Kim Gordon & the humble paperback

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I often wonder whether books will be the last surviving physical media. Yes, vinyl has had a revival over the last few years, and there were a few echoes of cassette tapes making a comeback, but books—books have never gone away.

You can trace books back to as early as the first century. The Romans essentially invented the book in the form we know today, and the oldest printed book dates back to somewhere between the 2nd and 5th centuries. Flash forward a few more —without overlooking the first dictionary (1582, according to Google), talking books (1934, again as per Google), pulp novels, eBooks, Amazon, Kindles… Through it all, the book prevails.

While physical media has been swiftly replaced by its digital counterpart and then monetized through subscriptions, did we fail to see what we were losing? We will soon own nothing. Look at the many movies, albums, games, and books that are no longer available anywhere. In some cases, even buying the digital version doesn’t really mean you own it!

Which, of course, leads me back to the ‘physical media’ that is the humble book—the humble paperback, to be precise. Lightweight (in most cases), easy to pack, portable, and an actual thing that you own. Don’t get me wrong—I love my Kindle, my Audible subscription, and I’ve even dabbled with the Headway app. But nothing, when it comes to reading at least, beats an actual physical book!

Last but not least, what a ‘flex’ it is to read an actual book on the go. While social media has most of us mindlessly doom-scrolling as we travel from A to B, there are still those of us holding out, fighting against the brain rot with a real-life, glue-bound, cardboard-cover book. And, of course, that peacocking display has helped us strike up conversations with strangers—something that scrolling through your feed for the umpteenth time is unlikely to ever do.

So long live the humble book. You know, the one you get to hold and own—no subscription fee, no ad breaks, just a book in its purest form.

Currently reading:

On my Kindle – They All Died screaming by Kristopher Triana

Via my Audible – The Never Game by Jeffery Weaver

A real book – is it My Body by Kim Gordon