Friday, August 31, 2012

August 31

JOURNAL TOPIC: [today's tunes: "Stairway to Heaven" by Led Zeppelin.  Bonus: Stanley Jordan's version]

Those of you in the on-the-ground course have all seen the sign: "There is glory in the attempt." Describe how this idea applies in your life.  Season your answer by listening to the music and reflecting on the evolution/remix of English and the stories we tell.  How does your understanding of the same idea change as you age/mature/gain more experience?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Vocab quiz
3. Resumes
4. Beowulf
5. Preview of coming attractions

HW:
1. Choose first literary analysis book, post choice/reason to your blog, and start reading.
2. Complete/curate Beowulf materials.
3. Check the course blog and double-check your blog.
4. Read "From Scroll to Screen" (as follows) and please comment to this post with your views on e-readers versus books.  Be ready to discuss Tuesday 9.4.


The Mechanic Muse: From Scroll to Screen
Illustration by Joon Mo Kang (in original, which you can see via link: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/04/books/review/the-mechanic-muse-from-scroll-to-screen.html)
By LEV GROSSMAN
Published: September 2, 2011
The New York Times

Something very important and very weird is happening to the book right now: It’s shedding its papery corpus and transmigrating into a bodiless digital form, right before our eyes. We’re witnessing the bibliographical equivalent of the rapture. If anything we may be lowballing the weirdness of it all.

The last time a change of this magnitude occurred was circa 1450, when Johannes Gutenberg invented movable type. But if you go back further there’s a more helpful precedent for what’s going on. Starting in the first century A.D., Western readers discarded the scroll in favor of the codex — the bound book as we know it today.
In the classical world, the scroll was the book format of choice and the state of the art in information technology. Essentially it was a long, rolled-up piece of paper or parchment. To read a scroll you gradually unrolled it, exposing a bit of the text at a time; when you were done you had to roll it back up the right way, not unlike that other obsolete medium, the VHS tape. English is still littered with words left over from the scroll age. The first page of a scroll, which listed information about where it was made, was called the “protocol.” The reason books are sometimes called volumes is that the root of “volume” is volvere, to roll: to read a scroll, you revolved it.

Scrolls were the prestige format, used for important works only: sacred texts, legal documents, history, literature. To compile a shopping list or do their algebra, citizens of the ancient world wrote on wax-covered wooden tablets using the pointy end of a stick called a stylus. Tablets were for disposable text — the stylus also had a flat end, which you used to squash and scrape the wax flat when you were done. At some point someone had the very clever idea of stringing a few tablets together in a bundle. Eventually the bundled tablets were replaced with leaves of parchment and thus, probably, was born the codex. But nobody realized what a good idea it was until a very interesting group of people with some very radical ideas adopted it for their own purposes. Nowadays those people are known as Christians, and they used the codex as a way of distributing the Bible.

One reason the early Christians liked the codex was that it helped differentiate them from the Jews, who kept (and still keep) their sacred text in the form of a scroll. But some very alert early Christian must also have recognized that the codex was a powerful form of information technology — compact, highly portable and easily concealable. It was also cheap — you could write on both sides of the pages, which saved paper — and it could hold more words than a scroll. The Bible was a long book.

The codex also came with a fringe benefit: It created a very different reading experience. With a codex, for the first time, you could jump to any point in a text instantly, nonlinearly. You could flip back and forth between two pages and even study them both at once. You could cross-check passages and compare them and bookmark them. You could skim if you were bored, and jump back to reread your favorite parts. It was the paper equivalent of random-access memory, and it must have been almost supernaturally empowering. With a scroll you could only trudge through texts the long way, linearly. (Some ancients found temporary fixes for this bug — Suetonius apparently suggested that Julius Caesar created a proto-notebook by stacking sheets of papyrus one on top of another.)

Over the next few centuries the codex rendered the scroll all but obsolete. In his “Confessions,” which dates from the end of the fourth century, St. Augustine famously hears a voice telling him to “pick up and read.” He interprets this as a command from God to pick up the Bible, open it at random and read the first passage he sees. He does so, the scales fall from his eyes and he becomes a Christian. Then he bookmarks the page. You could never do that with a scroll.

Right now we’re avidly road-testing a new format for the book, just as the early Christians did. Over the first quarter of this year e-book sales were up 160 percent. Print sales — codex sales — were down 9 percent. Those are big numbers. But unlike last time it’s not a clear-cut case of a superior technology displacing an inferior one. It’s more complex than that. It’s more about trade-offs.

