Imagine thousands of books, magazines and other reading material at your fingertips. No paper ink or any pages to turn. No need to even go to the bookstore. With just a few clicks your book is instantly available. Today this is reality. With the development of technology like the Kindle from Amazon and the Nook from Barnes & Noble, printed books are becoming a thing of the past.
For people like me who love to read, the Kindle and other e-book readers are a slap in the face. The beauty of the written word is just that. The words are on pages bound together in a physical book. One can actually feel the paper as one flips pages. Also, taking time to notice texture and the fresh, clean smell of a new book is an added bonus. I get one of the best feelings when I purchase or rent a book from a library. I know that I’m about to go on an adventure. Books have taken me all over the globe and to other far away worlds. Nothing can compare to curling up on a cold day with a good book to read. They represent the wishes and dreams of many different people. Traveling to Middle Earth, battling enemies in a foreign country or being transported to the time of kings and queens are just a few of the myriad number of places that reading takes people. I feel that without this essential connection to books, reading is just not the same. There is a certain “feel” that you get from stories, whether it’s going to be an awesome read or a piece of crap. Having the book in front of you is an invaluable ingredient to learning and processing information.
Alternatively, e-book readers are cold and remote. Staring at a screen takes away from the experience of reading. Instead of bonding with the story face-to face, noticing the cover and attention to detail, one is confronted with a flat machine. Pages are “flipped” by skimming one’s fingers over the surface of the “reader.” It is an absolute travesty that these machines are taking over and replacing what is one of the most beautiful customs this world has to offer. Technology has advanced us far with gadgets and gizmos like the iPhone. They have changed the world as we know it. However, how far will we go? To change the way we read seems like a sacrilege. Sure, it might be easier to simply download a book, but the technological problems that can occur are not worth it. As with all technology, nothing is infallible. Books aren’t immune either, but I’d rather have a solid copy of what I’m paying for, rather than a little icon on a screen. Computers crash all the time, and if your Kindle or Nook breaks, then what? If it’s not under warranty, and you haven’t backed up your files, not only are you out a few hundred bucks, your books are gone, too. For me, it’s very simple to just go out and buy or borrow the books I want to read. Having to depend upon something else entirely in order to read is not worth the risks.
Here at the University of Massachusetts, students now have the option of renting textbooks at a much cheaper rate than buying them. School books don’t have to cost a fortune anymore. For those like me who have a voracious appetite for reading, and can go through books in a few days, libraries are a wonderful resource. You still get that personal experience with a book, and you don’t even have to spend money to buy it! With the Kindle you can’t rent books at all. What if you only need to read a book once for class and then don’t need it anymore? Why should you have to buy it when you can rent it and give it back later after you are done with it? The Nook has a sharing option, but only allows you to lend any particular book to one friend. After that, you can’t share the book ever again. Would you let your friend borrow your Kindle or Nook? Instead of handing out an expensive piece of equipment with possibly all your school books on it, wouldn’t the smarter choice be to just give your friend the printed book? Instead of worrying about if they are going to break or lose it, you can just simply let your friends borrow your books. If something happens to them, they are more easily replaced. The Kindle and Nook, however, are not as easily replaceable.
If you’re like me and abhor the use of these “e-readers,” speak out against these viruses that have wormed their way into society. They are attempting to replace one of the most sacred pursuits in the human race. If they totally outmode printed material, we will lose so much in an attempt to save a few lousy dollars.
Leah Mandly is a Collegian columnist. She can be reached at [email protected].
Izzy8pie • Apr 3, 2017 at 10:51 pm
Personally, I LOVE what people call “real books” and ever since the e -books and kindles came out, I have been worried that they would replace these books. Fortunateley, nothing like this has happened so far and therefore, I believe that there is room for both e – book and regular books. Still, I dont think anythnig could compare to having the original books, but then again, it could just be that I had grown up knowing them and cannot imagine using anything else. I also agree that the original books cost a lot of priceless trees, but anyone could print books using recycled paper, right?
xenos • Dec 31, 2011 at 6:20 pm
If you’re like me and abhor the use of these “books,” speak out against these viruses that have wormed their way into society. If they totally outmode spoken tradition, we will lose so much in an attempt to save a few lousy dollars.
If you’re like me and abhor the use of these “records” speak out against these viruses that have wormed their way into society. If they totally outmode orchestras, we will lose so much in an attempt to save a few lousy dollars.
If you’re like me and abhor the use of these “VCRs,” speak out against these viruses that have wormed their way into society. If they totally outmode cinema, we will lose so much in an attempt to save a few lousy dollars.
