tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9469173.post2229468922274534652..comments2011-10-31T08:58:30.946-07:00Toryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12638840692769276248noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9469173.post-73711954066083593132011-10-31T08:58:30.946-07:002011-10-31T08:58:30.946-07:00I&#39;m sorry for letting my response to your comment lapse, Anon. A couple of thoughts in response to your questions. <br /><br />1) I do think the digital age has affected how we associate objects with memories. For example, I&#39;ll never forget the time I got my first Nintendo, or the hours I spent building cities in college playing Sim City. <br /><br />But on a basic level, I don&#39;t think digitization will ever quite undermine our proclivity to associate memories with objects. It&#39;s just human nature - something we do regardless of the gizmos we create. Some people claim to have a &#39;relationship&#39; with their computers/ipads/iphones, etc.<br /><br />On the other hand, there is something to be said about the lack of actual, hard-copy photographs. Your digital shoebox reminds me how few pictures I actually own. We have quite a few from our wedding/engagement, but I don&#39;t personally have that many that I&#39;ve developed or had developed lying around. But I have a ton of digital ones on my computer saved up over the years. <br /><br />None of this really relates to the new novel, except that scrapbooking is the opposite of this. It&#39;s about connecting with items and memories in a very kinetic way - something we lose through our penchant for digitization. Maybe that&#39;s your point?Toryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12638840692769276248noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9469173.post-3230736900451403802011-10-25T06:33:03.265-07:002011-10-25T06:33:03.265-07:00I can certainly understand the anachronism in the novel, particularly with the reference of the pictures to stamp collecting. <br /><br />On a slightly more abstract level, it is common to attach meaning and memory to everyday objects. For example, picking up an old book, we can often recall what we thought of the book rather than the actual content. (Maybe that&#39;s the case with this book for you).<br /><br />I&#39;m curious whether you think that the digital age creates more of a rift between a memory and an object (like a book, or a scrapbook) or whether we lose something with current trend of everything electronic. Do digital shoebox memories count?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com