On the one hand, the e-book is far more compact and portable than the codex, almost absurdly so. E-books are also searchable, and they’re green, or greenish anyway (if you want to give yourself nightmares, look up the ecological cost of building a single Kindle). On the other hand the codex requires no batteries, and no electronic display has yet matched the elegance, clarity and cool matte comfort of a printed page.

But so far the great e-book debate has barely touched on the most important feature that the codex introduced: the nonlinear reading that so impressed St. Augustine. If the fable of the scroll and codex has a moral, this is it. We usually associate digital technology with nonlinearity, the forking paths that Web surfers beat through the Internet’s underbrush as they click from link to link. But e-books and nonlinearity don’t turn out to be very compatible. Trying to jump from place to place in a long document like a novel is painfully awkward on an e-reader, like trying to play the piano with numb fingers. You either creep through the book incrementally, page by page, or leap wildly from point to point and search term to search term. It’s no wonder that the rise of e-reading has revived two words for classical-era reading technologies: scroll and tablet. That’s the kind of reading you do in an e-book.

The codex is built for nonlinear reading — not the way a Web surfer does it, aimlessly questing from document to document, but the way a deep reader does it, navigating the network of internal connections that exists within a single rich document like a novel. Indeed, the codex isn’t just another format, it’s the one for which the novel is optimized. The contemporary novel’s dense, layered language took root and grew in the codex, and it demands the kind of navigation that only the codex provides. Imagine trying to negotiate the nested, echoing labyrinth of David Mitchell’s “Cloud Atlas” if it were transcribed onto a scroll. It couldn’t be done.

God knows, there was great literature before there was the codex, and should it pass away, there will be great literature after it. But if we stop reading on paper, we should keep in mind what we’re sacrificing: that nonlinear experience, which is unique to the codex. You don’t get it from any other medium — not movies, or TV, or music or video games. The codex won out over the scroll because it did what good technologies are supposed to do: It gave readers a power they never had before, power over the flow of their own reading experience. And until I hear God personally say to me, “Boot up and read,” I won’t be giving it up.

Lev Grossman is the author of the novels “The Magicians” and “The Magician King.” He is also the book critic at Time magazine.
A version of this article appeared in print on September 4, 2011, on page BR13 of the Sunday Book Review in The New York Times with the headline: From Scroll to Screen.

57 comments:

  1. I have always been someone to enjoy the smell of a new book. Maybe I'm just weird, but honestly I think it's a perk! When I read a book from my kindle I feel like it never ends. I don't know where one page ends and another begins. It feels like endless reading to me. At least when I read a book I can physically see how far along I am in a book. The way Grossman wrote about being able to cross reference in a book v.s. scrolls where flipping pages and marking pages and doing stuff with the new found "book" was so amazing. Then I thought "duh" that's the best part. The only ironic thing in this moment is that this comment is being typed on a kindle!

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  5. I agree with Bailey. Books smell. Smell is the most powerful memory you have. A kindle will leave less of an impact. It is endless lines of words on a screen versus a physical object you can hold and study.

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  6. I found the article amusing since it brought to my attention that books are being used less and less as a source of reading. I personally enjoy reading something through a book since it's funner seeing how fast or slow your going, or seeing if your halfway or not even close. With using the internet as a source, all you see is the size of the scroll bar and an endless amount of lines.

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  7. "If it isn't broken dont' fix it." eBooks is a great technological advancement but, I don't think it is necessary. I prefer to read a book because it was a chronic part of my childhood. I loved reading books when I was a kid and I feel eBooks doesn't provide the same thrilling excitement when you read a great book.

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  8. I agree with Bernardo, growing up I was always reading books and I never found anything wrong with them, so I don't understand why someone decieded to invent eBooks. Don't get me wrong, I am not against them. EBooks provide an easy access to many books, but it doesn't provide the sensation of flipping the pages and the excitement of counting the pages to see how far along you are.

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  9. E-readers are cool and everything, but what they lack is the experience. When you want a new book you get excited when you go down to the book store or Target or where ever you buy books from, and you get to come home with this awesome new purchase that you cant wait to bust open. With an e-reader, you get the same amount of excitement when puchasing a book as you do purchasing a song on iTunes. Its the same idea as using iTunes vs buying a CD in the store.

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  10. This situation reminds me of the hand writing and typing debate. Typing is clearly more efficient and easier (wants you learn how) but many like hand writing things for the feel of it. It’s more artistic to hand write and I think most people like to receive a hand written letter over a typed one because of its unique style the author creates. The e-books are more efficient than a book for a few reasons. Some can be read in the dark (Amazon Kindle Fire), there easy to transport, and you can store hundreds of books inside a single one. To me this practicality beats the “feel” that a book provides. Don’t get me wrong a book is nice because you can wright you own notes in side and there is something mentally satisfying about knowing you’ve almost completed it. The convenience of an e-book however out ways the benefits of a book and as time goes on the e-books are only going to get better (technology’s progression) . I’m not sure if I completely understood the author’s argument but I hope this was helpful.

