Today, Book Lovers Day, celebrates the rich history of books and their survival in a technologically advanced world.
With the growing presence of mobile phones and tablets, hardcover and paperback books still find their way to home shelves. Interpretations may vary, but ebook sales have grown over the years to make up at least 20 percent of book sales in 2013.
Gracie Parga has worked at Gracie’s Book Nook in National City for 30 years and has owned it for 25 years. She says that ebooks are making it hard for regular books to survive.
“All the electronic devices, the readers, the iPads, the smartphones, the Kindle, it has taken a big toll on the industry,” she said. “I think everyone who is 40 or younger has these devices. Seniors who are 80 to 85 years old are having trouble with their vision, so with the devices they can make the font bigger.”
Parga said she prefers a physical book over any electronic version.
“I still like to touch a book,” she said. “I like to turn the page and look at the cover. My batteries don’t die down so I can always open a book and go right at it.”
If you don’t have a way to celebrate Book Lover’s Day or you don’t own a book, going to Gracie’s Book Nook is the perfect way to start.
With more than 25,000 titles to meander through, all her books sell for half the cover price. She provides only paperback editions so you don’t get the overpriced hardcover editions.
You can also pick her brain on what to read, and you’ll want to. Parga has been reading since she was 3 years old and has read every genre. Except true crime.
“True crime I don’t read because every customer who comes in is a suspect,” she said.
Book lovers everywhere will rejoice getting lost in a fantasy world created solely with ink letters on a sheet of paper.
“On Book Lovers Day you should actually touch a book, read a book, especially to the kids,” she said. “That is how parents bond with their children, by sharing the love of books and words.”
