Squid and Octopus Friends for Always by Tao Nyeu

Bookstores too are an experience that cannot be imitated or replaced. They are what they are and will continue to be. Books are an experience that cannot be imitated or replaced to any degree of satisfaction. Real books will survive the same way that movie theaters, vinyl records, and even oil painting has survived (See: television, CD/MP3/cassette/8-track, and photography-respectively the supposed downfalls of the aforementioned media).

There will be a place for e-books, sure, but that’s all, a place. There have been an overwhelming and encouraging number of quality picture books published in recent years, and exactly zero of them would have been better if (only) made available in pixels. In fact, at least in the realm of picture books, I believe we’re smack dab in the middle of a new Golden Age of print. I don’t believe we’re witnessing the end of paper in a sweeping digital revolution. It seems simple, but putting talk of technology and economics aside, it seems more important than ever to make really good books, books that people want to own and hold in their hands. Throughout all this I’ve believed (or, more accurately, wanted to believe) that there’s a defense against this trend-that is, to make good books. It’s strange now to walk by its empty shell. Long before her career as a bookmaker Erin worked at the downtown Borders. Next was Borders, an Ann Arbor institution that began as a small indie shop on State Street. Here in Ann Arbor we lost Shaman Drum, our downtown indie store that had peddled books to students and townies alike for more than three decades. The advent of e-bookery coupled with Wall Street’s unfortunate shenanigans has created an environment in which many stores have had to close their doors.

The twenty-first century has had a rocky start for lovers of bookstores and real, paper books. Philip Stead Illustration | A Home for Bird, Jonathan and the Big Blue Boat, Creamed Tuna Fish and Peas on Toast, A Sick Day for Amos McGee, Bear Has a Story to TellĪnnouncing the 4th Annual Phildecott and Steadbery Awards!!! But first, a Short Essay Regarding the Importance of the Independent Bookstoreįrom the Cluttered Desk of Philip Stead (with Erin sitting close by):

Squid and Octopus Friends for Always by Tao Nyeu