Walking through a local mall, I looked forward to visiting the book store. As I approached, the sight of a dark and shutttered space greeted me. Another book store closed, and I feel the world of discovery and learning is poorer for it. A victim, perhaps, of the e-book, a portable screen costing $200.
While I won't dispute the efficiency of the e-book, I will miss the leisurely browsing and walking up and down the aisles checking out whatever book the struck my interest. Whatever book I looked at closely, by cover design, color, or title, I was free to pick it up, and read from it. You may never have heard of the author or title, but there was an allure of the book that drew you closer to inspect what the story wove.
Another missed pleasure is just being able to pick up a book, to open it up, and turn a page. The texture of the paper itself, and turning the page to see how the narritive continues was part of the experience of discovery. Each book had an identity of its own in size, color, or graphics.
I love e books however and the amount of information and books they carry, and I like to think digital and print can coexist.
The sliding a finger across a screen and swiping is fine, but can never take the place of turning the page to continue your literary journey of a story in a real book.
While I won't dispute the efficiency of the e-book, I will miss the leisurely browsing and walking up and down the aisles checking out whatever book the struck my interest. Whatever book I looked at closely, by cover design, color, or title, I was free to pick it up, and read from it. You may never have heard of the author or title, but there was an allure of the book that drew you closer to inspect what the story wove.
Another missed pleasure is just being able to pick up a book, to open it up, and turn a page. The texture of the paper itself, and turning the page to see how the narritive continues was part of the experience of discovery. Each book had an identity of its own in size, color, or graphics.
I love e books however and the amount of information and books they carry, and I like to think digital and print can coexist.
The sliding a finger across a screen and swiping is fine, but can never take the place of turning the page to continue your literary journey of a story in a real book.
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