Today is a kind of big day for me: I just pulled the trigger on the paperback version of Darcy’s Tale; it will be available online within a week. This may not strike others as being a big deal, as the thing was already written and released, after all—but for me, a physical book is something special. Books have always been a huge part of my life, and sitting down with a good book is certainly one of the best things life has to offer. And I relate to a book differently than I do a screen: I like the feel of it in my hand, and somehow, the words just hit me with more meaning. It’s a more intimate experience, and with each turn of the page you feel that you are that much more deeply engaged. You see how far you’ve come, and how far there is to go; toward the beginning you wonder about all the possibilities that have been hinted at, and toward the end you wonder how things will wrap up in what is left.

I have books I have been rereading for 40 years. They are old friends, comfortable and well-worn—sort of the way I am beginning to feel. We have gone through a lot together: they soothe me to sleep at night, keep me from boredom, and distract me when needed. I remember reading a copy of one of the Nero Wolfe mysteries the morning of my wedding, much to my mother’s amazement (and disgust, if truth be told).

And now, I have made one of my own. I am anxious to get one in hand because I like Darcy’s Tale, and I think it will be another old favorite in time. It needs to be left fallow for a little while, since I have, by necessity, read it all too often in the last year. But I hope that, in future, I will be able to cross back and forth between P&P and DT, reading each bit of the story from both sides, and, I hope, enjoying how Elizabeth and Darcy keep missing each other’s meanings. I began writing DT with that sort of in mind: that DT could be laid down next to P&P and seamlessly read along side it.

So, Hurray for Books! May they never lose their appeal, or their place.