Friday, October 09, 2009
E-Books
I know I'm a Luddite - I was the last person in Ireland to get a mobile phone - but I hate the idea of e-books. A real book involves paper and a cover and smells nice. I figure any agreement to have one's work in e-book form is like being forced to dig one's own grave before being shot. This is the death of the book as we know and love it. I wonder what would happen if authors refused to allow their books be digitised? (Aside from their agents slapping them on the back of the head.) I'm seriously considering it myself. I know it's loss of income but I don't put money over principles and I don't fear being poor since that is what I am and have been all my life. The rise of the e-book is part of the global drive to de-humanise everything, to replace workers with computers, and to reduce organic reality and human interaction to one big digital interface that Google or Microsoft or some other corporate entity will ultimately control. At some point in the nightmarish future we are all going to be inserted inside a bloody machine, unable to speak to each other, only clicking and whirring in bangs and whimpers. Hmm, I feel a sci fi novel coming on.
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7 comments:
At first I thought I might like a e-reader. The thought of being able to carry multiple books with me was appealing....but I just can't. I agree with you- a real book is paper and a cover and book marks and being able to flip to the end if I want to (and I do sometimes!) I like book shelves filled to the brim and bookstores.
Stick to your principles!
YES!!! THANK YOU!!! I can't STAND the idea of e-books. They sicken me. Blech.
I always loved the fact that Captain Kirk insisted on reading paper even after he was an admiral, R
On the other hand, less trees cut down. I like breathing even more than having books. I'd be more "no e-books" if we (the general world "we") were using a more sustainable source of paper.
On the same other hand, I like getting my research almost instantly over the internet, instead of waiting weeks or months (or forever, thank you Canada Post) for it to turn up.
But on the first hand I hatehatehate reading on a computer screen too. Especially fiction, which should be enjoyed curled up on a sofa with a warm sweater, and warm cup of coffee and a warm cat (or two), and not with retina searing light and pixels, and neurons excited in the wrong way. And not with the cold plastic tactile deadness of a keyboard or an e-reader in your hands.
Tough call.
Oh god,yeah, on the trees. Apparenty Harry Potter cleared vast areas. I was also thinking of jobs lost in the industry - printers, binders, bookstores, libraries etc It IS a tough call. I'm still mulling it over. Hey, R, did you see the Picard video over on my other blog?:)
Real books are the best, there is nothing like the smell and feel of a new book in your hands, and the thought of entering a new world through a great book.
-Sesshychicklet7
There is just something about that smell. I could spend hours in a library just to smell that smell. It's comforting. It's like real logs burning in the fireplace instead of gas logs. Yeah they'll both keep you warm, but somehow they just aren't the same.
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