Book Worms in the Apple

“I keep telling you to switch to the Net for this, but no. You insist on coming here every time.”

“Because here are resources, I can trust not to be changed every two days. You should try browsing here once in a while instead of Wikipedia.”

“Wikipedia’s verified.”

Matt shook his head. “Not always, honey. How many times have you come across a page that said, ‘Needs verification’?”

Becky huffed as she set the stack of books on the table. “More times than I can count, I suppose.”

“My point exactly.” He sat down and opened his notebook. “Hence the reason why I stick with the books.

She sat across from him, eyeing the tall stacks. “I guess I see your point but wouldn’t note-taking be faster with a laptop?”

“Then I wouldn’t remember it as well. Don’t you know that you’re more likely to recall something if you physically write it as opposed to typing it? You’ve become too reliant on the tech.” Matt pulled a biology book from the closest stack. “It’s a wonder you remember anything sometimes.”

Becky leaned forward. “I remember everything about us: when we started dating, where we first met, what our first date was, not to mention how awkward you were when you asked me to go with you.”

“Okay, okay. I get it. Still, it wouldn’t hurt to keep physical notes.”

“I take all my notes on here.” She held up her mobile to show a notepad-like app with a list of various titles/subjects. “I even have several files on my computer, so I don’t see the need to use a pen and paper.”

“So, what would you do if your devices got lost, broken, or worse, hacked? Unless you’ve got multiple backups on an external drive somewhere, everything would be lost.” Becky stared at her boyfriend, unable to come up with an adequate answer. She then folded her arms and huffed loudly at the fact he’d made a good point.

They sat in silence for a few minutes until he asked, “Did you ever learn how to take notes?”

She gave him a look as if he’d asked a stupid question. “Um, duh.” He glared and she dialed back the hostility. “I did while I was in primary school, but as the computers were introduced, I slowly forgot over the time I was in high school. Haven’t really used a pen and paper much since then.” Glancing at the stacks of books again, she noticed he’d gathered several texts on her fields of interest/study: psychology and opera. Strange combination, yes, but fascinating nonetheless.

“I’m guessing you’ve never had reason to access the library’s card catalogue then.” Becky gave him a blank, hazel-eyed stare. “Come on. I’ll show you what I’m speaking about.” Standing up, he took her downstairs to a rack of small drawers.

“Looks like a dresser with small compartments.”

“Pretty much but here’s what’s in it.” He pulled a drawer about halfway out and flipped through the cards. “Kind of like a Rolodex but with books instead of contact information.”

She looked at what he’d selected. Chinese Articles of Religion. “Not my first choice by any stretch but okay. Now what?”

“Now, we go find it.” He scribbled the book number and location on a paper scrap then took his girlfriend’s hand. “Follow me.” They walked past the rows of shelves until they came to the correct section then turned down the aisle to locate the book. “Ahh, here we are.” Matt pulled the fairly large volume from the shelf. “And that’s all there is to it.”

“I see. Hmm…” She looked around at the almost dizzying display of knowledge that was the London Library.

“There’s much more here if you want to look around. I need to get some research done for yet another paper.” He replaced the religious book. “Who’d have thought studying biology and botany would require so much writing? Suppose it’s a good thing I still enjoy the slowly dying art so much.”

“How do you mean, babe?” She asked as they went back up to the study table.

“Think about it. There’s software and apps out there that write for you just by using your voice. There are others that correct your grammar and syntax as you’re writing it. Hell, some do it all! Personally, I can’t stand any of it. Get out a dictionary or go back to your school books, if you still have them, and learn to write properly. It’s not that difficult.”

They sat back down. “It’s not so easy for some people. Some have never been able to grasp the lessons of using the English language.”

He waved a hand and opened the biology book. “Excuses, excuses. Dyslexia and other learning issues aside, ‘not grasping the lessons of learning the English language’ is no excuse.”

“Easy for you to say, Mr. Wannabe Novelist.”

“Still on my bucket list, babe.” He winked, causing Becky to roll her eyes. “All I’m saying is that people need to learn how to write and speak again. Social media, texting, and all this other automated crap have almost done away with the well-spoken word. People take things much too literally and feel the need to speak against it, and not in a very eloquent way either.”

“Think you’re being a bit redundant but I do see your point.” She placed her arms on the table. “So, you got an extra notebook, Wilde?”

He raised an eyebrow and looked at his girlfriend over his glasses. “What for?”

Becky pointed to the psychology books. “Thought I’d give my rusty writing skills a go. Besides,” she quickly checked her mobile’s calendar, “I’ve got a paper due in about a fortnight, and I haven’t even begun yet.”

Matt smiled and reached into his knapsack. “Always keep a backup on hand.” He passed her a pen along with it. “Start with straight copying, if you want a pointer.”

“Then focus on what’s critical to what I want to write.”

“See? You do remember this.”

She shrugged. “Guess all I needed was a push in that direction.” They focused on their subjects of choice and, for the next three hours, they did nothing but write notes and flip pages. Matt was taking notes on how some viruses have ingrained themselves into the human DNA chains while Becky was engrossed in the differences between narcissism and self-entitlement. Her notes, at first, were a direct copy of what she was reading but, as she continued to research, they became more streamlined and to-the-point. His, on the other hand, resembled something closer to shorthand and would be easy to recall later.

“Bloody hell! That’s more long hand than I expected to write.” Becky flexed her sore wrist as she surveyed her progress. “I seriously need to do this more often.”

“What did I tell ya? It’s a great skill to have as not only does it help you recall things when you need them but you also don’t have to worry about it getting hacked.”

She stood up. “When you’re right you’re right.” She looked over the railing at the shelves. “You know, babe, I never fully appreciated how much I could find here. All I ever did was search the Net and there was everything I needed. But nowadays,” she looked over at Matt, “it seems to be harder and harder to verify a source as information gets censored or erased completely.”

“Sounds like 1984 or Brave New World.” He joined her at the railing. “I’d have to say it’s one of the reasons why I never gave up writing by hand or doing my research in books. True, people over the centuries have forged documents, coloured the truth, or straight up lied, but at least there’s real copies of whatever the authors wrote.”

“How do you know the books you read are complete?”

“How do I know the digital copies aren’t truncated or abridged? Like you said, the information is slowly being change or erased.”

“I did say that, didn't I?”

He nodded. “It’s much easier to change something on the computer than it is the genuine article. It can still be done but who wants to take the time and effort to do that?”

“You know, when you first told me you refused to do any writing on your laptop, save for university papers, I thought you were bonkers. Now, I’m beginning to see the logic behind it.”

“Why type when I don’t need to? I’m even considering getting more practice in calligraphy to earn a Certificate of Proficiency.”

“For calligraphy? Now you’ve lost me.”

“It’s from the International Association of Master Penmen. Here, let me show you.” He pulled up the association’s website on his mobile and smiled as Becky whistled.

“Bloody hell. That’s some stylish writing.”

“I’m not at that level yet but I’m working on it, but do you see how writing can be so much more than words? You can’t get that kind of quality from a computer.”

“Eventually, maybe, but the creativity behind it would be lost. You think you can achieve the skill?”

“Won’t know until I try.”

“If it’s anything like your script now, I’d say you’re well on your way.” She yawned and noticed the sun was setting. “Think we’ve done enough for one day. What say we head home?”

“No objections here. Let me check out a few books first.”

“You call that ‘a few books’?”

“It’s only five, love. Usually, I get twice as many.”

“It’s a wonder you don’t have carpal tunnel with how much writing you do.”

“Write more often and you won’t have to worry about it,” and they headed for the checkout desk.