13 
Sure, high speed printers can spew out the WSJ‘s full daily circulation in five hours but where’s the soul in that? Where’s the craftsmanship? To see the magic of traditional book-making in action, check out Birth of a Book.
Glen Milner produced this book-binding vignette at Smith-Settle Printers in Leeds, England as the binders bound Suzanne St Albans’ Mango and Mimosa. [Vimeo via NotCot]
This is spectacular. And a lot more human input than I had thought.
99.999% of books are churned off high-volume machinery with no human input whatsoever apart from putting materials in at the beginning and removing books at the end.
I have never had much regard for books growing up. This was largely down to growing up with cable TV, Videogames and a bicycle. I guess i just life relatively ‘fast’. I never really sat still if i was not playing a fast paced game or being subjected to content produced for the ‘MTV Generation’.
As i got older and matured ( im now 28 ) and was forced to read in order to earn and study, my reading ability, although never poor to begin with, improved drastically. This could also be a result of increased confidence through reading statements aloud in packed courtrooms and such.
To be direct about it, i never read a book. Not one. Until i was 20 years old. Its astounding to me that with such a good educations system i was able to get that far in life without ever picking up a book. The first book i ever read was Memoirs of a Geisha, largely born out of an interest in Japan in general. After reading that book i was hooked.
I cannot stress how satisfying it is to get away, alone or with a loved one, to a cottage during the winter. Sit in front of a log fire, with a blanket, maybe after a long walk. And then just get stuck into a solid, hardback, used book. Why used? There really is something almost mysterious about reading a book and sharing the same experience an unknown number of other people have shared before you with the same book. Their experience is with it is etched into every scratch, crease or stain on yellowing pages.
My fondest memory, and the best weekend of my life, was spent with my two dogs and ex wife in a converted barn cottage on in Wales two years ago. Even though a great portion of that was spent sat in silence reading. There was so much comfort me.
That brings me onto my main point. The iPad. Or even the Kindle or any other eReader. It simply is not the same. There is certainly a place for these devices, i accept that. For me that place is in magazine and newspaper content. Disposable media. Simply nothing comes close to turn that page and taking in that dusty, crisp smell.
I really did enjoy this video. It has added another level of depth into owning books. Or even reading in general.