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  11. I have never used e-book so I am not sure how it works but I am thinking it would be like reading book with i-pad or i-pod. I love going to the book store and buy new books. I don't really know why, but it gets me very excited! If I need to read a book for classes, I usually buy them or get it from the library. Even if I can read them from online, I like to read them as real book. I once saw this documentary film, it was about how a lot of book stores are closing recently because of the technology. It was very sad to watch that, because book store can be, somehow, childhood memory! Like how Bailey said, I always check how far I read and I get so excited when I see that I am almost done with the book!

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  12. I love reading. It is my second favorite hobby to that of running. I agree that a book has a smell that is void in an eBook or kindle, or iPod; but there are also benefits to having compact devices containing books.When I'm traveling and I have to carry light, I always go with my iPod. My iPod has the electronic space for over fifty books. Let's say you stack fifty books on top of each other
    , how many centimeters tall would that be? As opposed to an iPod which is only about centimeter. Yeah I choose the iPod.I love hardcover books, but I also love the variety have having many books to choose from when I'm on the go.

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  13. I prefer to read from a book than an e-reader because of the sense of feeling you can get from it. I feel like your are more intuned with the book and you get a greater affect from it. With a kindle or an e-reader I cannot read from it for long period or times because my eyes start to hurt; with a book you don't always get that. Also with a book you can see where you are in a book and how much more the story you have left. With certain books I don't want them to end. If I were to get the kindle app on my phone then it would be a bigger distraction for me. I would see incoming text messages and facebook that I wouldn't even pay attention to what I was reading.

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  14. I wish we still had scrolls. We barely even have books any more. I am so tired of looking at a screen all day. I am always too scared to drop it, My head starts to hurt, and I feel my eyes slowly deteriorating. I miss when you could take a book (scroll) any where. Where it only costs a few dollars to keep the book. Where you could let someone borrow the book rather then let them take your e-reader. Which we all know you wouldn't do since it cost you an arm and a leg. I mean don't get me wrong there is some good things about the e-reader. Like how it has a automatic light for reading. Or how (like a book) you can't rip pages or destroy it as easily. But I prefer a book or scroll any day.

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  15. Going past the traditional aspect of a nice book, I personally like e-books better. Times are changing and we need to adapt to that. Survival of the fittest right? Think about this... you just got out of 6th period and you are tired from school because you stayed up all night writing essays for Preston, pulling your hair out from not understanding Physics, doing Calculus homework, and writing notes for Nesper. Wouldn't it be much more convenient if your backpack only had your binder for all general needs, some pencils and pens, and an iPad or a Tablet to carry all your books for you? Imagine having to carry all those books, that you could have digitally, in your arms. I just think e-books are much more convenient than book. PLus binding all those books, printing paper, using all the ink is more costly.

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  16. Personally, I would prefer a book over an e-reader any day. Especially a really old one you found in your great grandma's bookshelf, of an heirloom passed down through the generations. They hold a lot of personality and an original story not only in their pages, but where the book is from, who's hands it's been in, etc. We already spend so much time staring at a computer or phone screen all day, why not take a break? Of course there's perks to having an Ipad or a Nook for school related books, but if you're gonna read something interesting I would say get the whole experience and pick up the hard copy.

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  17. I have never used e-reader, but I did often used I-pad, I-touch to read novels. Personally, I prefer the actual book. Even though, I found that you can still take notes while you are reading on I-pad. But, the problem is that I always delete the book after I had finish reading the book on I-pad. In other hands, I can always go back in the book to reread the part that I don't quite understand. The feeling of flipping papers through the book is just different from using finger to click or slide on the I-pad or e-reader. I think the data in the article is the evident that people is accepting the new technology; but they also have not given up the paper book. “Over the first quarter of this year e-book sales were up 160 percent. Print sales — codex sales — were down 9 percent.”

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  18. I think I would prefer reading an actual book 100 times more then an e-reader. Although I don't own an e-reader nothing helps me focus more then a solid item like a hard back book. I tried reading a novel on my Ipod before and that did not work. I felt like the book was so long and I could not concentrate. Not only that but I love grabbing an old book that I read and being able to go to a page that I placed a sticky not in or something to reread that one page. Either because it was important or just because I like that scene. I think in the end however it ends up to if you are a person who wants to just let technology take over or like the old.

