It baffles me how some trends can come and go in the blink of an eye while others stay can stay for years or even decades, unmoving and classically brilliant.
One trend that I never thought I’d see the end of was that of books.
Now I’m not talking about the book that you just downloaded on your Kindle or your tablet. I’m talking about actual, physical books. You know, the ones that you can flip through and feel that oh, so welcoming breeze of aged paper and a story ready to unfold before your eyes. Books are the fiber of our very existence; they hold our history, tales of daring adventures, songs of our ancestors, and so much more beyond anything that is imaginable.
And yet, with society’s uproar of technology, the age of books has come to an end.
Whenever I travel, I bring a book with me. The last time I traveled was no exception to this rule, except for the fact that this time would the first time that I actually opened my eyes to the shocking reality of an ending era:
It was an average day in an average airport with an average amount of humans awaiting their plane. As soon as I reached my gate, I found a vacant seat, propped my feet up on my suitcase, and opened my book, ready to envelop myself in the story of a daring radio journalist who was kidnapped by Somalians and held hostage for 460 days.
Halfway through my chapter -- close to the good part -- my attention was pulled from my book and to the three people arguing over the single available outlet at the charging station, next to the 15 other people crowding this area. “What buffoons,” I thought. I scoffed and returned to my book only to interrupted moments later by the noises of text messages, high-pitched Snapchat videos, and that one person who was talking loud enough on their phone to be heard throughout the entire airport.
After this interruption, I didn’t immediately return to my book. Instead, I dog-eared my page and looked around. I scanned the area, stood up and scanned a little more, then sat down, heavy in defeat.
I was the only person in the entire gate with a book.
A wave of disbelief came over me as my eyes as darted between tablets, laptops, iPhones, and other devices that I couldn’t even name. There was not a single physical piece of literature in sight, save for the one old man a few chairs down who was surveying the comics section of a newspaper. What came as more of a shock to me was the similar way that each person stared blankly into their devices -- zombies to a system of technological demand.
For anyone who loves literature as much as I do, this image is an absolute nightmare. This, however, is not a nightmare. This is reality. This is society. This is our future.
Books have been replaced by social media and Netflix, newspapers and magazines have gone digital, and coloring books have been modified to fit an app on a cell phone. The appreciation that was once known for books is all but lost. No longer do people crave the feeling of pages that call to be turned, paperback covers that beckon the wear of time, or delicate spines that are desperate to fall apart from years of love and dedication.
For me, books will never be out of style, no matter how "inconvenient" and "bulky" they seem to be. Nothing in this world can replace the feeling that overcomes me when I hold a new book in my hands or revisit an old classic. With a new book to read, a new life can be lived, and with every life lived, another bit of experience can be added to your personal repertoire. Not only are you escaping the four walls of the world around you, but you are also learning so much more and giving your imagination the supplemental intake that only a book can provide.
Although technology is rapidly taking over our planet and books are beginning to fade into history, there will always be a place in the hearts of many for the beauty of literature.
Books are light, but heavy with meaning. They are small, but carry so much weight in stories. They say nothing, yet somehow manage to fill the silence of a lonely world crowded by people consumed by their technology
The trend of books may be dying, but technology will never triumph the beauty and purity of a handwritten masterpiece.
