Paper Wrappers
Aug. 24th, 2005 10:03 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
pasitheaSo, I went to the post office this morning to pick up my book which they hadn't brought back to the post office last night. Finally, I can open it and comment on it with or without smugness.
I spent $20 on eBay for a copy of The Illusion of Life not bad. There are three things wrong with the book. 1) A small scuff on the paper cover in the top right corner, a black marker stripe on the ends of the page at the top of the book, and most unsightly of all, a 1.5" square '101 Dalmations' (the TV series) sticker on the front page. The scuff and marker line I couldn't care less about but.... Ugly TV animation in an unremovable spot. Ugh. Ohwell. At least it wasn't Disney Hercules, or one of their newer, uglier shows, I guess.
Anyhow, that gets me thinking about an absurdity of america.. The paper sleeve on books. I don't care for them. I often remove them. I feel like they're like the wrapper on candy. It's puzzling to me that so much of the (monetary) value of a book seems tied up in this feature of the book. Why? They're often gaudy (this one is quite gaudy although the book beneath is bright blue and thus not much better) Nowdays, 'expensive' books are wrapped in plastic to protect the paper cover. Crazy! The cover is to protect the pages, the paper cover is to protect the hardcover before sale, and now plastic wrap to protect the paper. Guh. Just ditch the sleeves! You don't buy candy to look at the wrapper.
I spent $20 on eBay for a copy of The Illusion of Life not bad. There are three things wrong with the book. 1) A small scuff on the paper cover in the top right corner, a black marker stripe on the ends of the page at the top of the book, and most unsightly of all, a 1.5" square '101 Dalmations' (the TV series) sticker on the front page. The scuff and marker line I couldn't care less about but.... Ugly TV animation in an unremovable spot. Ugh. Ohwell. At least it wasn't Disney Hercules, or one of their newer, uglier shows, I guess.
Anyhow, that gets me thinking about an absurdity of america.. The paper sleeve on books. I don't care for them. I often remove them. I feel like they're like the wrapper on candy. It's puzzling to me that so much of the (monetary) value of a book seems tied up in this feature of the book. Why? They're often gaudy (this one is quite gaudy although the book beneath is bright blue and thus not much better) Nowdays, 'expensive' books are wrapped in plastic to protect the paper cover. Crazy! The cover is to protect the pages, the paper cover is to protect the hardcover before sale, and now plastic wrap to protect the paper. Guh. Just ditch the sleeves! You don't buy candy to look at the wrapper.
