It really is strange to be an era so tangible change. "There I was..." we'll be telling children someday, "Surrounded by actual, physical books! On paper!"
I am not sad for the demise of Borders, at all, because they were the type of place to not stock more interesting fare... like your books! The Borders at Columbus Circle never had anything but Silk, every time I went. That said, if Powell's and the Strand and Shakespeare's etc ever go under I will cry as though my dog died. Maybe harder. I'm still deeply shaken at the thought that St. Marks Bookshop might go under. It's been part of my entire life.
I imagine the coffee-table itself will become a tablet, with panels into which you can load your "coffee-table book" - with the ability to zoom into photographs of increasingly immense resolution. Something akin to the house walls in Fahrenheit 451. (At least no one will want to burn plastic... instead we'll get cloud-purges. *shudder*)
To be precise about it: St Marks can't afford their rent, so it's up to Cooper Union to reduce or say "nuh uh; get out." Of course, St. Marks *might* have the wherewithal to move to another location, but after reading what Ellen Datlow had to say and then reading the petition about it I am pretty freaked out.
I don't think we'll ever see the end of a physical book, but I do believe that at some point in the future, we'll see the end of *paper* books.... at least, paper as we know it.
I DO NOT believe that paper books will ever disappear. Maybe this is just denial but I REFUSE to believe it. Despite the proliferation of digital media and experience, I think we as human beings have a basic need for physical reality. Facebook has not replaced actual physical meet-ups and in-person networking. Online teaching has not replaced physical classrooms. Email and texting have not replaced face-to-face and even phone conversations. I think we will see more and more digital versions of things but I don't believe they will ever completely dominate.
I'd say you are, in fact, in denial. Books will continue to exist, as artifacts, and, like I said, as expensive volumes produced by small presses for collector's. Now, this trend may be reversed once oil is gone and plastic becomes too expensive to produce.
Also, email, etc. has, essentially, killed actual letter writing. Of course, the telephone started the end of that lost art form.
He's one of my top-five authors; his books are shelved on the downstairs bookshelf where everyone can see them. He's probably the most-represented author in my collection, based on numbers of books I own.
Re: ebooks - I've read some ebooks on an iPad, and I can see myself doing some of my reading there, but for anything I truly value I'm always going to want the physical book (preferably in hardcover).
Still, the devil's advocate in me whispers "I wonder if someone, upon seeing their first story written down on papyrus, argued that it would never be as good as hearing the actual bard telling the story. The words lie there flat and lifeless, mashed down and devoid of any feeling.". Devil's advocates are well-named.
Re: ebooks - I've read some ebooks on an iPad, and I can see myself doing some of my reading there,
I'd read comics on iPads, but not prose books. I think it is a practical way to convey comics, that could save that industry.
Still, the devil's advocate in me whispers "I wonder if someone, upon seeing their first story written down on papyrus, argued that it would never be as good as hearing the actual bard telling the story. The words lie there flat and lifeless, mashed down and devoid of any feeling.".
Moveable type was once hailed as the end of literature.
I'd read comics on iPads, but not prose books. I think it is a practical way to convey comics, that could save that industry. I've read PDFs of comics on an iPad, and found it better than I expected. Marvel and Archie comics released DVDs containing PDFs of comic series (the Complete Fantastic Four, 40 Years of Spider-Man, the Complete Star Trek comics, etc) a half-dozen years ago. They pulled them when they realized what they had done after digital readers began to show up - 500 comics for $30 had the potential to kill their nascent digital re-sale market.
The Drowning Girl:Stills From a Movie that Never Existedoldfossil59September 10 2011, 19:25:20 UTC
It was nice to give the project that extra shove over 300%. I know it's going to be well worth the wait.
Re: Joe R. Lansdale. I've enjoyed his works for the past 4 decades. He's quite the "Texas Tall Tale" storyteller, in so many different ways.
Re: The demise of paper publishing. The treads in the comic industry are scary as well, I've been working for the store for 22 years and who knows what directions publishing is heading in the near future. I'm sure some of the true physical book lovers will keep things going as long as they can. But who knows how long?
Re: The Drowning Girl:Stills From a Movie that Never ExistedgreygirlbeastSeptember 10 2011, 20:06:32 UTC
Re: The demise of paper publishing. The treads in the comic industry are scary as well, I've been working for the store for 22 years and who knows what directions publishing is heading in the near future. I'm sure some of the true physical book lovers will keep things going as long as they can. But who knows how long?
It is all a terrifying mystery. But I see comics shops here, such as Newbury Comics, selling virtually no comics at the moment. CDs, DVDs, games, toys, T-shirts, etc. But few comics.
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You just made me hurt and shiver. But yes.
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I imagine the coffee-table itself will become a tablet, with panels into which you can load your "coffee-table book" - with the ability to zoom into photographs of increasingly immense resolution. Something akin to the house walls in Fahrenheit 451. (At least no one will want to burn plastic... instead we'll get cloud-purges. *shudder*)
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I don't think we'll ever see the end of a physical book, but I do believe that at some point in the future, we'll see the end of *paper* books.... at least, paper as we know it.
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I'd say you are, in fact, in denial. Books will continue to exist, as artifacts, and, like I said, as expensive volumes produced by small presses for collector's. Now, this trend may be reversed once oil is gone and plastic becomes too expensive to produce.
Also, email, etc. has, essentially, killed actual letter writing. Of course, the telephone started the end of that lost art form.
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Joe is brilliant, 99 times out of every 100.
He's one of my top-five authors; his books are shelved on the downstairs bookshelf where everyone can see them. He's probably the most-represented author in my collection, based on numbers of books I own.
Re: ebooks - I've read some ebooks on an iPad, and I can see myself doing some of my reading there, but for anything I truly value I'm always going to want the physical book (preferably in hardcover).
Still, the devil's advocate in me whispers "I wonder if someone, upon seeing their first story written down on papyrus, argued that it would never be as good as hearing the actual bard telling the story. The words lie there flat and lifeless, mashed down and devoid of any feeling.". Devil's advocates are well-named.
Reply
Re: ebooks - I've read some ebooks on an iPad, and I can see myself doing some of my reading there,
I'd read comics on iPads, but not prose books. I think it is a practical way to convey comics, that could save that industry.
Still, the devil's advocate in me whispers "I wonder if someone, upon seeing their first story written down on papyrus, argued that it would never be as good as hearing the actual bard telling the story. The words lie there flat and lifeless, mashed down and devoid of any feeling.".
Moveable type was once hailed as the end of literature.
Reply
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Re: Joe R. Lansdale. I've enjoyed his works for the past 4 decades. He's quite the "Texas Tall Tale" storyteller, in so many different ways.
Re: The demise of paper publishing. The treads in the comic industry are scary as well, I've been working for the store for 22 years and who knows what directions publishing is heading in the near future. I'm sure some of the true physical book lovers will keep things going as long as they can. But who knows how long?
Reply
Re: The demise of paper publishing. The treads in the comic industry are scary as well, I've been working for the store for 22 years and who knows what directions publishing is heading in the near future. I'm sure some of the true physical book lovers will keep things going as long as they can. But who knows how long?
It is all a terrifying mystery. But I see comics shops here, such as Newbury Comics, selling virtually no comics at the moment. CDs, DVDs, games, toys, T-shirts, etc. But few comics.
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but it just FEELS right to hold a paper book and flip the pages...
We will, at least, I hope, always have the libraries. And fuck you, Google Books.
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