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  19. I personally agree with Grossman's opinion. Personally, I've attempted to read several summer homework books on my mom's tablet, and it is extremely tedious. In addition, going back to refer to the passage within the homework was utterly inefficient. I could've had an easier time doing it on a book. Look at text, flip back, look at previous text, flip back again. It's so easy with a book. On the other hand, the e-reader requires loading times, may become buggy when viewing e-books, and all sorts of headache that wouldn't occur on a book.

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  20. I can definitely see where both parties are coming from on this subject because either one are very convenient and efficient. On one side books are nonlinear, they also appeal to many of our sense including sight, touch, and even smell if you’re like bailey, you can better pace yourself with books, and there is no charging inconvenience with printed material. However on the other hand with e reading for around the same size of a book you have access to millions of books so for summer reading for instance if you were almost done with one book and thought you might start the other one that day instead of carrying around two books you could just carry your kindle around. Personally I don’t really have that much of an opinion on the subject. If I had to choose between books or an e reader I think I’d chose a book just because that’s what in used to. Who you should ask when they become your students are those kids who are growing up with it right now 4th, 5th , and maybe even 6th graders who are becoming familiar with it at much younger age, whose first cell phones are probably touch screen, tablet phones, connected to the internet whereas at that age my first phone was a flip phone and I knew how to call people and that was about it. I mean do they even make flip phones anymore?

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  21. Scrolling through the comments, I observed that a majority prefer solid paper books instead of e-books. This, I assume, is mostly because we have only grown up with paper books and we are accustom to getting our information this way. These up and coming generations are very much accustom to a computer screen or a touch screen device and they will most likely take the side of the e-book. I have read 4-5 e-books and countless regular book and have come to the conclusion that I do not have a preference. They both get the job done, meaning they both entertain and/or educate me. Reading for me is all about the experience the book takes me through and not about what method I get the experience from. Whether it be an e-book or a regular book I just like to read.

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  22. I would prefer reading a book anytime compared to starring at a screen for a while and reading off that. Yes the e-books can give you almost an endless limit of books to read but it has a different feel to it then an actual book. Just like a few others said they get headaches and their eyes begin to hurt, well I am the same way and once I'm over reading the screen then I just put it away cause I can't stand starring at a screen for hours.I love the thought of opening a book up and turning the pages and being able to read ahead or re-read a part again and knowing how far along you are within the story. I would choose a book any day compared to e-books.

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  23. Personally, I enjoy kindles and other "e-readers". I find them convenient and easy. It's a lot simpler than carrying around a mass amount of books. However, with this type of technology comes technical problems such as battery charge, etc. You never have to "charge a book", which in that way makes a book more convenient. However, e-readers can hold books as well as other imformation which proves to be useful. All and all, I feel you get more bang for your buck with an e-reader.

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  24. I would prefer reading books than the e-books. I feel as for e-books I would start reading it all excited, but after awhile I'd start loosing my focus in the reading. It would feel like an endless book where you have no idea how far along you are towards the story. My eye sight would start getting weird and every glance I take, black, would be the first color I see. Therefore, e-books wouldn't be my first choice where to read a story from but if I'd had to, I would.

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  25. It's very clear to me that reading is an intimate experience between a person and an object somebody else created. When I'm at the end of a book, my focus is rekindled(no pun intended) and as I begin to count the pages left I find myself hosting an internal struggle. Do I want to read faster and annihilate those last pages? Or would I rather savor them? I'd like to circumvent the sentimental and focus on the physical because I am not sure there is logic to justify the satisfaction. E-books are much more utile in their optimum allotment of space for words. They can carry a number of books that most humans couldn't even lift and I think this advantage outweighs that of non-linear movement. Besides, you can digitally highlight the good stuff in e-books anyway, and if you can't properly use the search tool then you best get to learning how.
    P.S. That pun was definitely intended.

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  26. Books may be the popular choice by most of my peers but I have to go with ebooks. With one kindle, you can have hundreds of books in something no bigger than a regular picture book. They have optimized the space that a book can fill and have almost created an object that can get rid of the old codex all together. Although ebooks have awkward controls and get rid of the flipping of the pages that we are all used to, it is what civilization is heading towards. Let's face it, we use a lot of trees, A LOT of trees, to make all the paper we use world wide. A kindle may not be very Eco-friendly when it is made but it sure does cut down on the amount of paper we normally would of used.

