lit luv

there’s a trend having to do with the (oft very pricey) wrapping of books, which pre-supposes the books are used as generic, bound objects that have nothing to do with their owners or their interests. what they do is represent enterprising decorators who may claim they reach back to bound volumes of yore, who more decidedly promote high cost, non-verbal matchy-matched shelf fillers that inadvertently foster a non-literary visual trend in a world & time when words & books could be used more than ever before. bound as statement decorating, precious books are little more than building blocks. why styrofoam hunks aren’t simply used i don’t know, though if an otherwise recycling-bound volume is re-purposed by being wrapped & stacked, well then at least it has some new lease on life

still, in these increasingly intellectually challenged times where bookishness and “professorial” are met with disdain or pooh-poohed as the thing of snobs, i question both the underlying intent – looks over content – & the emperor’s new clothes aspect of book displays that have nothing to do with books – or reading or literature or stories – or even the default, visual mini bios that evolve when an honestly derived collection of books is displayed, for an array of organically gathered literature also tells the life story of the owner. each title functions as a page in that life….

at the mod lodge, no book is wrapped or purchased mindlessly. where books reside & in what order they preside is part of thoughtful placement, saying to one & all: there is a luv of the written word here at the mod lodge. books large & small, with or without pictures, new or used. they honor in silence but do so steadfastly. intimate photos, miniature works of art & best loved collectibles add spice to the shelves, but let no one be mislead – herein reigns the beauty of literature & the learning it represents