Still, I have to say that it would be a terrible shame to see the printing industry disappear. There’s nothing, really, to equal the feeling of reading a real book—feeling the paper, smelling the ink.
As a writer, I appreciate the sense of permanence of a real ink-and-paper book. Digital publishing seems so temporary. While books are still technically ephemera, nothing can beat the sense of accomplishment a writer feels in seeing his or her words bound into a book. So, today, stop by a brick and mortar bookstore (or order from Amazon.com) and spend some money on a real book. Let’s keep that leg of the publishing industry alive and well. I’m all for reading digital books. After all, I write them myself. But, let’s not let the printed word slip away.
1 comment:
I heartily agree! There's the feel and texture of a printed book (of course), there's also the ability to pick it up and browse on whim from it. Using a 'search' option on an ebook is just not the same.
The debate about 'Will technology kill the printed book?' is something of a historical phenomena. I believe that in the 1920s there was discussion 'Will phonographed books kill the printed book?' In the 1970s it was 'Will TV kill the printed book?' Printed books obviously have immense resilence, since whilst there are still audio books (and TV) there are still brick-and-mortar bookshops and printed books sold by them.
That said, the free ebook projects - such as Project Guttenburg - are an immense boon. In catalogues like this, one can find books long out of print and which (otherwise) one might never have the opporutnity to read. It's particularly fun to see the original illustrations (also included in these free ebooks). One of my favourite (free) ebooks from Project Guttenberg is "Dream Days" by Kenneth Graham (most famous for "Wind in the Willows") - with original illustrations.
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