A Matter Of Perspective On Books

 

On a recent trip to the Money Museum at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, I not only learned some interesting factoids about the history of American currency, I had the chance to see several perspective-changing displays. They made me think differently about money — and books.

First, there was a small plastic bag the size of a wallet that was filled with old, shredded currency. Every day, Reserve Banks shred millions of dollars in unfit currency and replace the money with newly minted bills.

The bag held $396 worth of 21 mixed denomination bills that were taken out of circulation. It looks like withered grass scraps in a neatly disposed bag. It was in an unrecognizable form, a distortion of what had been. Not long ago the contents could pay for food, medicine, sex, concert tickets, toys, and other valued items or fun events. Now, it is just a sack of worthless scraps.

Are books this way, at once valued and then suddenly, not?

You start out with a new book, read it, think about it, display it, talk about it, recommend it, loan it, and maybe reread it. Time goes by and you have moved on. You forget about it, outgrow it and go on to read many more books. It eventually gets donated or grasp — tossed in the recycling bin. From words on a page that could change your life to mere pulp.

Like the song says about a person he used to love: “Now you’re just someone that I used to know.” Life changes just like that, from money and books to relationships and anything else.

The second visual that left an impression on me was to see a million dollars. In fact, there were two displays. One was a cube, maybe four feet by four feet by four feet. It held one million dollar bills. It weighs one ton.

I thought, even if I could break in, escape, and cart it away, I could only get away with $75,000 to $100,000, which would weigh 150-200 pounds.  Still, it was fascinating to see a million dollars in person, and yet, because they were taken out of circulation, are worthless, unless recipients don’t realize it. After all, who even looks at a one-dollar bill?

Then, I saw a display of another million dollars, and this one was literally just five percent the size of the first one, stuffed with 50, 000 $20 bills. I calculate it would weigh a hundred pounds. Now, that is portable, but alas, the security there would not permit me to abscond with the out-of-circulation money.

The displays show you how something can be worth the same amount but look a lot different. Books are the same. Actually, maybe the opposite. You can spend the same amount on several different books but they would not be worth the same amount to the reader. And, just because you buy a bigger physical book doesn’t mean it is as valuable  or more valuable as a smaller or shorter book.

Lastly, the museum shows that the form of money does not matter as much as the collective agreement on its value. Today, we pay with plastic, digital currency, coins, dollar bills, checks, and IOUs.

And today, books are no longer just hardcover tomes. There are audiobooks, ebooks, trade paperbacks, mass market paperbacks, and gift editions. The quality of the content is king and the format one consumes it in is secondary— but I do still treasure books on paper.

Books, like money, connects us to one another. I can’t imagine a world without either one.

 

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Brian Feinblum, the founder of this award-winning blog, with over four million page views, can be reached at brianfeinblum@gmail.com  He is available to help authors like you to promote your story, sell your book, and grow your brand. He has over 30 years of experience in successfully helping thousands of authors in all genres. Let him be your advocate, teacher, and motivator!

 

About Brian Feinblum

This award-winning blog has generated over 4.5 million pageviews. With 5,300+ posts over the past 14 years, it was named one of the best book marketing blogs  by BookBaby  http://blog.bookbaby.com/2013/09/the-best-book-marketing-blogs  and recognized by Feedspot in 2021 and 2018 as one of the top book marketing blogs. It was also named by www.WinningWriters.com as a "best resource.”  Copyright 2025.

 

For the past three decades, Brian Feinblum has helped thousands of authors. He formed his own book publicity firm in 2020. Prior to that, for 21 years as the head of marketing for the nation’s largest book publicity firm, and as the director of publicity at two independent presses, Brian has worked with many first-time, self-published, authors of all genres, right along with best-selling authors and celebrities such as: Dr. Ruth, Mark Victor Hansen, Joseph Finder, Katherine Spurway, Neil Rackham, Harvey Mackay, Ken Blanchard, Stephen Covey, Warren Adler, Cindy Adams, Todd Duncan, Susan RoAne, John C. Maxwell, Jeff Foxworthy, Seth Godin, and Henry Winkler.

 

His writings are often featured in The Writer and IBPA’s The Independent (https://pubspot.ibpa-online.org/article/whats-needed-to-promote-a-book-successfully).

 

He hosted a panel on book publicity for Book Expo America several years ago, and has spoken at ASJA, BookCAMP, Independent Book Publishers Association Sarah Lawrence College, Nonfiction Writers Association, Cape Cod Writers Association, Willamette (Portland) Writers Association, APEX, Morgan James Publishing, and Connecticut Authors and Publishers Association. He served as a judge for the 2024 IBPA Book Awards.

 

His letters-to-the-editor have been published in The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, New York Post, NY Daily News, Newsday, The Journal News (Westchester) and The Washington Post. His first published book was The Florida Homeowner, Condo, & Co-Op Association Handbook.  It was featured in The Sun Sentinel and Miami Herald.

 

Born and raised in Brooklyn, he now resides in Westchester with his wife, two kids, and Ferris, a black lab rescue dog, and El Chapo, a pug rescue dog.

 

You can connect with him at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianfeinblum/ or https://www.facebook.com/brian.feinblum