if a tree falls

Books are too heavy. They have always been too heavy.

Those who love books, who cannot leave them behind when they travel, know well the weight of a suitcase full of books.

Booksellers, too, know the weight of a carton of books; the cost of shipping a book often exceeds its sale value. Publishers know well the weight of a pallet of books. If a new book does not sell immediately, publishers ask merchants to destroy it: it is too expensive to ship the book back to a warehouse.

Books convert delightful, pleasant groves of shady trees to landfill.

If the love of books is not to be reserved for the enjoyment of those who do not love trees, the books we love are deeply flawed.