Still, there’s no replacing the paper versions of these. I have a shelf of books on my bookcase ready and regularly used. They cost more than the electronic world-wide-web version and collect more dust, but I wouldn’t dream of getting rid of them.
There are three dictionaries; two French and one English. There is rarely a day when I don’t open at least one of them. Dictionaries are far more convenient to browse in paper format. It’s easier to find words in them when you don’t really know the spelling, and easier to find words in the same family.
There are grammar books, which I don’t use nearly as often as I should. I’ll question the same rule about ten times before finally cracking open the book, which might be why I keep forgetting the rules, but I still consider them useful.
There are quirky books about mistakes people have made and mistakes that are easily made falling under the categories of homonyms, synonyms and every other nyms that can lead to confusion. I’ll read through them once, then every now and then pull one out to prove someone—often myself—wrong.
There are novel writing books which I read once, keep on the shelf for a while, and then decide whether or not I want to read again. They say a lot of the same thing; but they say it in a different way, and every time I read one I come a little closer to actually following the rules.
There’s also an Old English book (with parts of Beowulf, of course) and Stephen King’s On Writing, which is more biography than instructional, but also more likely to get me writing.
I don’t know if I could find the equivalent of them all on the web, but I don’t care to look. They might be collecting dust on my shelf most of the year, but they feel nice between my fingers when I do pick them up, and they’re certainly more likely to keep my attention than a website with countless other options waiting to be clicked.
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