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ENTRY
The future of books
September 23, 2009
This entry was originally posted on the Powell?s Books blog site, but I thought it would be good to have here as well.
I didn?t really want to weigh in on the debate about how digital books and the new wave of electronic readers like Amazon?s Kindle (I know, both names are not to be mentioned at Powell?s!) will affect the future of pen-and-ink books, or just plain books. I didn?t want to bring it up mainly because the future of books looks fine to me, so I?m not worried that books will be going away. I have lots of other things to worry about, but that?s for another blog.
I want books to be around for a long time. I love reading them and writing them. Growing up I spent many happy hours in libraries, perusing the aisles of fiction, looking for my next adventure. In fifth and sixth grade I volunteered to help shelve books and repair bindings at the school library. I learned to appreciate the physicality of a book: the cover protecting the sheaved story inside, the stitching and glue holding the pages, the comforting smell of the paper and ink. There?s a sheer tactile pleasure of flipping through the pages, touching the paper, feeling its heft.
A book says something. Not just the words themselves, but as an individual manifestation of our ability to create and present an artistic vision. I write books for many reasons, but one of them is to actually hold the book, see it on my bookshelf, in libraries and bookstores. And books like Oh! with art looks best on a printed page (see image). And what about readings? You can?t sign a digital book.
Because a book is so physically different from a digital book, I don?t believe the latter will ever entirely replace the former. I have to admit I have an eReader installed on my Palm PDA and I?ve purchased three digital books, including one of my novel The Fourth Treasure. And I?ve tried the latest generation of digital book devices. I don?t enjoy reading as much on a device as I do with a book, but I have to admit it?s a handy way to carry around a lot of text.
Another reason to be optimistic about books is that other media have survived when new technologies changed the game. Live theater survived when movies brought performance to the masses. Movies survived when television was invented. Live music survived when recordings were invented, and reinvented. With digital books, long-term storage and readability are problems to be resolved.
On the other hand, some books may have inherent advantages in digital form, dictionaries and encyclopedias for example. I have a dictionary and a thesaurus within easy reach on my desk, but I rarely use them. For some reason, it?s easier to use an online dictionary or search engine to look up words for spelling, synonyms, or meanings. Online I can check several dictionaries if I want more nuance. Plus I don?t have to carry them if I want to go to a coffee shop to write. Do you remember those quickly out-of-date thousand dollar sets of encyclopedias your parents used to buy?
I?m sure the debate will go on, but I?m confident books will be around and I?ve had my say. Thanks for reading (books)!
© 2010
September 23, 2009
This entry was originally posted on the Powell?s Books blog site, but I thought it would be good to have here as well.
I didn?t really want to weigh in on the debate about how digital books and the new wave of electronic readers like Amazon?s Kindle (I know, both names are not to be mentioned at Powell?s!) will affect the future of pen-and-ink books, or just plain books. I didn?t want to bring it up mainly because the future of books looks fine to me, so I?m not worried that books will be going away. I have lots of other things to worry about, but that?s for another blog.
I want books to be around for a long time. I love reading them and writing them. Growing up I spent many happy hours in libraries, perusing the aisles of fiction, looking for my next adventure. In fifth and sixth grade I volunteered to help shelve books and repair bindings at the school library. I learned to appreciate the physicality of a book: the cover protecting the sheaved story inside, the stitching and glue holding the pages, the comforting smell of the paper and ink. There?s a sheer tactile pleasure of flipping through the pages, touching the paper, feeling its heft.
A book says something. Not just the words themselves, but as an individual manifestation of our ability to create and present an artistic vision. I write books for many reasons, but one of them is to actually hold the book, see it on my bookshelf, in libraries and bookstores. And books like Oh! with art looks best on a printed page (see image). And what about readings? You can?t sign a digital book.
Because a book is so physically different from a digital book, I don?t believe the latter will ever entirely replace the former. I have to admit I have an eReader installed on my Palm PDA and I?ve purchased three digital books, including one of my novel The Fourth Treasure. And I?ve tried the latest generation of digital book devices. I don?t enjoy reading as much on a device as I do with a book, but I have to admit it?s a handy way to carry around a lot of text.
Another reason to be optimistic about books is that other media have survived when new technologies changed the game. Live theater survived when movies brought performance to the masses. Movies survived when television was invented. Live music survived when recordings were invented, and reinvented. With digital books, long-term storage and readability are problems to be resolved.
On the other hand, some books may have inherent advantages in digital form, dictionaries and encyclopedias for example. I have a dictionary and a thesaurus within easy reach on my desk, but I rarely use them. For some reason, it?s easier to use an online dictionary or search engine to look up words for spelling, synonyms, or meanings. Online I can check several dictionaries if I want more nuance. Plus I don?t have to carry them if I want to go to a coffee shop to write. Do you remember those quickly out-of-date thousand dollar sets of encyclopedias your parents used to buy?
I?m sure the debate will go on, but I?m confident books will be around and I?ve had my say. Thanks for reading (books)!
