5.20.2008

Hello Good Looking...

It has come to my attention from a friend that books are bought for the purpose of exterior beauty. In this particular website (Book Decor) books are judged by its cover. I am appalled that books are sheerly bought by some people for its use as décor only. Granted my library is beautiful, but it is also functional. 

On the site, books can be bought by the foot or yard just to fill empty shelves in order to create a lavish library facade. Thus, the books are displayed ostentatiously never to be read. The books are categorized by its coloration, and I  believe it is quite pricey. These old leather bound books can be found in used bookstores and garage sale. As a matter of fact, in my mother's basement there are plenty of old leather bound books that look like the ones selling on this site. However, the site sell primarily European leather bound books, because it is more affordable to American buyers.  

New York City Strand bookstore also sells books by the foot and for the purpose of aesthetics, but Strand also considers the contains of the collection such as genres, eras, and languages.   

My opinion, books are beautiful and in its own right a work of art, but it should be cherish for the contains inside and as a bonus it exterior beauty that is bestowed to an environment. I also consider slowly acquiring books throughout the years enjoyable; I would not want someone else doing it for me.  Much can be learned about a  person through their book collection. What can be said about a person that merely buys books for its appearance?

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