OPINION

Celebrating Printed Book Day, thanks to Gutenberg

Staff Writer
The Providence Journal
Early wooden printing press, depicted in 1568

(WikiMedia)

MICHAEL T. DOLAN

 Librarians, bibliophiles, jaded English majors and editors, booksellers and writers, rejoice! Today is Printed Book Day, a day when endangered species the world round celebrate the advent of Gutenberg’s printing press.

 Granted, the celebration is a bit subdued, and not unlike most days of the year, which for some inveterate readers typically consist of diving into the pages of Faulkner or Fitzgerald, a hot cup of chamomile tea at the ready. Introverts are not typically known for their raucous celebrations, and Jay Gatsby makes for a more entertaining party guest anyway.

 Printed Book Day marks the anniversary of Johannes Gutenberg’s printing of the Gutenberg Bible, traditionally held to have been on Feb. 23, 1455. It was the first Western book made with movable type, making Gutenberg’s press perhaps the greatest invention known to civilization outside of the toilet.

 The movable type printing press transformed society in ways incalculable. No longer were books relegated to the wealthy few who could afford them. Books, and the knowledge held therein, were now accessible to all classes of people. Gutenberg had leveled the playing field, and the world in turn evolved exponentially. The Internet is doing much the same today, as individuals in even the remotest parts of the globe can access porn and cat videos with equal ease.

 Not everyone is excited by Printed Book Day, however. Our woody friends, the trees, are up in branches about the anniversary, and would rather you forgot the entire observance. Borrowing a ploy from the Chick-fil-A cows’ “Eat Mor Chikin’” playbook, forests everywhere are campaigning us to “Read More E-books.”

 While the campaign got off to a promising start several years ago, it seems to be leveling out a bit. According to Nielsen Books & Consumers, printed books outsold e-books in the first half of 2014, with e-books nabbing only 23 percent of the market. Hardcover books and paperbacks made up 25 percent and 42 percent of book purchases, respectively. More distressing for the trees, e-books dropped to 21 percent in the third quarter of 2014. Perhaps there is room for both printed books and e-books in the new publishing paradigm after all.

 That does not sit well with Shady Oak Tree, president of Treesters Local 413.

 “Things are not looking up for us trees,” he told me during a meeting held at a local park. “The housing market is starting to rebound, wooden bats are making a comeback in Little League, forest fires are on the rise, and e-book sales are leveling off. The only thing we have going for us is the struggling newspaper industry. Curse Gutenberg and your Printed Book Day propaganda!”

 “But what about your legacy?” I countered. “You’ll have to come down sometime. Maybe it’ll be lightning. Perhaps a chainsaw. Or a long and painful death brought on by invasive beetles. What will your legacy be? Wouldn’t you want to live on forever as the pages of Joyce’s 'Ulysses'?”

 The old tree creaked. “And be stuck on June 16 for eternity, with Leopold Bloom no less? I think I’ll pass.”

 “But you could be the next great American novel!”

 Another creak. “Or I could end up as the pages for the next '50 Shades of Grey.' No thank you.”

 I admit he had a point. Still, I am not ready to pick up an e-book and save the trees. The printed page, with its unique bouquet of dust mites, sawdust, forests, and the past all captured together in one arousing pheromone, was my first love. I cannot betray her.

 Some may abuse her by dog-earing their place in a book. Others may neglect her in favor of the latest e-model on the block. But the printed page, and the inspired order of letters inked on her canvas, is home to me.

 Michael T. Dolan is a writer from West Chester, Pa.
https://www.providencejournal.com/story/opinion/2015/02/23/celebrating-printed-book-day-thanks/35129808007/
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