If you’re like me and abhor the use of these “digital videos,” speak out against these viruses that have wormed their way into society. If they totally outmode DVDs, we will lose so much in an attempt to save a few lousy dollars.
If you’re like me and abhor the use of “computer-generated art,” speak out against these viruses that have wormed their way into society. If they totally outmode paintings, we will lose so much in an attempt to save a few lousy dollars.
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Alice • Feb 17, 2011 at 4:16 pm
I agree with this argument for books. And as for the people that don’t believe the smell of a book or the texture of the paper in your hands play important roles in “bonding”, so to speak, with your book, you may not have experienced it which is not to say those feelings don’t exist. As for the people pointing out that Mandly used the internet to publish her opinion, it is perfectly reasonable and understandable. She wrote the article with the intent of getting her opinion in the open. The internet is a way of getting your opinion out and making your voice heard, without sending a mass article, that would be unrealistic, internationally to everyone. E-readers ARE trying to replace real physical books. The word is spreading that book stores will soon be obsolete, except there are still book lovers out there that will continue to purchase books and support the book stores. It seems oddly unreasonable that you should comment to disagree with this article.
Physical books FTW.
Drew • Feb 11, 2011 at 9:07 am
The Nook from B&N and your local library both support the epub format. So I too can rent and read as quickly as I’d like and still not pay for anything. Search “0.00” in the Nook ebook shop and you’ll find thousands of free books too.
Mia • Feb 2, 2011 at 9:34 am
I completely agree with this article. Real books are capable of transporting the reader far far away and at least for me, the experience is totally different with electronics. When I read something on a screen I feel disconnected. Also, any kind of screen gives me a headache after more than an hour and I would happily read a book all day.
Incidentally, e-books are beginning to replace real book;both my favorites the hard covers and the paperbacks. Anyone who searches for a book through any program will find a plethora of nook-books and very few actual books. I recently tried to purchase a book at Barnes and Noble only to be told that they did not have any copies of that book and I could only have it as a e-book.
I truly appreciate the ease which electronics have introduced into our lives but I think that this is going to far. Nothing can replace a real book and the experience that it gives.
And by the way, The Lord of the Rings is one of my all time favorite books. Middle Earth every time.
Ulysses Schuckers • Oct 7, 2010 at 9:01 pm
Definitely savored the look over, keep up the good work.
Stay Classy America • Oct 7, 2010 at 10:54 am
One does not “bond” with a story face to face; one “bonds” with a story through the mind regardless of if the story is being told in person, on papyrus, scroll, TV, computer screen, or eReader. If you need a physical book to make this connection with concepts and imagery the fault does not lie in an eReader, it lies in your inability to get beyond the physicality of a book.
Walt • Sep 26, 2010 at 7:16 pm
What a silly (and rather snobby) article this is. E-readers are not attempting to replace physical books. I have a nook and still read physical books as well. There is no difference; as Mike said above, it’s all about the words, not the paper (or screen) they’re on, or about the smell. Seriously, does anyone smell their books? Does the smell make the words better somehow? Does a printed page really mean so much more?
Ironic that the author of this piece used a computer to write this because we’re reading your words on the screen (which you apparently dislike). You have an email address; why don’t you write physical letters to your friends and colleagues and mail them via the post office instead of using e-mail? This is all just a natural progression of technology; I don’t see it as the end of civilization.
There is room for both forms of books. E-readers have been a godsend for a couple of people I know with bad eyesight. E-readers have made it possible for them to read by enlarging the font. Now they no longer have to wait for the library to get a large print copy of a book, nor do they have to spend the extra money a large print version costs. And not every book is available in a large print edition. Should people with less than stellar eyesight give up on reading altogether because a screen isn’t the same as a “real” book? E-readers have made a dramatic difference for those unable to read physical books.
The people I know that have e-readers read more than they ever did, even the ones that were voracious readers before getting their Kindle or Nook. Is that a bad thing? Is the e-reader experience less valid than a physical book? I think not.
You are certainly entitled to your opinion and your likes and dislikes, however, I think many of your points are a bit off base. As I said I still read physical books and have an e-reader and like both. To me there is no difference in the reading experience. I get just as much pleasure reading words on a screen as on a physical page. Just my two cents. YMMV.
Eli Gottlieb • Sep 22, 2010 at 1:28 pm
This really would have worked better as a Point-Counterpoint.