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  27. When it comes to e-readers vs books, I feel it does really matter which you prefer. Words are words, and their meaning and messages cant be changed by the medium you read them off of. So having this in mind when I see the ability of e-readers to access way more works quickly, I have to favor that. Sure you lose the physical feel of a reading that you get with a book but that doesn't change what you are reading, so why limit your ability to read more because you need the actual pages in your hand?

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  28. Yes, society is advancing in this digital age, but that does not have to be an excuse to completely renounce the ways of our past. Reading has been a substantial step in the development of human intellect. Pen and paper have defined our actions for centuries. We cannot simply cut this line which has created such monumental connections. Ebooks, to simply put it, are the scissors in this seemingly inevitable analogy. We have already seen these monstrosities take their toll on the economic aspects of daily life with the closing of numerous book stores. Although my sentiments towards this subject my sound somewhat dramatic, I believe books should stay in existence for centuries to come.

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  29. I would prefer to read a book but eBooks is definitely an example of how much times have changed. I find books to be more enjoyable to read than reading off a screen. The content may be the same but the experience is not. eBooks helps with the "less to carry" concept but this issue aside, I would much rather read an actual book. Its all about creating options for people. What eBooks does is facilitate the action of reading for those more inclined toward technology. All technology seeks to do is make things "better." It does not seek to completely eliminate all that makes society what it is but it does crave improvement. Technology is truly something we should appreciate but we must never forget the root of it all.

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  30. Oh, I absolutely love reading from an actual book rather than from an e-reader. Ever since I was young, I'd beg my parents to take me to bookstores and libraries so that I can run through all the aisles, touching all the spines of the countless numbers of books in the place. Books have always been magical to me, with their unique smell of paper, or a lingering scent from a past reader (like some of the books I've borrowed from my aunt smelled just like her perfume). At the same time, I don't want to put down e-readers. When they first came out, I was awed by how futuristic and interesting they were, you can read any story that you want on that same screen. But it was only fun for awhile, and I eventually went back to going to the library, rummaging through the books. Both have their benefits, and both have their faults. You can't put a label on one saying that it's better than the other, because it is different for all people.

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  31. I have never been a fan of reading on a Kindle or Nook or iPad or any other e-reader. I find it very strenuous on the eyes and, at least for me, I read significantly slower on an e-reader than I do for a hard copy. That's a killer for me, especially when one has to read over 1000 pages of essays by Michel de Montaigne. I never have had a problem when it came to portability with regular books, so I see no clear advantage with an e-reader. Sure, I could house more books on a Kindle than I ever could with hard copies, but if e-readers have me read significantly slower than regular books, and most of my reading choices are of a significant length, why would I intentionally hamper myself all for the sake of portability?

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  32. Although for many centuries people have relied on books written on paper, times have changed and we are advancing for a better more efficient future. eBooks are an advancement in technology and education. eBooks are more convenient for people. they can be carried almost anywhere easily. In a single eBook you can carry hundreds of books. You save the trouble of carrying heavy books and having to pay high expenses. Not only that, but with eBooks you are connected to the internet and if you come across a problem you can easily research a word or phrase to get clarification.

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  33. The nature of technology is invariable in only one sense, it is constantly evolving and changing. The realm of books, although seeing that literature is one of the oldest permutations of media, we forget it is also a medium of said rapidly evolving tech. I too agree that there really is a special connection, a sense of haptic sentimentality that is forged between a reader and hardcover, paperback novel, but i too agree that change, evolution is a necessary, inevitable step even in a deceivingly unchanging form of media like that of books. Accessibility, usability, with digitized texts we forgo the materialistic, ecological, repercussions of paperbacks but at the price of the special connection, sentimentality fostered by actively turning the pages of a good, physical, book. Even if simulated touch-screens can give the illusions of turning a page via digital animation, I cant help but feel distanced by the pixels of e-reader screen instead of the parchment ink is printed upon. I do feel e-readers are the future , one that i am genuinely excited for, but, as of the moment the current tech needs to solve a few issues before i start building a digital library. Its the nature of man to embrace change, adapt, but only once he teeters on the edge of necessity.

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  34. Times have changed and technology is advancing but that doesn’t mean that all our traditions have to change. Physical scripture has been around since the time of cavemen. It has had its fair share of modifications over centuries from writing on cave walls to creating templates, scrolls, and eventually a bound book. I personally rather read a book than use an eBook. While reading a regular book the worst thing that has happened to me is a bad paper cut but while reading online works and articles the worst thing that happened to me is that the computer freezes or that it randomly shuts off. At any time technology can come crashing down, but a book can remain in ones hands. There is much traditional value in book. Just the thought of being able to read a book is better than holding a kindle as I read a book online. With a regular book I am able to see how far along I have read or how much I need to read. With a kindle the reading seems endless and boring.