© 2010
COMMENTS
ARCHIVE
date (comments)
Review: Kissing the Mask
August 22, 2010 (1)
Jonathan Lethem: Writing at the margins
July 12, 2010 (2)
Review: Love in Translation
June 22, 2010 (3)
Jose Saramago
June 18, 2010 (0)
Marketplace of Ideas interview
June 11, 2010 (2)
Imagining Memory
May 6, 2010 (1)
Upcoming Los Angeles events
April 7, 2010 (2)
Time and energy
March 30, 2010 (2)
Review: Botchan
February 28, 2010 (2)
J.D. Salinger
January 28, 2010 (1)
2009 Reviewed
December 31, 2009 (5)
Review: The Word Book
December 12, 2009 (1)
Chaat and Chat event with OH!
November 6, 2009 (2)
Home at last
November 2, 2009 (2)
Los Angeles events
October 17, 2009 (1)
Poets and poetry
October 7, 2009 (1)
Time + place
September 24, 2009 (1)
The future of books
September 23, 2009 (1)
October book tour
September 6, 2009 (1)
Blogging at Powell's Books
August 28, 2009 (2)
The evolution of an idea
August 3, 2009 (1)
The Poetics of Motoori Norinaga: A Hermeneutical Journey
July 9, 2009 (2)
Tour debrief
July 2, 2009 (3)
Book tour events
May 18, 2009 (3)
Simply in the mood
April 24, 2009 (2)
Book tour
April 8, 2009 (6)
The Necessary Book
March 2, 2009 (2)
"Murder Makes the Magazine"
February 7, 2009 (3)
John Updike
January 27, 2009 (2)
2008 misc. (good news, bad news)
January 1, 2009 (3)
Publishing woes and query letters
December 13, 2008 (4)
Punctuation compunction
November 16, 2008 (3)
The Fountain of Youth (and other Ideas)
October 10, 2008 (2)
David Foster Wallace
September 14, 2008 (2)
Ending it all
September 12, 2008 (2)
The mystery of plotting, the plotting of mysteries
August 29, 2008 (3)
Blocking out the block
August 20, 2008 (3)
"What kind of books do you write?"
August 8, 2008 (2)
Theory of Satisfaction: Part 4
July 21, 2008 (3)
Show and tell
July 14, 2008 (3)
Theory of Satisfaction: Part 3
July 7, 2008 (7)
Advice for first-time writers (Barry Gifford and me)
June 30, 2008 (6)
Theory of Satisfaction: Part 2
June 18, 2008 (3)
To be or not to be
June 10, 2008 (6)
Theory of Satisfaction: Part 1
June 3, 2008 (6)
Virtual unreality
May 31, 2008 (4)
The purpose of this blog
May 21, 2008 (5)
Review: Kissing the Mask
August 22, 2010 (1)
Jonathan Lethem: Writing at the margins
July 12, 2010 (2)
Review: Love in Translation
June 22, 2010 (3)
Jose Saramago
June 18, 2010 (0)
Marketplace of Ideas interview
June 11, 2010 (2)
Imagining Memory
May 6, 2010 (1)
Upcoming Los Angeles events
April 7, 2010 (2)
Time and energy
March 30, 2010 (2)
Review: Botchan
February 28, 2010 (2)
J.D. Salinger
January 28, 2010 (1)
2009 Reviewed
December 31, 2009 (5)
Review: The Word Book
December 12, 2009 (1)
Chaat and Chat event with OH!
November 6, 2009 (2)
Home at last
November 2, 2009 (2)
Los Angeles events
October 17, 2009 (1)
Poets and poetry
October 7, 2009 (1)
Time + place
September 24, 2009 (1)
The future of books
September 23, 2009 (1)
October book tour
September 6, 2009 (1)
Blogging at Powell's Books
August 28, 2009 (2)
The evolution of an idea
August 3, 2009 (1)
The Poetics of Motoori Norinaga: A Hermeneutical Journey
July 9, 2009 (2)
Tour debrief
July 2, 2009 (3)
Book tour events
May 18, 2009 (3)
Simply in the mood
April 24, 2009 (2)
Book tour
April 8, 2009 (6)
The Necessary Book
March 2, 2009 (2)
"Murder Makes the Magazine"
February 7, 2009 (3)
John Updike
January 27, 2009 (2)
2008 misc. (good news, bad news)
January 1, 2009 (3)
Publishing woes and query letters
December 13, 2008 (4)
Punctuation compunction
November 16, 2008 (3)
The Fountain of Youth (and other Ideas)
October 10, 2008 (2)
David Foster Wallace
September 14, 2008 (2)
Ending it all
September 12, 2008 (2)
The mystery of plotting, the plotting of mysteries
August 29, 2008 (3)
Blocking out the block
August 20, 2008 (3)
"What kind of books do you write?"
August 8, 2008 (2)
Theory of Satisfaction: Part 4
July 21, 2008 (3)
Show and tell
July 14, 2008 (3)
Theory of Satisfaction: Part 3
July 7, 2008 (7)
Advice for first-time writers (Barry Gifford and me)
June 30, 2008 (6)
Theory of Satisfaction: Part 2
June 18, 2008 (3)
To be or not to be
June 10, 2008 (6)
Theory of Satisfaction: Part 1
June 3, 2008 (6)
Virtual unreality
May 31, 2008 (4)
The purpose of this blog
May 21, 2008 (5)