On Books
I do not like waste.
Paper is one of those things that our culture wastes so much of. It is a brilliant invention; I am ever thankful to the Asians who first made the stuff. I could not live without it.
Yet, I think that paper consumption should be minimized if possible. And with computers, we have the technology to limit paper-consumption. Yet, oddly enough, we use more, because people are less careful to keep track of where they put all their printouts if they know they can just print it out again. (This would not be so bad if everyone recycled.)
I like books. I love to read.
But I wonder how much paper goes into book-making. Again, we have the technology to put books into digital form, but the idea has never caught on. I am curious as to why.
Now, as I said, I love to read. I do not think movies ever will or should replace books. Nor do I think audio-books should replace books. Not all people take in information the same way, and reading allows for the use of the imagination and for poetry in language.
But the power of the written word is in the written word, is it not? -- not in the binding of the pages into what we call books. Yet I am guessing that most of you would rather read a book by turning physical pages rather than clicking "next page" on a screen. I think I would as well.
Why is this? What is it about reading a book that is any different than reading text on a screen?
Paper is one of those things that our culture wastes so much of. It is a brilliant invention; I am ever thankful to the Asians who first made the stuff. I could not live without it.
Yet, I think that paper consumption should be minimized if possible. And with computers, we have the technology to limit paper-consumption. Yet, oddly enough, we use more, because people are less careful to keep track of where they put all their printouts if they know they can just print it out again. (This would not be so bad if everyone recycled.)
I like books. I love to read.
But I wonder how much paper goes into book-making. Again, we have the technology to put books into digital form, but the idea has never caught on. I am curious as to why.
Now, as I said, I love to read. I do not think movies ever will or should replace books. Nor do I think audio-books should replace books. Not all people take in information the same way, and reading allows for the use of the imagination and for poetry in language.
But the power of the written word is in the written word, is it not? -- not in the binding of the pages into what we call books. Yet I am guessing that most of you would rather read a book by turning physical pages rather than clicking "next page" on a screen. I think I would as well.
Why is this? What is it about reading a book that is any different than reading text on a screen?