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  35. Okay, I could barely get through that article...I absolutely HATE reading things that are on anything but a piece of paper. I am not a fan of the digital age but I am not against adapting to it, as I feel we have no choice really (take this class for example). I think that Ebooks are a great advancement in our society that has clearly been a big hit due to its convenience over books themselves. I think there should be a happy medium in which neither one should put the other out of production. Both books and Ebooks are great ways to gain knowledge, it all just depends on your preference of obtaining that knowledge whether it be through old fashon (books) or new fashion (Ebooks).

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  36. I have a kindle, but frankly most of the time it's forgotten at my mom's or dad's house because it seems like I can never bring it places. If I bring a $14 book outside of my house and lose it, sure I'm sad, but I can easily replace it the next month, but with a kindle, if I ever do lose it, I know I probably won't replace it because I don't want to pay that much for it again (although my mom got it for me). With the kindle, I can't randomly flip to a page and read certain parts that I've forgotten from previous reads of it, I have to "bookmark" it. But "bookmarking" it doesn't hold the same satisfaction for me as bookmarking a book; I don't get to see what kind of bookmark I used (probably an old food wrapper), or what handwritten notes I wrote to myself in it, or even what kind of food stains I left in it because I was trying to multi-task by both eating and reading which I've proven time and time again that I just can't do. Reading books instead of ebooks, is better to me because of how many memories I can dredge up by looking at the stains in it or how bent the book cover is because I dragged the book around with me everywhere. I have a bad memory, so anything that helps me with it, is great in my books (pun intended).

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  37. While a normal book may seem old-fashion and out dated, it has a traditional feel to it. The feeling of holding a heavy (or light weight) book and flipping through the pages may give the reader a feeling of success, as as though it is simply just an obstacle. So when you compare Ebooks and books, your comparing an apple to an orange. They may have the same sweetness and shape, but when you get to specifics, they are two individual items. While reading a ebook is quick, easy, and efficient, I would argue if someone is saying that reading an ebook is the same experience as reading a normal book, that they are wrong. When reading the "old fashion" way, you get to hold the object, possibly highlight, carry the weight, and when your finished possibly express pride that you have finished a "huge" book.

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  38. Funny that we are discussing this because my family and I were actually talking about this the other day. Not sure how it came up but it did. I think that there will always be two sides to things. Some people may like reading a book by actually holding it in their hands while others enjoy reading EBooks. Personally I love getting a book where I can actually hold it, flip the pages, see how much I have read, and how much I have left to read. The smell of a brand new book is one of my favorite smells. For some strange reason it makes me happy. I have grown up with reading books this way so for me to just start reading off of a screen is a bit strange and very complicated. After I while my eyes get tired and I am left with this huge headache. EBooks for me take the fun out of reading. Its more of a sacrifice then actually reading and enjoying what you are reading. Also, with an EBook it seems like you are reading an endless blob of words. Yes it may be easier to not have to carry around books but is it worth taking the fun out of books just so that you don’t have to be carrying something around? I think not but that is just me.

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  39. I do believe that the e-readers do give some sort of power to people as they read that they never had before, but I think a lot more people like to sit down and snuggle up with a really great book than to snuggle up with their computer, am I right? These e-readers do sound very interesting. Like you have the world at your fingertips. Yet, I still love going to the library, or even thumbing through the small collection of literature on my book shelf, and finding the physical version of a story that you can actually hold on to. Some people who don't have iPods, iPads, or these e-readers, which applies to me, don't have the oppurtunity to read a great novel or short story on the go. But with a book, you can take it any where, aside from in water, and actually have the literal book in your hands. I do love this new e-reader though. I give you a sense of power we thought we never had with an ordinary book. But I got to say, I think I'm gonna just stick with my comfy, cozy, soft or hardback book.

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  40. I think that E-books and books are both great resources to find information. I dont think i have used an e-book before, but i really dont care much about it. I would rather read a book, but a good book.I know that some people would rather use e-books and others love reading books, its up to the type of person. Books and e-books are also trade-offs, people choose one over the other, base on what they desire more.

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  41. Personally I think e-readers are the future of books. Books are not going away, the format is simply changing. We are in an evolving time, and we must evolve with it. The sheer capabilities of e-readers far outnumber that of a standard book. As far as nonlinear reading, on e-books you can just as easily reach any chapter you desire at the click of a button. The nostalgia of a book may still remain, and I'm not against them, but e-books are simply faster, more efficient, and the future of the written (or typed) word.

