By: Daniel Nardini
In my house, I have row upon row of book shelves full of books in almost every single room except the kitchen. In the kitchen I may have a newspaper or magazine lying around on the table. Yes, this does not sound like a house of the 21st Century, where people now use their iphones and personal apps. But this is my home, and in many ways it is a tribute to the past as much as it is a tribute to the present (minus a lot of the handheld technologies). I am the odd-person out who does not text while driving, who does not use any electronic device on a subway train (whenever I ride on one), and must look out of place when I read an actual book at a Dunkin Donuts shop. In a bookstore I fit right in. With all of the actual printed books and loads of magazines and newspapers, I feel right at home.
There are still many people who do the same. However, this trend is changing. A long time ago I could easily buy a newspaper at a Target, Walgreens or pharmacy. I certainly could get a newspaper at a department store or major shopping mall. That is becoming more difficult to do. I am now finding newspapers more at convenience store or gas station stores. It seems that so many newspapers are being relegated to the more minor areas of American life. Perhaps it is because I was born in a different era, but I still cannot live without books (something Thomas Jefferson actually said) as well as newspapers and magazines. For me, newspapers as well as magazines still have news variety not available on iphones or apps. Newspapers especially tell me what is happening in my local area that cannot be so easily found on the Internet.
It is something Bill Maher, the famed talk show host, said about people now turning more towards their Facebook than actual news about what they may be missing. Even though I question a lot of the news in the newspapers and magazines, they still have news. This is only good if people wish to read and know something beyond their set perspective. Maybe I am becoming way too old-fashioned, but I like to read the news and then form my opinions based on my own knowledge, my own experiences, and that which I have read from books and studied most of my life. From all that I read, and all that I learn, I try to sift through this information to analyze to death whatever I have read. If people are served their own “personalized” information based on their personal interests (which is fed to them from a computer giving them what they clicked on dozens of times), then there is much they are missing.
Well, in my house I still read books in my spare time, read a magazine or newspaper during brunch and dinner, and read a book til I pass out in bed. Like Thomas Jefferson, I cannot live without books.
Still a Book, Newspaper and Magazine Worm
By: Daniel Nardini
In my house, I have row upon row of book shelves full of books in almost every single room except the kitchen. In the kitchen I may have a newspaper or magazine lying around on the table. Yes, this does not sound like a house of the 21st Century, where people now use their iphones and personal apps. But this is my home, and in many ways it is a tribute to the past as much as it is a tribute to the present (minus a lot of the handheld technologies). I am the odd-person out who does not text while driving, who does not use any electronic device on a subway train (whenever I ride on one), and must look out of place when I read an actual book at a Dunkin Donuts shop. In a bookstore I fit right in. With all of the actual printed books and loads of magazines and newspapers, I feel right at home.
There are still many people who do the same. However, this trend is changing. A long time ago I could easily buy a newspaper at a Target, Walgreens or pharmacy. I certainly could get a newspaper at a department store or major shopping mall. That is becoming more difficult to do. I am now finding newspapers more at convenience store or gas station stores. It seems that so many newspapers are being relegated to the more minor areas of American life. Perhaps it is because I was born in a different era, but I still cannot live without books (something Thomas Jefferson actually said) as well as newspapers and magazines. For me, newspapers as well as magazines still have news variety not available on iphones or apps. Newspapers especially tell me what is happening in my local area that cannot be so easily found on the Internet.
It is something Bill Maher, the famed talk show host, said about people now turning more towards their Facebook than actual news about what they may be missing. Even though I question a lot of the news in the newspapers and magazines, they still have news. This is only good if people wish to read and know something beyond their set perspective. Maybe I am becoming way too old-fashioned, but I like to read the news and then form my opinions based on my own knowledge, my own experiences, and that which I have read from books and studied most of my life. From all that I read, and all that I learn, I try to sift through this information to analyze to death whatever I have read. If people are served their own “personalized” information based on their personal interests (which is fed to them from a computer giving them what they clicked on dozens of times), then there is much they are missing.
Well, in my house I still read books in my spare time, read a magazine or newspaper during brunch and dinner, and read a book til I pass out in bed. Like Thomas Jefferson, I cannot live without books.