If you want to join our Summer Classics Reading Club, and why would you, we are currently reading The Three Musketeers, a book I expected to suffer through, but to my surprise I like it very much. You can probably get a copy at almost any library or Goodwill or used book store, or you can order a copy on Amazon for $4 and have it tomorrow without having to leave the a/c, which is the sort of thing that makes Amazon so hard to get away from.
I like sending mail, and I have several friends who like sending/receiving mail. Last night as I was writing a card for a friend, I noticed that the card had cost more than the copy of The Three Musketeers I’d impulsively sent her. Henry and I talked for a few minutes about the possibility of using inexpensive books AS cards. Like, what if you spent $4 on a copy of The Three Musketeers, or Pride and Prejudice, and wrote in it the same thing you were going to write in a birthday card, and sent it to a friend for their birthday? Would that be weird? It’s about the same price as the card, but for the most part we throw away a card after appreciating it for awhile, whereas the book they could get more use out of, if they wanted to, and then could keep it or donate it or otherwise get rid of it just like they do a card. But does it SEEM LIKE A CARD? This is the sticking point. You can send a card to someone without it being in any way “a gift,” but if you use a book as a card, it might indeed be perceived as a gift, and now you’ve set an unintended gift-exchanging precedent. It’s silly, because the card cost more, but this is the kind of thing that can happen.
And of course there’s the matter of shipping. When I impulsively sent a copy of The Three Musketeers to a friend, I didn’t have to pay shipping because I had it sent directly; the card I’m sending her will cost me a 73-cent stamp, so the book is cheaper again. But if I’d had the book sent to myself so I could write in it and use it as a card, it would cost over $4 to send it to her even at the media-mail rate, so then we’re talking DOUBLE the price of a card.
Back to The Three Musketeers. I’d expected a lot of swashbuckling, and I’d also expected it to be hard to read, because it is old and because it is a classic. But Henry said one reason he chose it is that the writing style is supposed to be curiously accessible/modern, and I have found that to be the case—after the usual getting-used-to-it delay of starting any older book. Like, the first few pages were a real struggle, until I got into the swing, or rather the swash, of things. But after that, it hasn’t been hard to read, and I see how it got a reputation for being curiously accessible/modern. There is for example some breaking of the fourth wall, where the author says to the reader, don’t worry, even if this character forgets about this other character and forgets to worry about where he is, WE will not forget, and WE know where he is. And the characters say “Thanks” to each other, which feels oddly modern, and the writing style is arch and confiding and dryly funny in a way that reminds me of Jane Austen. Henry reports that the audiobook is even more accessible, the way Shakespeare can be easier to process when you hear it spoken aloud by people who understand what they’re saying and know what the tone/emphasis should be.
For quite a big chunk of the book, there were NO women, and I was feeling kind of aggressive about that, but then suddenly there were some women, named and voiced and important to the plot. It’s still a very Guy book with lots of Guy stuff about sword-fighting and doing favors for ladies and dying for your monarch and so forth. But instead of finding that boring and annoying as I’d expected, I am, as I think I may have already said twice, enjoying it. It’s silly in a good way—like it’s SUPPOSED to be silly. It’s sword-fighting for people who don’t really like reading about violence and are more interested in the relationships between the characters. Or for people who DO like to read some violence but ALSO like to read about relationships between characters.
Favorite part: “Like, the first few pages were a real struggle, until I got into the swing, or rather the swash, of things.”
I have noticed that the price of cards continues to climb and I LOVE sending cards, but it’s getting to the point where I think very hard about it. I very much like the idea of sending books as cards, but the qualms do exist. I would also worry that the friend wouldn’t like the book, or would have it already, and would want to donate it, but would feel unable to do so because of the note I’d written in it.
Your review makes me interested in reading The Three Musketeers and also in watching the movie that was made in the 90s, I think? Was Antonio Banderas in it? I should probably look. Nope, turns out I’m thinking of The Mask of Zorro, and now I want to watch THAT again.
YES. The inscription could be regarded as precious, rather than just exactly what one would have written in a card!! Perhaps the only way to do this would be to explain the whole thing to the other person ahead of time, so that they could dispose of the book exactly as easily as they could have disposed of the card!
What a super fun idea! Of course, I’m not sure if it would work great here because a) Canada Post is SO expensive, it’s costly to send literally anything, and b) they go on strike frequently. But I love that idea!
If I were buying the book on Amazon and sending it “as a card,” I would include a gift message the way they allow you to do. If I were buying the book at Half Price Books and then mailing it, I would insert a nice note on some cardstock or a bookmark rather than writing an inscription in the book itself. Inscriptions in the book annoy me a little. But, I would so prefer to receive a book over a birthday card, and find that books are a fun and low-pressure way to give birthday gifts to local friends without it being a big thing.
