The E-Switch
Stephen King once said, “Books are the perfect entertainment: no commercials, no batteries, hours of enjoyment for each dollar spent. What I wonder is why everybody doesn’t carry a book around for those inevitable dead spots in life.” I agree with this statement whole-heartedly. What baffles me, however, is why technology is used for entertainment so much more often than physical books. Even when books are read today, half the time they are read on devices like a kindle or a tablet.
I understand some uses for technology. It benefits education, helps with communication, and is a wide source for information, but why couldnt it stop there? Why couldn't technology leave books in the beautiful, cozy, unadulterated state that us book fanatics love?
Buying and reading a book on an electronic device takes away from so much of the experience of a physical book. It goes so far as to cause harm in a few ways.
1. E-books take business away from local bookstores.
2. You cant get an e-book signed.
3. Paper books don’t run out of battery.
4. Physical books promote comprehension.
All of these are things that you dont have to worry about when reading a real, physical, paper and binding, book. When people buy e-books on a kindle or tablet people aren’t going to their local bookstore and putting money back into their community. They are contributing to the crippling of their local economy.
A copy of “1984" signed by author George Orwell was sold for $26,500, “Moby Dick, or The Whale” signed by the illustrator Barry Moser (not even the author) was sold for $28,900, and even a first edition of “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban” signed by author J.K. Rowling and cover artist Cliff Wright sold for $12,874. How would someone get that much value and meaning out of an electronic copy of a book? How would having your favorite author sign your kindle look? Would it be like when you have to sign your name at the store on the credit card machine? It simply doesnt have the same effect.
Have you ever picked up a book and found that it doesn't work, or gotten to the climax of the plot and had your book die? NO, because books are battery free. You dont need to charge them, bring your cord with you places or plan ahead. You can simply grab a good book and enjoy hours of uninterrupted entertainment.
Studies show that people remember information better when they can recall where in the book it is from. Physical books can also be written in, dog eared, and underlined.
And the best reason for reading a real book…the wonderful cozy feeling you get when you snuggle up in a chair or on a couch and dive into the depths of the pages and become part of the story. UO librarian Jeff Staiger says, “There is still unquestionably something cold and strange about such a sleek device, so unnecessary for the act of reading. The names ‘Kindle’ and ‘Nook’ are marketers’ transparent attempt to associate these devices with the warmth they lack.” This is the exact point, the marketers know that they are lacking something in these devices and are trying to unsuccesfully make up for it.
Lets all follow the advice of Roald Dahl who said, “So, please, oh please, we beg, we pray, go throw your TV set (and e-reader) away, and in its place you can install, a lovely bookcase on the wall.”
