e-Readers

Who likes to read a book the old fashion way? I do! Well, I like the idea of reading a book the old fashion way. And by this I mean paperback and ink. Having your pages ruined if you spilled coffee on it. Having to lug it around in your bag when travelling. Why are these characteristics still desirable to people? Is it just because it represents a simpler way of life?

It scares me a little to think of the amount of information in the digital world. At least when you had a paperback book, you had paid good money for it, and you TRUSTED it! You knew someone had gone to the time and effort of proof-reading and publishing millions of copies of that book. I’m not saying e-readers are less trustworthy, but hey, they are a bit…

With so much information, how can we know what is a credible source and what isn’t? I have a Kindle, and I love it. It is just like reading off paper and has had all the annoying factors of a book taken out of it like the weight, durability and price. But who’s not to say that I just bought a ‘fake’ copy of 50 Shades of Grey on my Kindle? I mean, it could be completely the same content (or not), but maybe just the movie industry, its been pirated. Those poor authors! Doesn’t anyone think of them? Lets see, they can now have their ideas and publishing’s stolen, they have to compete with an infinite digital world of information, AND if no one likes their books everyone is going to know about it.

I guess in an economically progressing society, competition is a good thing. It always has been and always will. Humans will continue to become specialised in certain labours and we will become smarter (planet of the apes reference?). The relation to e-readers here, is that the competition just got taken up a notch, a big, big notch.

How is a black and white paper book meant to compete with an iPad with interactive features, colours, and sounds? I think the biggest audience to consider in this situation is children. Everyone knows children love colours and sounds, but is it okay when the only way to calm a child down is to give them an iPad to play with? I’m not saying e-readers for children are all bad; I am just a supporter that some things should be left to the imagination. 

Some would agree that half the fun of reading a children’s book is creating characters and scenarios in your head. Is it okay that a book is already creating that imagination?  

On the other hand, are e-readers for children creating greater intelligence at an early age? Of course we wont know for decades, however sellers of e-readers seem to think it is.

On my last point, I want to compare the dying industry of journalism with the rise of e-readers. Print media has failed to transfer their business model to a digital platform. Journalists are out of the job, and so are newspapers. Is this the same for writers and publishers? Who is a writer... and who is a publisher...?