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  42. Like everyone else, I believe that e-books are the future. It is the next step in the technology of text, especially for textbooks. However I will alway prefer a good book. The typed word may be the future for all man kind but I want a book. A book that you can feel, flip pages and write notes in the margin. There is something about being able to feel something in your hands that make things all the more real, and for me that is the pages of a book. Screens will dominate the world to come and I'm fine with that, as long as I can keep some of my classic books stashed away at home.

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  43. Were in the 21st century now and there is no way to avoid that fact that technology is becoming more and more of our everyday lives. It is even taking over the literature industry now. And e-readers and kindles of all sorts are becoming more popular, but personally I really don't have a personal favorite between the new and the old. Yes it is nice to pick up a fresh new book out of the library and dig in but to me it can be a hassle trying to get the book in the first place. I lean more toward the e-readers because they are the future innovation of literature because you can practically get any book on the device in an instant and it is an easy way to get the book you are looking for.

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  44. Very interesting and it only helps my cause for book reading rather than ebook reading. I never thought of the nonlinear capability a book allows a reader to have. The couple of times I've read things on ebooks I couldn't stop thinking about how ANNOYING it was to have to flip with my finger through page after page or book mark something, go to it and then skip everything else, when I could have complete control of the situation with my own ten phalanges! I've always liked reading proper books, nothing better than the smell and the sound of a page turn. Why go back to linear thinking? That's like saying time is a strict progression of cause and effect, when actually, from a nonlinear, non subjective view point it's more like a big ball of wibbley wobbly timey wimey... stuff.... that sentence got away from me. Anyway, we live in an age where we are encouraged to not just think linearly, so why read stories scroll up and down?

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  45. We are in a technological boom were more and more new devices are coming out ever year replacing the old. The e-book is just one of those devices, replacing the paper back book. I understand that a paper back book is easier to skim through, go from chapter to chapter or to try and fine that specific detail. But just getting the book is probably one of the hardest aspects of learning from the book. The e-book allows you to get the book in minutes and you can start right then and there on reading the book. I personally lean more towards the e-readers because its the future an it allows you to get books in a matter of minutes.

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  46. I actually prefer normal books to e-books. I enjoy the feeling of reading for a long period of time and looking back at where I started and admiring the stack of pages that I have read in that session. Just think of how long books have been around. I do not think they will ever be rendered obsolete. People may use e-books as an alternative to reading, but in my opinion, I feel that people would rather just read a traditional book with that paper smell while they flip pages.

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  47. I was never one who enjoyed reading until recently. The main difference I see that can be arguing is the weight. Some of the books out there are thousands of pages long and sitting and reading these can be uncomfortable sometimes. With the e-book it is a lightweight device that can relieve that discomfort. The best part about a normal book is being able to flip the pages. It just feels great to turn that last page in a huge book and know that you have read the entire thing.

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  48. I didn't really enjoy books all that much until high school started. I started to branch out and realized how much I love them. This discovery came from buying actual books and not using technology to get them. I think that technology is great, but if you don't need it, why have it? I love being able to physically hold a book, turn the pages, and mark wherever I decide to stop with a book mark. Also I have a bookshelf filled with my favorite books and I love looking at them remembering all the great story lines. This wouldn't be the case if my books were stored on a kindle, ipad, etc.

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  49. As I have seen so many others comment the same as well I would preffer a paper book than a digital version as I like all my age still grew up reading paper books. I can see though the class of maybe 2025 actually prefering the ebooks as they are growing up with this technology. When I was five the most technology i played with was with a sega gaming system compared to my baby sister today who can navigate her way on a computer and play games on an ipod touch, which shows how much different her relation with technology will be as she grows older as to mine which was very little. But for me now the book is more appealing as i enjoy the feel of seeing my bookmark moving farther and farther down the top of the book as i read.

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  50. A book is a book is a book, no matter what medium we are reading it through. Yes you can argue that a book gives you a certain satisfaction with flipping the pages or watching as you slowly come to the end of the story and the pages start to dwindle down (or the…smell?); but does it really matter? It is the same story; the world I get lost in when reading has really nothing to do with from what device I read it out of. To me, it doesn’t really matter at all. But, since this prompt asks me to take a side I would probably lean more towards an e-book. First off I would like to point out that this article is fairly biased and for the most part doesn’t point out all the positives that an e-book offers. Now I know this article wasn’t going to exhaust all the pros and cons, but I feel like it skipped over most of the pros for the e-book and talked about its cons, then went straight to the pros for books and the history of how they came about (thus probably swaying most of our comments to be in favor of books, not to mention we grew up reading them so it’s our norm). Off hand, here are some pros for the e-books: more manageable and transportable (which is especially helpful when you’re small like me and books are too heavy), less expensive (in terms of buying a book on an e-book vs. the hard copy), you can read them in the dark, sturdier and won’t rip when you drop them into your bag, you can get the sequel to that really awesome book you just finished reading almost instantaneously, you can store hundreds of books in one device, and e-books can function as other gadgets (clock, internet access, MP3 players…). Now can your standard book do all that? My guess is probably not.

