Sunday, January 6, 2008

E-Books

Yesterday as I was calmly waltzing through the internet for no apparent reason I came across a fascinating device known as the Kindle on Amazon. Apparently you can download novels onto this invention and read them simply by clicking a button to move you along. Fascinating. But it also struck me as impersonal and cold.

Now. E-books. Are they a fate or a release? I’m inclined to believe the former. While some may delight in staring at a screen (such as on a Kindle) for hours and soaking in the advantage of good writing I have found that it is harmful to the retinas. I enjoy leafing through pages, knowing from experience how many of them are left, sensing how close I am to a climactic battle *cough, cough Cry of the Icemark*. Call me crazy, but I also get pleasure from the smell of old book shops (unless they are occupied by scary old book-sellers). Is there soon to be an end to that familiar sensation of turning pages and seeing that tomato sauce you spilled on page 126 last time you read the novel in your hands? Or is this simply a wonderful new invention that marks the end of a “dark age” in reading and the beginning of literary progress?

Pondering and Halting Technological Advancement,

Aella Siofra

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

i must agree. everyone raves about the Kindle cominng, but to me, i really just don't want this sort of thing. books are so...bookish.
and as an aspiring writer, it's so much cooler to fantasize about having it published as a book than as a pdf file.

Anonymous said...

There really is nothing to compare to the feel and sound of turning pages in your favorite book... well there might be something, but it isn't cold hard plastic...

Anonymous said...

Not until they get code for e-books like they have for iTunes that only allows you to have it on so many computers. Otherwise pirated books will become as common as pirated music and authors will be homeless. Even with the iTunes Music Store, real-life music stores still make money, so it seems unlikely that printed books will go out of fashion.

Additionally, that would put libraries and bookcases out of business.

B.

Anonymous said...

yes, but unlike music, books haven't experienced that many changes over the years, aside from the priting press and other production changes, there haven't really been any big format changes.
whereas music is different in its inherent format-changing-ness, always changing and obseleting from phonographs and records mono to stereo and 8-tracks and cassette tapes and cds and mp3s.
whereas have had, like, scrolls. and handwritten books and...books.

i predict that devices such as the Kindle are used more for textbooks and academic stuff. because it seems most book-loving people i've heard agree that real life books are better.
also, no one over a certain age will probably buy them, because i bet the words are fairly small. and people under a certain age don't seem to read enough books anyway....

Anonymous said...

wow, that post made like no sense, didn't it?
just like that sentance. i think it's a double negative.

see kids, this is why adaquate sleep is good for you. don't turn out like the crazy writer who's up until midnight raving about zombie crows.

Bri said...

hmmm.... interesting. I have to say it would be nice if you could get a book for less money... then again I could just go to the library.... I dunno. I think it is more fun/exciting/satisfying to be able to hold the thing in you hands. Smell it. Peek to the very end. Plus it would kill my eyes.

Reese said...

Most book lovers agree with you. There's nothing (to me at least) as thrilling as a lazy day with a good book. Well, a day at Ceder Point would be just as good, I suppose. So it will never catch on, because people love books how they are.