This is what I was thinking too – have Amazon print the note onto the slip they include with a gift. I think that would be so fun! And same again, you could use some pretty notecards for the note if shipping directly.
I would LOVE to receive a book as a card, and wouldn’t think it was weird at all! (Or rather, I might think it was weird/unusual in a fun way, not in a “what the hell is this” kind of way.) It wouldn’t make me feel obligated to give the other person a gift, especially if the book was an inexpensive paperback or even used – but I would probably *want* to send the other person a book-card in return, because it would be fun to choose a book and write the inscription.
Hmmm. I have 2 thoughts that are somewhat less enthusiastic about the book-as-card idea than previous commenters. I mean, on the one hand, Cool! And also, Why not?! But on the other, if it’s a book I want and will keep, fabulous. But if on the other hand it’s a book either that doesn’t interest me — your wonderful intentions notwithstanding — or that does, but that I want to pass along after reading it, then having the card part written into it might feel weird? I sometimes run into this problem with books that have been inscribed, also (even if I’m wanting to pass them along some years later it can feel weird to me if there’s a personalized inscription.
Also, in direct defiance of the “carefully choose the card that’s right for each person” norm, I buy boring/general cards in bulk and when I use them, try if appropriate to write something that makes it right for the recipient (though sometimes I just write, “Happy birthday!” or whatever). So, that’s an alternative. It can be possible to buy cards for various causes you support (and quite possibly causes that everyone does or should support, like children’s hospitals or whatever, I mean — who can object to that? Very much no one, I hope.).
This is the best and most accurate review of The Three Musketeers I’ve ever read. It really makes you realize that “modern” doesn’t mean much, doesn’t it?
Really enjoying the reports of this book club from afar. I think the summer is a good time to read Large Classics (more brain space!) and Henry picked some bangers.
Books as Cards is my absolute favorite Baby Shower Trope. I never thought about applying it to other areas of my life. I think I would be inclined to write the “card message” on a post-it note to stick in/on the book. For one thing, an automatic bookmark! For another thing, they could choose to keep the message and not the book, depending on their tolerance for clutter/shelf space/interest in the book. It does make the book feel less like a card, though, and more like a present with a nice note on it, which might not be the correct vibe for the situation.
Which translation are you reading? I’ve never read The Three Musketeers, but you’ve piqued my interest!
Oh, I hadn’t realized that was something that varied! The book group is reading the one I linked to in the post—except not all our copies arrived in time, so I am reading a copy from my library, which I hadn’t realized might be different, but is. Mine is the Everyman’s Library edition from 1906, new edition 2011, and it says it is based on an “anonymous” translator, which feels…unsatisfying. Translating is A LOT OF WORK. And someone did it, and doesn’t get any credit??
Ok, I thought we were all buying all of our cards at Trader Joes (99 cents each!) are we still doing pricey cards? I was unaware. I love the book as card idea but maybe more for local friends/hand delivery/porch drop off that can reduce shipping AND provide a chance to explain the concept (and the low pressure nature of the concept) to the recipient.
I just discovered the cheap cards at Trader Joe’s! And they are cute too! (I have also bought cheap cards at the Dollar Store but they lack charm.)
I wonder how expensive bookmarks are? So that you could write the message on the bookmark (though they are often to plasticy to write on easily) and the recipient could just keep the bookmark when done with the book or you could send bookmark-as-card?
I like a bookmark-as-card idea!
Hi Swistle,
Any chance you’d put together a list of some of your Amazon favorites for the prime days? While I am avoiding it as much as possible, there are good deals to be had and I would prefer to go off one of your affiliate links than someone else’s. I was inspired to request this because I am considering buying one of the birch tree lights that you’ve recommended in the past. I also would be interested in the link for the shower radio you’ve recommended in the past. If you would prefer not to do this, please ignore my request.
Thanks :)
Oh, interesting! Let me do at least the two specific ones you asked for, while I’m here:
• this is a link to my shower radio, and this one is the same as mine but without bluetooth, and both of them SEEM like they’re available in their brand’s store on Amazon, but when I click through, they’re not [edit: now mine is available, but not the one without bluetooth]
• and here are the birch trees, the version that works with batteries OR a USB plug, which is convenient (battery option is nice during a power outage)
One other option is to send a postcard instead…? You can always put it in an envelope if you want to write on both ‘sides’ (ie, on the address bit too). Postcards- cheaper than cards!
Some thrift stores have a ton of greeting cards and postcards. I just grabbed eight cards for $2.00 today to restock my card organizer. I didn’t have time to go through all the bins, so I’ll have to go back soon.