In spite of all the changes in our tech-mad, on-line-media world, I’m not the only person who still loves the satisfying feel of a real book with pages you can turn.
Even though I’m older, I’m not old-fashioned, and I happily admit that I enjoy the ease of my small, slim Kindle, easily packed for travel, instant access when I can’t sleep that’s better than a pill and immediate gratification for a swift book purchase. Ah, but a Kindle can’t match the tactile thrill of turning pages, savoring cover art and design, flipping back and forth on a whim and marking special spots in a treasured book—a unique satisfaction that’s hard to explain.
The magic of words threaded through a world history tome or riveting our attention on a “page-turner” weds mind and body into a curious combo, an intimately personal and intensely felt experience. Reading—its pleasures and pluses—has been loved and lauded forever. Its package, a book, enjoys equal status though we rarely analyze the various parts of the whole. Every now and then, we may come across a special edition, beautifully bound with color plates, outstanding graphics, maps, genealogies or additional indexes and appendices—often difficult to decipher or appreciate in electronic form.
Therefore, dedicated book readers will smile and appreciate the following clever little quiz. Easy but thoughtful, author unknown, it was a small square of newsprint handed to me by a friendly checker at my local supermarket. I guess he knew more about his customers than I realized. Odd gifts pop up in the most unlikely places and at the most unexpected times. Enjoy this “bookie’s” teaser-test, copied verbatim:
SUPER QUIZ*– Subject: PARTS OF A BOOK
Each answer is a word that also refers to a part of a book. (e.g. Body part between your neck and your bottom. Answer: Back.) Cover the answers at bottom until ready.
Freshman level
- A flat thin, green part of a tree.
- A knight in training.
- The row of bones down the human back.
Graduate level
- A sheet or blanket that you lie under in bed.
- The part of a ski that holds the boot in place.
- The finger next to the thumb.
Ph.D. level
- A local branch of a fraternity or association.
- The process of telling a person’s name to another when they first meet.
- A ceremony that marks the completion of a new building.
Answers:
1. Leaf 2. Page 3. Spine
- Cover 5. Binding 6. Index
- Chapter 8. Introduction 9. Dedication
* republished by North America Syndicate Inc.
