Enjoy the blog except for the whole me-dispensing-advice thing? Wish I’d can it so you could talk freely to your fellow writers in the comment section? Well, you’re in luck. Every Wednesday (weather permitting), I’m going to have a feature called You Tell Me, where, after I get verklempt, I’ll introduce a topic for you to discuss amongst yourselves.
Today’s topic: Random House is neither random nor a house. Discuss. (just kidding)
Actually, today’s topic involves technology.
For many years now the publishing industry has been waiting for the e-book format to take off, believing that technological innovations in other entertainment venues would make that whole paper thing obsolete. So far it hasn’t — e-books still represent a tiny fraction of overall book sales, and the vast majority of book sales are still of the ink and paper variety.
But things are changing. Slowly. The audiobook market, for instance, has seen significant growth in downloadable audio. And this past fall Sony rolled out its Sony Reader, a digital book thingamajig that is readable from all angles, even in the sun, and can hold like a gajillion books. E-books haven’t taken off, but as the technology improves, will we prize convenience over tradition?
So…… IN THIS CORNER, weighing in at nine ounces is Plastic, the “Digital Demon.” The thingamajig contains every book that you’ve ever wanted to read in your entire life. The screen is as readable as paper, displaying crisp graphics that are readable in any light (including darkness). No more lugging around books. No more booklights. No more hurting your shoulder carrying textbooks. It’s light, it’s portable, it’s convenient. It’s like the iPod, only with books. Is it the future?
And IN THIS CORNER, weighing in at, uh, lots of pounds, is Paper, aka “Papryus From King Cyrus.” It makes you feel like you’ve accomplished something when you’ve turned the pages. You can fill up a bookshelf, use it as a paperweight, cut out the pages to hide a small pickaxe so you can crawl through a river of shit and come out clean on the other side. Is old new again?
Who. Will. Win.
Discuss amongst yourselves.
Let me advance a few brief hypotheses.
One: An innovation will “catch on” when it constitutes an
overwhelming advance whose utility is instantly recognized
and adopted. Perhaps tubeless tyres fall into this category.
So far, plastic (electronic) books have not.
Two: The innovation immediately ascends to the level of status
symbol, so that to be “in” you gotta have one. In a world
where the latest technojunk is as ubiquitous (and discardable)
as cigarette butts, there seems little chance of plastic books
becoming the norm any time soon.
Third: The generation divide seems to be a catalyst. Remember the
footage of China in the 1970s? The streets were full of old and
middle-aged people on bicycles. Check today’s footage. The bikes
are nearly gone and the streets are clogged with cars. The advance
of the youth, inoculated with the machine, may be what changes the
preference for paper to plastic.
I hope not. I like books. I don’t have to plug them in anywhere;
they never “crash” on me, and I can paste notes into the flyleaf.
Cheers,
Carl Hoffmeyer
I have tried ebooks while travelling. My PDA ran out of juice and I was stuck halfway through the book. Annoying. Paper is bulky but it isn’t going to become unusable when your plane is stuck on a runway for 3 hours or when you want to go camping.
Besides, except for my 17″ screen, reading electronically drives me crazy because I can’t see both pages. Call it a psychological impediment, but it’s mine and I like books best and always will.