There was this discussion about how low risk it was to be in book trading. Which may just be the case if you compare us to those supermarkets that sell perishables. After all, there are laws about how long you can display such goods before writing them off or how close to the expiry date you can keep the stuff. Plus, the cost of importing them includes damaged goods which i'm sure happens easily - think plums, grapes or some soft fruit.
Not that we are actually comparing books to food - even though they are food for the brain, just as essential to some people. Take it as 'food for thought', though.
Do books expire?
Hardcovers become unsaleable after the paperback is release, yes. Old editions are obsolete as soon as a new edition is released, except research libraries that keep them, others will trash. Old theories get debunked and pushed off relevancy. Genres lose their appeal, and suddenly no one writes or publishes them anymore. New covers will show you how ugly the old ones were. And author dies and the books start to go out of print. Yes, yes and yes.
Various means will end the life of a book.
Relevancy, universal appeal, rare art and deep substance will make classics out of books, making them live longer and travel farther. My job is at times to feed them a little Amrita, at times to help to bury them when they die, be it prematurely or naturally. Like any reader and loverof books, i feel glad with every long-lived, well-loved book ... and sad to have cross paths with nasty books, unhappy books, sickly ones ... and perhaps a little gratified to have met ones that are short-lived but burned brightly. It sounds odd, ya. At times, i feel it is as such.
SONG FOR A MOOD
Fast expiring strawberries/Kuai guoqi de cao-mei - Vivian Hsu. She is a popstar with a past who has managed to walk away from it quite successfully. Having spent a long time in Japan, her style and music reflects the soft, sexy, kittenish types like Chara and Bice. i liked her cos she's so pretty. Now i see her in a different light - if you didn't know this, Jay Chou's first single had words penned by Viv. Then i also followed her incarnations in DEP and Lil' Viv. Such a chameleon. i wish her the best for being incredibly 'long-lived' in this fickle world of entertainment. Song from one of my utter favourite albums, Qia ban de tien shi/Disguised as a Fairy.
Not that we are actually comparing books to food - even though they are food for the brain, just as essential to some people. Take it as 'food for thought', though.
Do books expire?
Hardcovers become unsaleable after the paperback is release, yes. Old editions are obsolete as soon as a new edition is released, except research libraries that keep them, others will trash. Old theories get debunked and pushed off relevancy. Genres lose their appeal, and suddenly no one writes or publishes them anymore. New covers will show you how ugly the old ones were. And author dies and the books start to go out of print. Yes, yes and yes.
Various means will end the life of a book.
And like in current affairs, things which concern us now, may not in a few months. Woodstock, history. Vietnam War, history. Enron, history. Books that sell like hotcakes, will be yesterday's leftovers in a blink of an eye.
Yet, there are books that never go out of style. Their sell by date is still far off, though the number of people consuming may grow lesser, up till the day they too will die a natural death.
We always complain that some titles are out-of-date. Being 'trained', i'll look at books covers and cringe at the US covers of self help books which look like they were grandparents to the books freshly published. Well, they are still relevant though and just as well-received by readers.Relevancy, universal appeal, rare art and deep substance will make classics out of books, making them live longer and travel farther. My job is at times to feed them a little Amrita, at times to help to bury them when they die, be it prematurely or naturally. Like any reader and loverof books, i feel glad with every long-lived, well-loved book ... and sad to have cross paths with nasty books, unhappy books, sickly ones ... and perhaps a little gratified to have met ones that are short-lived but burned brightly. It sounds odd, ya. At times, i feel it is as such.
SONG FOR A MOOD
Fast expiring strawberries/Kuai guoqi de cao-mei - Vivian Hsu. She is a popstar with a past who has managed to walk away from it quite successfully. Having spent a long time in Japan, her style and music reflects the soft, sexy, kittenish types like Chara and Bice. i liked her cos she's so pretty. Now i see her in a different light - if you didn't know this, Jay Chou's first single had words penned by Viv. Then i also followed her incarnations in DEP and Lil' Viv. Such a chameleon. i wish her the best for being incredibly 'long-lived' in this fickle world of entertainment. Song from one of my utter favourite albums, Qia ban de tien shi/Disguised as a Fairy.
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