The internet is a place of beauty and disaster.
I sometimes wonder if we would be better off without it. As a member of Generation X—the last generation to straddle the analog and digital worlds—I remember the world before the internet well.
I grew up analog. I negotiated on paper maps, made calls on phones affixed to walls, and read physical encyclopedias.
Then, sometime in my twenties, the internet appeared in its nascent form—quirky, clunky, and amusing. It was more of a toy at first, offering silly ideas and ridiculous websites. In many ways, it was more of a toy at first—something new but hardly necessary.
Then, useful tools like email emerged, making our lives easier. Businesses began to stake out digital territory. Card catalogs moved online.
Eventually, the internet became a necessary part of everyone’s life. Then, it moved onto mobile devices, and they, too, became essential to modern life.
It’s a wondrous thing. Much of my work today would be impossible without it.
But it’s also allowed the most monstrous people to find like-minded monsters, affording them a platform to project their hate. It’s turned lies into weapons. It’s degraded truth and created an army of people willing to believe the dumbest things.
I remember those analog days clearly, and they weren’t so bad.
Then I stumble upon this — AbeBooks’ Weird Book Room, “the finest source of everything that’s bizarre, odd, and downright weird in books” — and I’m reminded of the beauty of the internet.
This is an online store for some of the strangest books I’ve ever seen. The titles alone are worth reading, but they are so strange that I might need to purchase them just to see what’s inside.
And if you’re looking for a gift for the person who has everything, might I suggest one of the titles below?
This is a reminder of the internet of yore:
A place where unusual ephemera is gathered to delight and amuse an audience.
We need more of this.