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    Replies
    1. Abby, everything you write just sounds really good. Good job on organizing all your thoughts and making it sound so perfect.
      -Laura

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  51. I had my views about e-readers before reading this article (which was on-line ironically) and after reading it I feel that my views are still pretty much the same. There is something about holding that book in your hands rather then a Kindle. Yes that smell of a new book does still get me. I have read books off a Iphone and Ipad, though it does not compare to reading the same story out of a hard back book with pages you can ear mark, write in and inevitably spill things on. I feel super accomplished when I look back at a book I would carry around with me 24/7 because I couldn’t get enough of it and see it withered. I don’t really care for the E-reader, but I have come to a term that’s where society is taking us. The Jewish people had it right, scrolls are very cool, although not as convenient as a hard cover book. So now that we have an easier method of carrying the same knowledge why not upgrade? Some people (or religious groups) like to keep it old fashion and not change. Good for them. For the rest of us though we need to eventually say goodbye to out book cases with three shelves of densely packed novels that can all fit in one tiny device. It is a very convenient and useful invention, just not as rewarding to some people.

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  52. Personally, I prefer paper books to e-readers, at least when it comes to leisure reading. I enjoy the concrete comfort that they provide. Given proper light, nothing short of blindness or the book's destruction can prevent me from reading it. A physical book is capable of much more emotional attachment than an e-book. Any warm-blooded reader would cringe at the thought of burning a book, but most wouldn't think twice about deleting an electronic copy form an e-reader. The article brings up a good point; as of now, books are more intuitive to navigate. I can still remember the general section and page position of certain scenes in my favorite books. E-books don't provide that kind of spatial awareness.

    That said, innovation is always a good thing. E-readers certainly have plenty of uses. Their accessibility makes reading much easier for some people. I've seen somebody who only read infrequently become an avid reader after getting an e-reader--purely because it was easier to get to books. E-readers would also be wonderful for textbooks. Besides the reduced cost of updating textbooks, a search function would be a lifesaver when studying.

    I'm not against e-readers. I think they're a great piece of technology with plenty of potential. However, for my own comfort, I fervently hope physical books are never replaced.

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  53. To me I love holding a book, reading it, and then getting the satisfaction from finishing it. I like the old fashioned way of reading, possibly because that's what I'm used to, but also because I can physically see myself getting closer to finishing. The feel of the pages on my fingers, and yes, the smell all impact me when I'm lost in a book. That saying of calling a book a "page-turner" won't be around too much longer if we go the way of the E-reader. Reading a book should be a simple thing, as easy as opening it and starting to read. With the E-reader, you need to constantly charge the device and/or have batteries which might not always be available. Call me old fashioned, but I lean towards the paper book.

    Laura Trenev
    0 per.

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  54. I do believe the e-book can be useful, but I prefer a real book any day. I'm not sure how an e-book works, but I hate reading anything more than 5 pages on the screen, and my eyes begin to hurt. Also, I love the book smell, and how many pages I've read. A book makes me feel more accomplished. Many teenagers hate reading, period. I'm somewhat the same way, unless it's a book I'm interested in. An e-book doesn't have a bookmark, and that's a big problem for me. I'm used to setting my book down to go eat, or do another homework assignment. All in all, I believe books are a better way of learning. (At least for me)


    Sorry this comment is late! I was camping all weekend and this article slipped my mind.

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  55. I have never read from a kindle or ipad and don't intend to. I prefer having a physical copy of a book. It makes the book feel more like a book rather then some data stored in a technological device. These technological advances are great but I like to hold the actual book in my hand as I read just like when I was a kid.

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  56. I was very anti E-reader at first. Plus, reading a book does have a certain feel to it. I have used an E-reader now and it is a lot easier for me to bring with me. I also find myself using it more since there is no book store around here and I have easy access to whichever book I want. I don't think that means we should get rid of traditional books. I still would love to sit down with an actual book from time to time. For the moment my choice is e-reader but that means in no way that I will never pick up a book again. I'll be going back and forth.

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