I really WANT to believe that they have a widespread intrinsic value to people besides me.
I feel the same way about the Steller's seacow, but look how that turned out.
However, there is a pragmatic argument for books vs. ereaders. Technology breaks. If you bust your Kindle, no more ebooks for you. A physical book, if treated properly, can have a longer lifespan than a human being (I own books that are over 200 years old and mass-market paperbacks from the 1930s and 1940s that are still in readable condition.) To an extent, damage to a book can be repaired; covers can be taped and pages re-glued. Few users can repair their own computers or ereaders.
This is a pragmatic argument. One which no one seems to be listening to. The world is too gadget obsessed. Americans throw away last years iPod for this year's model, and so forth. My books won't break. They aren't planned to become obsolescent. Kindle, etc. are. do and are, but no one seems to give a rat's ass.
emember how in Boulder everyone became widely interested in the library for entertainment and practical information both?
Actually...that's not in the 1978 version. I suspected KIng added that to the crappy 1990 text.
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Date: 2011-09-10 09:36 pm (UTC)I really WANT to believe that they have a widespread intrinsic value to people besides me.
I feel the same way about the Steller's seacow, but look how that turned out.
However, there is a pragmatic argument for books vs. ereaders. Technology breaks. If you bust your Kindle, no more ebooks for you. A physical book, if treated properly, can have a longer lifespan than a human being (I own books that are over 200 years old and mass-market paperbacks from the 1930s and 1940s that are still in readable condition.) To an extent, damage to a book can be repaired; covers can be taped and pages re-glued. Few users can repair their own computers or ereaders.
This is a pragmatic argument. One which no one seems to be listening to. The world is too gadget obsessed. Americans throw away last years iPod for this year's model, and so forth. My books won't break. They aren't planned to become obsolescent. Kindle, etc. are. do and are, but no one seems to give a rat's ass.
emember how in Boulder everyone became widely interested in the library for entertainment and practical information both?
Actually...that's not in the 1978 version. I suspected KIng added that to the crappy 1990 text.