Books are symbolic of learning, and the educated. For years now, having a home library was the luxury few could afford. The lucky few who had one were immeasurably proud of it, and rightly so. Today, not only are books beginning to lose the value that they once had in the eyes of Man, their place in society has been increasingly challenged by the newborns of the digital age. New trends such as the increasing pace of life, the accelerating rate at which new information is being pedalled forth, and the ubiquity of the effects of capitalism have driven people to become more efficient. The by-product of such phenomena is that Man is taken as its slave, and only the interests of the market are considered, instead of the individual. Unfortunately, this has dealt a severe blow to the significance of the book in modern society. All indicators seem to point out that the book is unworthy of its more efficient counterparts like the personal computer or tablet. Yet, the book holds a special place in our hearts: its final trump card. We should not be too quick to oust the book out of our lives even with the proliferation of suitable alternatives, for there is still indeed worth of the hard copy even in the frenzy of modern society.
Evolution seems to have taken mankind back to square one, where the modern man (like his ancestors thousands of years ago) worries about his next meal, appointment or payment. "Next" seems like the buzzword of modern society, with people constantly looking for the next opportunity. As the pace of everyday life picks up, libraries appear to be caught in a time warp. With each passing day, the library grows quieter, the librarians grow more ancient, and the library air grows staler. Fiction or non-fiction, the regressive state of the ultimate bookhouse is reflective of our attitudes to the book today. We have lesser time for reading, and people do not make time out of their schedule to read. The value of thumbing through pages of a book is superceded by the value of thumbing through the phone directory for the next cold call. Even with time to spare, alternative forms of entertainment are preferred, such as the movies or video games. Man has grown so accustomed to images flashing past their eyes, that their patience for following lines after lines of words have dwindled. The book today sits sadly on the shelf under the only blanket of dust that the harried whirlwind of modernisation has allowed to settle.
To add insult to injury, the book today is less able to hold its worth, which does not help when vying for the attention of its readers. The process of writing, ediiting, printing and publishing is so arduous and stretched out, that by the time such factual books are published, they are no longer eagerly anticipated. Other than the fact that digital media can publish the latest news a lot quicker, the rate at which new information is unearthed is so startling, that a book may be rendered obsolete even before publication. If it makes it through this hurdle, the struggle of finding buyers is immense, as few are willing to invest in something with a limited life span. With no demand, the book is hardpressed to even supply itself in modern society. Not only is it losing out in the fight for readership, it is not even given a fair chance to get itself noticed. This nature of its economic unsustainability is worsened as demand plunges in light of the flak that the book has received from environmental, tree-hugging, activists.
Despite the demands of the market that condemns the book to extinction, Man must hold its ground and prevent this from materialising. Although the market insists otherwise, the book has more merits than the market claims it to have. Books are testaments for the cultural progression of Man, and this make it especially vital that we see to the continuation of the book in modern society. This is even more pertinent as we struggle to find our roots and discover our heritage with tidal waves of globalisation. Books document our past, as it has all throughout history, in a relatively more permanent way as opposed to digital media. Apart from the content that it documents, the physical appearance matters too. From huge heavy books in stone (documenting the start of literacy) to papyrus scrolls (documenting the discovery of paper), to printed characters (documenting the invention of the printing press) to hand-sewn backbones (documenting how books were treasured), we follow the appearance of the book through time and gather that the book records part of our history, whether our predecessors were aware of it or not. Perhaps many years from now, future generations may walk into second-hand bookstores or libraries and go "oh look at the crisp pages of the books. They were probably never touched before. Grandpa probably hated books." Books capture a portion of history in its raw form, and by at least ensuring the continuity of the book, we can rest at ease knowing that the legend of the book did not die with our generation.
Men have always had a love affair with the hard copy. The vanilla smell of semi broken-down pages of old books tickles our nostrils and sends a spreading warmth through our extremities. Despite having no time for the book, most of us still appreciate the pages of a book under our fingers. Apart from sheer pleasure, we have a duty to see that the book survives the modern era even though it is a challenge to find merit in the capitalist market ruled by efficiency. Although the book today will have to jostle for a place in society instead of taking the reserved and irreplaceable place it used to enjoy, the book will eventually find one simply because we are obliged to provide it one. The book has an invaluable role in the progress of our society, and it would be wise for us to see to it that it remains this way.
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