve had on my list for a while, so we’ll see.
Anyways…I want to know. Are you into papers or hards? Do you like both, repulsed by one? Or are you like me and find the papers all seductive and stuff?
