[mturmon]

Similar thing here. Years later I purchased a used Encyclopedia Brittanica to see if it could bring some of that magic back. It didn't work, I didn't really engage with the articles in the same way.

I think the World Book editors encouraged some kind of writing that was more engaging to grade school/teenage me. The set is still in my parents' house, but I'm scared that the spell might break if I open it again now.

[sowbug]

Fascinating! I wrote an old blog post about the very same fear: https://sowbug.com/posts/time-out-of-mind/

[mturmon]

Nostalgic reflection has encouraged some very nice writing. Thanks for sharing.