This post is in response to both the article "Electronic Book Stirs Unease at Book Fair," by Edward Wyatt of the International Herald Tribune and Heather Nowak's response on her blog. I have been intrigued by Amazon's Kindle for awhile now. I like the idea of a portable library and its screen is supposed to be "paper like," without the glare associated with most electronics. But for me, a device like the Kindle could never replace my real library. I am a bibliophile and LOVE the feel, smell, experience of the physical book. Heather also discusses the physical sensation of the book in her post:
I think the nostalgic aspect of reading a hard copy book is what disturbs people that are opposed to all-online books. The article mentions that, "anything that lasts 500 years is not easily improved upon. Books are so good you can't out-book the book." I tend to agree because I am myself a collector of old, leather-bound books. And I love the smell of old musty books :).
However, the ease of this technology (which I think is similar to the audiobook and its ease of use on the iPod) can't be bad. I will always believe that the more we can encourage people to read, the better.
Heather also brings up an interesting point in terms of ecology. Is an electronic book device like the Kindle better for the environment than the paper-based book:
However, what about saving paper? What about the whole "going green" move? I'm serious here. We would save so much paper and energy moving books to online databases. It seems that the positives of moving to online-only formats are great....
This is an interesting idea. I recently read something (I know...this sounds real reliable--I wish I could remember where I read this) that actually said the opposite. The carbon footprint created by the energy to run electronics (like the Kindle) outweighs the motives to save trees (at least as we get our energy now).
Finally, I think this article addresses many of the issues we discussed at the beginning of this course. Are we the last generation that will care about the physical book, or what Heather already calls "nostalgic?" Will future generations (and even the younger ones of today) understand the love of the physical reading experience? If digital forms do take over the book industry, will composition teachers (like Heather and myself in the future years) be able to make this switch?
3 comments:
Hi Sarah,
If you're interested in Kindle and the IHT, you really ought to check out the blog for readers and fans of the IHT, Think! at www.ihtreaders.blogspot.com
In particular
http://ihtreaders.blogspot.com/2008/06/amazon-kindle-and-iht.html
Kind regards,
Ian
www.ianwalthew.com
www.aplaceintheauvergne.blogspot.com
Good points in your comparison between Kindle and print books. My pro with Kindle would be the space it would save! As it is, I have to turn my room into a library just to accommodate the books! However, I really enjoy interacting with my books, as you do - feeling and smelling them... I am also one of those that loves to write in my book (though I used to hate the thought - it was book abuse!) When I go back through my books (if I ever have the time), I like seeing my notes - seeing how I interacted with the author on the page - in a way, it makes the books more alive for me.
I realize that the trend is moving towards reading on screen (which I hate - especially as I suffer from eye floaters and doubt that my reduced tear production is healthy). I don't think I will ever be able to make a complete switch, nor will I ever want to.
I guess we have to wonder why it would be a sacrifice for younger generations to lose "book feel" aside from our personal love for it. Also, will those screen readers really feel like they are "reading" or will it be considered something else? (Like how teens who text do not view it to be writing so much as communicating). Just curious!
I'm so stoked I got to be cross-referenced and mentioned in a blog!
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