Allergies, Kindle, and the death of twentieth century literature

It seems to be nostalgia-over-books week here at ZDNet. This week, my fellow bloggers have been mourning over the recent news of the demise of Borders Books, and writing other book-related stories.

Sure, that’s sad. But I’m afraid it could be much worse than the death of the large brick-and-mortar bookstores, that killed the small mom-and-pop bookstores, only to make room for the mighty Amazon. The outcome of that battle was decided in our culture so long ago that most of us can no longer be guilted about shopping there.

I am worried that, unless we do something to actively make sure twentieth century literature gets moved into the Kindle format, it might be lost.

People are downsizing and getting rid of old books

Everywhere I go, people are telling me that they’re downsizing, which includes getting rid of a lot of their old books. I’m doing it, too.

I just moved into a smaller place. I made the difficult decision to get rid of several thousand pounds of books I’d lugged with me each and every time I moved, ever since I was a teenager. As a lifelong, avid reader, I loved those books. I’d added scores of new books to my library along the way.

As much as I considered those books to be treasures, and despite the admonishment I grew up with that it was a grievous crime to throw away a book, I actually had to recycle many of my old friends.

I found out that they’re really hard to donate.

Libraries don’t want old books! That really surprised me. It’s gotten very hard to find people and organizations to take boxes of books.

The trend in downsizing is partly to do with rising heating and cooling costs. Although books provide insulation (an excuse that I, as a bibliophile, often used to justify keeping wall-to-wall bookcases), people are starting to find it expensive to keep them around because they take up a lot of space.

These days, people are letting the cloud store physical goods. The books people are keeping around are just getting older and moldier.

Allergies abound

According to the American College of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology, a large percentage of people in the general populace are allergic to dust mites and mold, and almost all asthma sufferers have to contend with these allergies in addition to the other things that assault their airways. Asthma itself is on the increase.

Some of the books I let go of weren’t in perfect condition. I’d read many of them multiple times. I’d purchased a good number of them from used bookstores to begin with. Their pages were dog-eared and yellowed. Some were actually crumbling.

Also, I’ve lived in some tropical climates and I haven’t always had air conditioning. At one point I had to carefully box up my books and store them in a friend’s basement for a year and a half while I was living in Hawaii. More than a few of my dear old books had attained a slightly musty odor, vaguely reminiscent (or so I told myself) of an old wizard’s library in a fairy tale.

Our homes are our castles, and we all want to hold onto our prized possessions. However, doctors often recommend that people suffering from allergies and asthma avoid accumulating items that gather dust, especially in areas where you sleep.

Ironically, once dust reaches critical mass, the more often you wave your magic dusting wand and stir up the dust you’re trying to remove, the more often you’re likely to sound like Sir Sneeze-a-lot or Lady Wheeze-a-lot.

In all seriousness, though, airway compromise is no joke. Sneezing is one thing, but contact with allergens can send an asthma sufferer into an attack within seconds, which is not only frightening, but life threatening as irritated airways tighten and cut off oxygen.

Also, used books can be hazardous for people who are allergic to animal dander. It’s not always possible to be sure that the used book you’re buying has always been in a pet-free zone. People with animal allergies may break out in hives and rashes, and have breathing difficulties, which makes every used book a potential hazard, and better off avoided.

I have to admit I don’t sneeze quite as often now that I’ve removed loads of allergens from my atmosphere.

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