The following essay can't be any good. It's in digital format, you know
Something made me pause in the midst of my Internet surfing today. I saw on my newsfeed that there's a Facebook group called, "People who prefer reading REAL paper books rather than e-books." And it disturbed me.
Paper books. Real books. Real paper books. Real.
Does that mean digital is unreal?
I understand having a preference for dead tree format over Kindle, but what gives anyone the right to dictate that only ink on paper can be a "real" book? Is a digital novel no longer a novel? What is it, then? Is an mp3 album not "real" music? Where were the masses whining about how iPods suck and music can only be enjoyed on records CDs? Are movies only real on VHS DVD, while anything on Blu-Ray is fake?
Where did this hostility towards eBooks come from? Readers and authors alike will scoff at the Kindle as garbage. No, there's a more specific label... A threat. We're scared that our precious bound and printed volumes that we can hold in our hands and cherish without fear of computer virus deleting them will become a thing of the past. Maybe it's a rational fear. Have you noticed how much CDs have gone down in demand as iPods rise in popularity?
But... can you really see books disappearing? Do you really think Borders and Barnes & Noble are going to shut down? Are used bookstores going to disappear? The big difference between movies and recorded music as opposed to books, that I've noticed, is that literature has been around a hell of a longer time. It's got to have a staying power and, if you think that a convenient digital format will override that, you are sorely underestimating the power of your beloved made-of-paper-and-ink-and-looove books. So long as there's a market, publishers will keep churning out physical books on top of the e-formats, and if there's so many readers out there willing to devote their time to "I HATE EBOOKS" Facebook groups, I'm going to hazard a guess that there is, indeed, still a market.
Things will change with digital literature seeping into our culture, but is that such a horrible thing? Maybe newcomer authors will be eBook-only until the publisher thinks they're worth sinking more money into, but maybe that also means that more writers will have a chance at publication. And books will stop going out of print! How exciting is that? If you have a Kindle or one of its knock-offs, you can try out novels you're unsure about for a fraction of the cost of the hardcover -- if you like it, then go back and buy the hardcover too, or support the author's next book. When the cost becomes reasonable (just as mp3 players and computers have steadily become more affordable), eBook readers will save college students a small fortune in textbook costs. There will be negative effects too, but will they be awful enough to override the positive?
This hatred for eBooks is uncalled for and childish. I'm ashamed that even my generation -- children who grew up in the digital age, who have their video games scorned and their social networking sites mocked as being too digital for "real" friendships on a daily basis -- is among those screaming for The Good Old Days so loudly.
Oh, and for the record, I can't stand eBook readers either. I find them clumsy and unappealing -- if someone invents one that opens up like a book, I might reconsider, but I doubt I'll ever stop spending too much money at used bookstores. I'm just not letting my preference for printed books dictate what makes a thing good or bad, real or fake.
Paper books. Real books. Real paper books. Real.
Does that mean digital is unreal?
I understand having a preference for dead tree format over Kindle, but what gives anyone the right to dictate that only ink on paper can be a "real" book? Is a digital novel no longer a novel? What is it, then? Is an mp3 album not "real" music? Where were the masses whining about how iPods suck and music can only be enjoyed on records CDs? Are movies only real on VHS DVD, while anything on Blu-Ray is fake?
Where did this hostility towards eBooks come from? Readers and authors alike will scoff at the Kindle as garbage. No, there's a more specific label... A threat. We're scared that our precious bound and printed volumes that we can hold in our hands and cherish without fear of computer virus deleting them will become a thing of the past. Maybe it's a rational fear. Have you noticed how much CDs have gone down in demand as iPods rise in popularity?
But... can you really see books disappearing? Do you really think Borders and Barnes & Noble are going to shut down? Are used bookstores going to disappear? The big difference between movies and recorded music as opposed to books, that I've noticed, is that literature has been around a hell of a longer time. It's got to have a staying power and, if you think that a convenient digital format will override that, you are sorely underestimating the power of your beloved made-of-paper-and-ink-and-looove books. So long as there's a market, publishers will keep churning out physical books on top of the e-formats, and if there's so many readers out there willing to devote their time to "I HATE EBOOKS" Facebook groups, I'm going to hazard a guess that there is, indeed, still a market.
Things will change with digital literature seeping into our culture, but is that such a horrible thing? Maybe newcomer authors will be eBook-only until the publisher thinks they're worth sinking more money into, but maybe that also means that more writers will have a chance at publication. And books will stop going out of print! How exciting is that? If you have a Kindle or one of its knock-offs, you can try out novels you're unsure about for a fraction of the cost of the hardcover -- if you like it, then go back and buy the hardcover too, or support the author's next book. When the cost becomes reasonable (just as mp3 players and computers have steadily become more affordable), eBook readers will save college students a small fortune in textbook costs. There will be negative effects too, but will they be awful enough to override the positive?
This hatred for eBooks is uncalled for and childish. I'm ashamed that even my generation -- children who grew up in the digital age, who have their video games scorned and their social networking sites mocked as being too digital for "real" friendships on a daily basis -- is among those screaming for The Good Old Days so loudly.
Oh, and for the record, I can't stand eBook readers either. I find them clumsy and unappealing -- if someone invents one that opens up like a book, I might reconsider, but I doubt I'll ever stop spending too much money at used bookstores. I'm just not letting my preference for printed books dictate what makes a thing good or bad, real or fake.