This is an old-as-dirt question. Well, maybe not that old. But in technological years, which is something like dog years, it’s an oldie but goodie.
The eBook version of The Mosquito Hours is now available for Kindle and any moment now for Nook and of course all the iWhat-nots. So it got me wondering: how do you, dear reader (is there only one of you? I appreciate you no matter if you are the only one, dear), prefer your books: in digital or paper form?
I myself approach it from somewhere in the middle of the road.
Some of my kids' books.
I love the page. The visceral and sensual qualities. The smell of the paper. The feel of a book in my hands—its substantiality, presence and poise. My adoration of books goes way back. The best days of my grade school years were the bi-weekly visits of the Bookmobile. That may sound a bit sad-ish, but I was ecstatic, let me tell you. That also sounds a bit sad-ish ... At any rate, in my home, I love the stacks of books around the house, the shelves for the kids, more books scattered on the floor than toys. I think of books as a form of collection—not only the books themselves but of some history of the readers themselves. And, of course, the simple joy of book browsing in a bookstore (remember those?) cannot be forgotten—a much more romantic experience than scrolling through the search results for an eReader.
But—here comes my dirty little confession—I love my eReader. I have a 2nd generation Kindle, which at this point is a dinosaur but still works just fine, and I also read eBooks on my iPhone with the Kindle app. It synchs up with my MacBook and my Kindlesaurus Rex and my iPhone. It’s magically delicious!
My Kindle app. There is an entire bookshelf's worth of books on there and they weigh nothing!
Once I became aware of the existence of eReaders, I vacillated between really, really wanting one and being completely repelled by the idea of abandoning my book addiction. In essence, of abandoning books. Those well-loved, careworn, soft pages. The smooth pretty covers, the weight of several in my bag at all times. Trade warm books for a cold eReader? The leap seemed massive. But then I received my Kindle as a gift, and, as my sister pointed out, “Yay! You don’t have to make the decision now!” Apparently, my eReader-versus-traditional-book angst had not gone unnoticed. (It’s not like I endlessly rehash my angst. I never do that.)
Yes it IS an identical IKEA shelf! And yes it is a bit blurry. I should have taken another shot, right? Yeah, sorry.
For voracious devourers of books, eReaders provide some lovely features, all of which have been expounded upon ad infinitum. Typical pros and cons aside, I have discovered some innovative features of my eReader. Such as, on my cold, cold New England nights one hand only need be peeking out from under the covers to hold the lightweight equipment and turn a page. Also, since it is a portable library, those of us obsessively inclined to carry around numerous books at all times (just in case) will maintain better spinal alignment with an eReader in tow rather than seven books. Also, you can buy a book with one click—instant gratification, people! (Or person, whom I really do appreciate.)
My bureau-top to-be-read selection of books, many of which were purchased at incredible discounts in a myriad of awesomely strange ways.
There are people who freak out about digital books, as though a change in the publishing world will lead to the end-of-times. But I suspect that paper books are not going anywhere any time soon. I think eBooks and traditional books can coexist peacefully for a long time, like ebony and ivory, side-by-side on my bookshelf, iPhone, oh Lord, why don’t we? (Did I take it a little too far?) While the novel has existed in its basic form for a few hundred years, one thing we can be sure of, technology does not maintain stasis for nearly that long. A thing in constant flux requires a level creativity that may prove to greatly enhance the way we think about and execute writing and reading. As a writer, I will continue to focus on writing good stories and as a reader, my traditional book habit will carry on even as my eReader habit evolves. (But please don’t tell my books that I cheat on them sometimes.)
So, what you YOU think about eBooks?
Parts of this post were originally published on Her Circle Ezine in slightly different form.
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