I'm participating in Booking Through Thursday today, and the question is an excellent one:
With the advent (and growing popularity) of eBooks, I’m seeing more and more articles about how much “better” they can be, because they have the option to be interactive … videos, music, glossaries … all sorts of little extra goodies to help “enhance” your reading experience, rather like listening to the Director’s commentary on a DVD of your favorite movie.
How do you feel about that possibility? Does it excite you in a cutting-edge kind of way? Or does it chill you to the bone because that’s not what reading is ABOUT?
By eBooks, I'm assuming you're referring to books on Kindle, etc, as well as books available online?
Anyway...I've really given this some thought. My grown kids love to read, and both my sons have gone happily and enthusiastically into the Kindle age.
Around Christmas time, one of my sons asked me if I'd like a Kindle for Christmas, and I said no.
My main reason is that I don't just love reading. I love BOOKS. I love the feel of them, the smell of them, the look of them. I love holding one in my hand and turning the pages. I love the bookcases that decorate my home, chockful of, well, BOOKS!
"Mom, you'd end up loving it if you had one," my son assured me.
And he may be right. I can see an advantage or two of having a Kindle--the sheer amount of books it can hold, for one thing. While traveling, I wouldn't have to worry about the extra weight of books in my luggage.
And the interactivity of it appeals to me.
But I just can't see myself ever abandoning real books for a high-tech reading experience. If you look in the sidebar of this blog, you'll find a button that says, "I pledge to read the printed word."
I want to preserve the actual book, the actual printed page, before it becomes...a page in history.
Go here to participate in Booking Through Thursday!
7 comments:
I know exactly what you mean. A certain part of me does miss the feel of a book in my hands. But, I confess, I'm Kindle converted.
Great answer! I'm with you on this one too, print books just feel better than electronics.
I so totally agree with you. I love being surrounded by my books. I love meandering through bookstores, looking at the cover art. I don't have an e-reader and don't see one in my future anytime soon.
I know exactly where you're coming from. I love the physical-ness of reading a real book!
Here's my answer:
http://abookishaffair.blogspot.com/2011/06/booking-through-thursday-7-all-about.html
Great answer. I love how honest it was.
Here is my answer: http://www.lisasworldofbooks.com/2011/06/booking-through-thursday_16.html
I tend to read and love both my Kobo and my paper book collection. Believe me! I don't think that paper books are going to be dead any time soon (at least, I hope not).
My response: http://allbookedup-elena.blogspot.com/2011/06/booking-through-thursday-interactive.html
I've tried desperately to love e-readers (I have Sony, Kindle and now, just this weekend, purchased a Nook). It's not that I don't like them. But, there is nothing like flipping back and forward in a paper book to find parts of the story that you like and want to re-read. E-readers reach this certain point for me but not beyond and into the richness that a book holds for me. I bought the Nook because I found a 25 books for 25 cents a piece - and they were really good books - I couldn't turn it down and they didn't download onto my Kindle or Sony.
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