ST. MARK'S BOOKSHOP MIGHT GO UNDER?!?! PLEASE tell me you're kidding! (I did not know about this.)
*Making mental note to go there and spend lots of money next time I get paid to try and keep them in business*
I DO NOT believe that paper books will ever disappear. Maybe this is just denial but I REFUSE to believe it. Despite the proliferation of digital media and experience, I think we as human beings have a basic need for physical reality. Facebook has not replaced actual physical meet-ups and in-person networking. Online teaching has not replaced physical classrooms. Email and texting have not replaced face-to-face and even phone conversations. I think we will see more and more digital versions of things but I don't believe they will ever completely dominate.
The experience of reading a physical book is different than the experience of reading text on a screen. There have been studies suggest that the two each involve different brain processes. Online books can't replace the mental experience of reading a physical book. Moreover, simply downloading and reading something on your Kindle trivializes what, to me, should be a profound experience and I think even casual readers know that on some level.
Besides, as long as I'm alive I probably can keep the publishing industry at least nominally afloat single-handedly; as I'm typing this I'm in my bedroom, literally surrounded by *stacks and piles* of books. It's quite seriously a toss-up as to whether, overall, I spend more of my budget on books or food! (I am not quite kidding with all of this. My partner and I are going to have to move soon, primarily so we have room for all my books.)
(Sorry - I know you said no comments in your caveat on this post but, as an English prof. and an avid reader, I think and talk about this all the time so I can't stop myself from chiming in with my 98 cents. It actually would be a good subject to bring up with my students next week in class.)
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Date: 2011-09-10 07:08 pm (UTC)*Making mental note to go there and spend lots of money next time I get paid to try and keep them in business*
I DO NOT believe that paper books will ever disappear. Maybe this is just denial but I REFUSE to believe it. Despite the proliferation of digital media and experience, I think we as human beings have a basic need for physical reality. Facebook has not replaced actual physical meet-ups and in-person networking. Online teaching has not replaced physical classrooms. Email and texting have not replaced face-to-face and even phone conversations. I think we will see more and more digital versions of things but I don't believe they will ever completely dominate.
The experience of reading a physical book is different than the experience of reading text on a screen. There have been studies suggest that the two each involve different brain processes. Online books can't replace the mental experience of reading a physical book. Moreover, simply downloading and reading something on your Kindle trivializes what, to me, should be a profound experience and I think even casual readers know that on some level.
Besides, as long as I'm alive I probably can keep the publishing industry at least nominally afloat single-handedly; as I'm typing this I'm in my bedroom, literally surrounded by *stacks and piles* of books. It's quite seriously a toss-up as to whether, overall, I spend more of my budget on books or food! (I am not quite kidding with all of this. My partner and I are going to have to move soon, primarily so we have room for all my books.)
(Sorry - I know you said no comments in your caveat on this post but, as an English prof. and an avid reader, I think and talk about this all the time so I can't stop myself from chiming in with my 98 cents. It actually would be a good subject to bring up with my students next week in class.)