[Topic] Why You Should Buy Books In this Economy

Originally post 10/7/08.

A friend of mine had comforting words when I expressed my concern about having come out with my first novel just as the world economy is taking a nose dive. She said, "A book is solace in times of need."

She's right. If the electricity is off, you can't watch TV but you can still ruin your eyes by reading by candlelight.

Plus, there are lots of practical uses for books in times of scarcity. Here are just a few.

• Home defense.. best with a really fat book like my novel.
• Insulation... four to five inches of densely packed paper, that is, a book, floor to ceiling on every wall beats the best commercial insulation around.
• Books as fuel... to start fires or just to feed them. You could cook a whole meal on my novel.
• Hunting...a book makes a great missile.
• Padding clothes... again, paper makes great isulation.
• Trade... with people who didn't think of how bored they would get with nothing to do.
• Weights... for holding down the edges of the tarp you now live under.
• Food extender... adds no calories but lots of bulk, add to ground meat, bread, mashed potatoes.
• Home repairs... use books as shingles.
• Bedding... crumple pages and put inside dubet cover.
• Entertainment... your kids will love all the unbelievable stories and pictures of what life was like before the Crash.
• Defense... buiild fortress out of piled books.. not recommended against flamethrowers.
• Pest control... wait until the cockroach wanders onto and open book.. then shut it fast.
• Furniture... it just takes a third of an encyclopedia to make a stool!
• ... and the unpleasant but obvious, toilet paper.