Low marks for high-tech books
#1
Posted 16 November 2009 - 01:01 AM
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| Low marks for high-tech books By JANE HOLAHAN 2009-11-16 00:01:00 Intelligencer Journal Lancaster New Era |
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#2
Posted 16 November 2009 - 08:47 AM
I'll stick with books, thanks. Keep in mind the "1984" scenario, where old news stories etc. were rewritten and the old original went "down the memory hole". My print books will always say the exact same thing they said before.
How long till book burnings? Libraries are actively selling older books right now. Discarding books that haven't been checked out in awhile. If everyone has a Kindle, what would be the point of having a library? I have very few books over a hundred years old. In another hundred I'd expect them to be gone as well.
#3
Posted 16 November 2009 - 10:09 AM
I'll stick with books, thanks. Keep in mind the "1984" scenario, where old news stories etc. were rewritten and the old original went "down the memory hole". My print books will always say the exact same thing they said before.
Interesting thought, Salty. I had never considered how, if everyone had their books in an electronic format, one push of a button could change the content of everyone's 'memory'. "We've always been at war with Eastasia", and there no longer exists a record showing this not to be true. Woof!
Print books are cheap, versatile, and hardy. I can't imagine taking a 'Kindle' to some of the places I've carried books. I read "Dune" while backpacking at Zion. I read a whole raft of Sci-fi while on a 3 day float trip down the Susquehanna in an 11 foot inflatable canoe.
So I'll stick with print. If I owned a $200 electronic reader, it would inevitably die an ignoble death being dropped in the toilet.
#4
Posted 16 November 2009 - 10:51 AM
I'll stick with books, thanks. Keep in mind the "1984" scenario, where old news stories etc. were rewritten and the old original went "down the memory hole". My print books will always say the exact same thing they said before.
How long till book burnings? Libraries are actively selling older books right now. Discarding books that haven't been checked out in awhile. If everyone has a Kindle, what would be the point of having a library? I have very few books over a hundred years old. In another hundred I'd expect them to be gone as well.
Had a chat recently with my favorite used bookseller. I have been known to forget whatever my current read in waiting rooms (esp. dentist office where my phobia tends to make me run for door after visit!) or cafes. Greg often is called upon to replace the loss, usually $2-4 bucks. He was telling me about a friend of his who left her "reader" in a cab -- must have slipped out of her tote. $300.!
I'm sticking with books. Besides, I love everything about books, including the feel of the paper and the smell of the house of the last owner! And I love when the last owner has made a marginal note next to a passage that moves me as well. And I love being able to give books away (sometimes with a few marginal notes of my own ...) Besides, they just don't make marbled end papers like they used too!
As to book burnings? Fahrenheit 451 is a particular favorite of mine. Haven't selected "my book" quite yet, but have been pondering ...
edit to change a w to an h
This post has been edited by ceejay: 16 November 2009 - 10:52 AM
"The truth does not change according to our ability to stomach it." Flannery O'Connor
"To be Irish is to know that in the end the world will break your heart."
Daniel Patrick Moynahan
#5
Posted 16 November 2009 - 11:00 AM
I've taken to writing a note in mine everytime I make something with date and how it came out....it will be nice to pass those on someday.
And.....I agree! There is nothing like the feel of a book.
#6
Posted 16 November 2009 - 12:17 PM
Couple of things, my PDA phone has been used to store electronic reading material, it's compact, convenient, and as long as the text is big enough, or the area you're in is not very bright, it works pretty well. I'm gonna take it with me anyway.
I only got about 15 pages in reading on the beach (under an umbrella), before I got tired. (long night, long drive, little sleep, worked the morning prior to leaving) Put the phone away and proceeded to get a severe sun burn since the shadow of the umbrella moved. At least if I had a book, I would have probably used it to block the sun in my eyes and had spared my face the enhanced natural blush.
This post has been edited by solitary: 16 November 2009 - 12:18 PM
"I hate to advocate drugs, alcohol, violence, or insanity to anyone, but they've always worked for me." - Thompson
"One can always trust to time. Insert a wedge of time and nearly everything straightens itself out." -- George Norman Douglas
The trouble with this country is that there are too many people going about saying, ''The trouble with this country is...''
#7
Posted 16 November 2009 - 05:07 PM
Not this iPhone user/addict, thank you. I have within my reach my MacBook -- well that would be at my fingertips -- my iPhone, and a 900 page book, and never the twain (thwain?) shall meet. I don't even like to read large amounts of information on a computer screen; I prefer to print out things. I suppose one should never say "never," but I'm saying it: never.
#8
Posted 18 November 2009 - 10:24 AM
There was a company based around Philly whose name escapes me right now that tried to market some kind of e-book system over ten years ago. I see how well that worked...
#9
Posted 18 November 2009 - 01:02 PM
A book that has become tattered and worn beyond reading can go into your mulch pile, not so you computers and other electronic gadgets.
This post has been edited by Bustina di tè: 18 November 2009 - 01:03 PM







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