Books, newspapers and magazines can be downloaded within minutes. The text appears in front of your face, illuminated by the backlight, drawing you in. So what happened to the traditional book? Are we losing the essence of the written (or printed) word? Is it really dying out?
Gravitas is the sensory-driven connection that contributes to the overall enjoyment of the reading experience. It’s that happy feeling you have when you’re holding a book in your hands, reading the words on the page, moving the pages with your hands as you steadily make your way to the end.
Despite those traditionalists, like myself, out there who are trying to save books from diminishing into the technological age, it’s a difficult battle to conquer.
With extraordinary speedy access to texts that could take matters of weeks to months or maybe even years to publish, our electronics allow us to download them on-demand. It’s our need to have things as quickly as possible. Even school textbooks are going electronic. Some of you may be used to purchasing used or new textbooks for class, but now you can buy them for your e-device or rent them! It’s crazy. But the experience of having a book in your possession, holding it and reading it at a face value makes such a difference when you’re reading something off a computer screen. It’s just not the same.
Perhaps you don’t mind it. It is eco-friendly after all and saves us from emitting more toxins into the air from paper mills and printing plants. It’s saving the world, in a sense. This whole electronic-ness is helpful, yet also dangerous. If we solely rely on technology, how can we be sure it won’t just crash on us one day? What will people do then? Not being able to access their Facebook or Twitter accounts, not being able to check their email or phone.
Books are so essential. They’ve lasted for centuries and now they’re digressing into yesterdays. Remember reading books before bedtime? Getting excited for book fairs that came to your elementary school? Collecting your favorite book series as they came out year by year? It was wonderful. And it is still wonderful.
Let’s not lose that to some screen with microscopic dots that form together to make letters and words that will only last as long as the battery will.
By: Laura Good | Images: Tumblr, Tumblr, Tumblr
Gravitas is the sensory-driven connection that contributes to the overall enjoyment of the reading experience. It’s that happy feeling you have when you’re holding a book in your hands, reading the words on the page, moving the pages with your hands as you steadily make your way to the end.
Despite those traditionalists, like myself, out there who are trying to save books from diminishing into the technological age, it’s a difficult battle to conquer.
With extraordinary speedy access to texts that could take matters of weeks to months or maybe even years to publish, our electronics allow us to download them on-demand. It’s our need to have things as quickly as possible. Even school textbooks are going electronic. Some of you may be used to purchasing used or new textbooks for class, but now you can buy them for your e-device or rent them! It’s crazy. But the experience of having a book in your possession, holding it and reading it at a face value makes such a difference when you’re reading something off a computer screen. It’s just not the same.
Perhaps you don’t mind it. It is eco-friendly after all and saves us from emitting more toxins into the air from paper mills and printing plants. It’s saving the world, in a sense. This whole electronic-ness is helpful, yet also dangerous. If we solely rely on technology, how can we be sure it won’t just crash on us one day? What will people do then? Not being able to access their Facebook or Twitter accounts, not being able to check their email or phone.
Books are so essential. They’ve lasted for centuries and now they’re digressing into yesterdays. Remember reading books before bedtime? Getting excited for book fairs that came to your elementary school? Collecting your favorite book series as they came out year by year? It was wonderful. And it is still wonderful.
Let’s not lose that to some screen with microscopic dots that form together to make letters and words that will only last as long as the battery will.
By: Laura Good | Images: Tumblr, Tumblr, Tumblr
I don't see myself ever switching to an electronic device for books. For me, there's just something really magical about reading a real book, with pages and ink. I love the way it smells and the heft of it in my hand.
ReplyDeletePeople use the argument that you can take 1000+ books with you when you have a Kindle/iPad/whatever, but I like getting really engrossed in the one. Besides, you never have to worry about your book running out of paper, getting wet, getting lost (you can replace a book with a $2 copy from goodwill after all), or being stuck in a power outage with nothing to do.
http://textbooksandtofu.blogspot.com/