It reminds me of this short essay [0] I came across in Harper's a while back, which, at the time of publishing, was in a section devoted to the defense of books

It reminds me of this short essay [0] I came across in Harper's a while back, which, at the time of publishing, was in a section devoted to the defense of books. I believe it's from 1999. "[...] a treasured book is more important than a dance card, or the photo that freezes you in mid-teeter at the edge of the Grand Canyon, because such a book can be a significant event in the history of your reading, and your reading should be an essential segment of your character and your life. Unlike the love we’ve made or meals we’ve eaten, books congregate to form a record around us of what they’ve fed our stomachs or our brains. These are not a hunter’s trophies but the living animals themselves." 0: https://harpers.org/archive/2018/10/living-animals/ https://harpers.org/archive/2018/10/living-animals/