I broke down and bought a Kindle last Sunday. Both paper books and e-books have their merits, and I don’t plan on giving either one up any time soon. Paper books come in color, never glitch on a screen refresh, and can be freely lent around to anyone. E-readers allow me to carry dozens or hundreds of books, including textbooks, in less size and weight than a UMass daily planner-book, allow me to endlessly copy my books to whoever wants them (assuming they come in the public domain or under a Creative Commons license), save reams of paper, comes with its own built-in bookstore, and has internet access via both Wi-Fi and 3G for perpetuity. It’s like a smart-phone that reads books instead of making phone calls, and to top everything off, it runs Linux.
A place for every form of reading, and every form of reading in its place.
Josh King • Sep 22, 2010 at 12:04 am
Exactly, which is exactly why I still write paper letters, lick the stamp (no new fangled self adhesive for me, I like the taste on my tongue) and drop the letter in the mail box. This whole electronic mail is a blasphemy to those of us who love to communicate.
Are you kidding me? This is the silliest article I have ever read.
TMC • Sep 21, 2010 at 9:15 pm
It’s never good when the comments are more thought out than the article.
Also, since I’ve gotten an e-reader, I read more. Because it’s so easy I guess.
P.S. most e-readers back up your books online, so you will not lose them.
Ben • Sep 21, 2010 at 1:36 am
Try not to start an article by pissing off half your demographic, People are buying the nook because “they love to read”. Me personally, I am getting one because i don’t want to have to carry 5kg as luggage on trips.
mike • Sep 20, 2010 at 4:56 pm
Everyone’s “pro-books” argument is so much tied up on the “smell” and “feel” of books. People seem to forget that books are about the words. The words themselves is what makes a book great. Think of how many reprints and reissues popular books go through, with each reprint, the cover changes, the paper texture change, perhaps even the font or font size. Do these cosmetic changes make the book any less great? No. Does having a dust jacket on your hardcover book make the story any better? No.
People should worry less about nook vs book and take a step back and realize that e-readers are opening up reading to a whole different generation, suddenly it’s cool to read to again and more people reading is a win-win.
Also, the argument about losing hundreds of dollars for the digital books if your device is broken isn’t a valid point. Yes, for iTunes and MP3s, that may be a valid concern but the Kindle and the Nook are selling themselves as platforms. Your books are stored on digital bookshevles that B&N and Amazon host, your book is available on your Kindle/Nook, on your iPad, on your computer, on your smartphone – backed up and always in sync.
If we really want to preserve the essence of reading, should we not go back to carving words into stone?
Frank • Sep 20, 2010 at 3:50 pm
For folks leading busy life styles and for authors wishing to connect with them, ereaders can bridge both lives and reconnect readers like me who can’t fit books in their life except at night time when I search through my night stand/crowded bookshelf/boxes in the attic. Used to be I could only read books on vacation, now with my nook I am reading books during I “regular” life and I am sure an author appreciates being able to entertain me more frequently than before. So for this normal regular book reader, my life is once again connected to the life of reading a good book. I can appreciate the stand on tradition, but like CD’s, albums, typewriters, etc… Life changes and each of us has to decide how we want to change…
Melissa • Sep 20, 2010 at 7:55 am
“If they totally outmode printed material, we will lose so much in an attempt to save a few lousy dollars.”
What about the “few lousy trees” that electronic material saves? I’m all for that.
Seriously, lighten up. There is room for both worlds. It will balance out. Printed materially won’t be “totally outmoded”. If I find a book I just love, I’ll buy the hardcover, otherwise the ereader is a great option.
“viruses that have wormed their way into society”? Then as Robert says, that would include computers (which you seem to have no issue with using – how ironic is that?), cell phones, cable TV (after all, cable and satellite TV replaced the lovely hands-on experience of adjusting the rabbit ears to clear the snow). Too funny.
Billz • Sep 20, 2010 at 1:12 am
Amen! A physical book:
1. Does not need to be recharged.
2. Does not crash.
3. Does not need web access.
4. Has beautiful covers in full color
5. has personality
Robert • Sep 20, 2010 at 12:52 am
Also…
Are you aware that you are using an electronic article to make your point?
Robert • Sep 20, 2010 at 12:46 am
How are they attempting to replace books? They are just another option for reading, if you don’t like it then stick with the books. The devices have allowed for readers that couldn’t afford new hardcovers to purchase them for less than most trade paperbacks cost now. Libraries take time to get new titles. This device is just like an mp3 player if you want a cd you can still buy it. e-books are just another format of books and if you don’t like them then don’t buy them, but shut up about how others choose to “learn and process information.”