Private Book Collections, Shared.

Modern, yet Traditional Indulgence

As temperatures drop and we begin to retreat inside, one of my most relaxing indulgences is sitting by the fireplace with a steaming cup of coffee and reading a good story.  It is not that I do not connect to the written word every day, but I am typically bouncing around various sites on my laptop or listening to Audible as I run errands or exercise. The act of physically reading from a printed book has become almost an indulgence. 

For as long as I can remember I have always been a bookworm. I have a collection of books that I refer to often as both reference and some titles that have even traveled with me since childhood, including Hunter Seat Equitation by George Morris and the 1977 cult favorite, “A Very Young Rider”.

In fact, last year when we chose to move from our stately downtown historic residence that was laden with bookshelves, I made sure to build a “reading room” in our newer country home. The irony is that we also installed rapid charging USB ports in this room!

PRINTED BOOKS CONNECT GENERATIONS

My husband’s youngest daughter is also very much a reader.  When I first arrived into her life, I introduced her to the adventures of Eloise and we bonded each night reading about the little girl's precocious antics at the Plaza Hotel.  A consistent request of my stepdaughter was and is to shop at Barnes & Noble in their brick and mortar retail store. Although we enjoy the time bonding, we thought that by providing her with an ereader, we would save trips to mall because she could shop online and have quick acccess to more titles.  Thus, around the age of 11 arrived a new IPad, but to this day we can not convince her to grasp reading on the device. 

Apparently my stepdaughter’s reading preferences are not unique to her.  Despite teens' tech-savvy reputation, this group continues to lag behind adults when it comes to reading e-books, even with the young adult genre's digital growth relative to the total e-book market. (1). Several factors may play a role in teens' tendency toward printed publications. One explanation is the teens' penchant for borrowing and sharing books rather than purchasing them, which is easier to do in print. Over half of teens are still looking for books on library or bookstore shelves. And in-store browsing is about level with browsing online for this group. (2) The moral of the story is that all generations love to read hard copy  books and we even share and enjoy some of the same works.  In fact, I was shocked over the summer when my stepdaughter asked to borrow a copy of one of my all time favorite books, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitgerald. 

KEEPING YOUR COLLECTION IN TACT

There are many mainstream authors that are timeless, but I I also find that with equestrian sport (and with cooking), “fundamentals do not change.” I have several “references” that I will not part with and refer to often, but I will lend them out.  Currently, one of the most relevant titles in the horse show community is Tonya Johnston's" Inside Your Ride" and George Morris' "Hunter Seat Equitation" has never lost popularity. My PET PEEVE, though, is when my books are not returned to me.  It is almost like losing a friend, especially if the title is out of print or has progressed to another edition. 

This solution is simple, a bookplate. These are labels affixed to the inside front cover of a book to identify the owner, thus making it simple to remind someone to return your “treasure” back to you. My favorite brand is Felix Doolittle due to their personalized and equestrian themed designs.  Felix Doolittle bookplates come in a wide variety of the artist’s whimsical original watercolor designs. I have a difficult time choosing a favorite within his equestrian collection. The plates are customized in groups of 20 for $25 and arrive in one of the company’s signature tins. Not only perfect for your book collection, but also a perfect gift for the book collector in your life.

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