Books are an essential part of our lives. Even if you’re not a reader, chances are you know someone who is, and even if you claim not to like books, there must be at least one in your home. To many people, books are extremely special, even sacred. Bookshelves fill houses and paperbacks occupy bedside tables. How can we be expected to change from flipping the pages of a novel in our hands to reading off a screen?
Electronic books, known as “e-books” or “e-readers” are a revolutionary new technology consisting of a portable screen equipped to hold thousands of pages of literary works. With everything from the novels of Mark Twain to more contemporary authors, e-books are the iPods of the academic world. Available online and at various retail stores, they have become a growing sensation amongst today’s Western population.
While the acceptance of the e-book began as a slow transition, the “e-reader” market is now picking up speed. Amazon.com’s sale figures show that e-book sales in the first nine months of 2010 were triple the amount recorded in the same period the year before. Harper Collins’ e-book sales have increased by 500% since 2009. In the first quarter of 2010 U.S e-book sales jumped from 1.5% of total book sales to 5% of the market. Paper books may very soon become obsolete.
This is known as the technological era. We know that advances in technology are inevitable and maybe, e-books aren’t that bad. It is undeniable that they have many advantages, such as easy storage and instant access to thousands of books online that will always be in stock, rivalling BMVS and Indigos nationwide. E-readers could prove to be fantastic for school if the TDSB decides to put them into action, rendering students textbook free.
Still, it is hard to imagine a world filled with empty shelves, and libraries that look like Future Shop. The potential switch to e-books would be awkward, as publishing companies that don’t embrace the new medium will slowly go out of business, and jobs will be lost for those who aren’t tech-savvy. Paper books won’t be purchased and could end up getting packed away in boxes along with cassette tapes and VCRs. And while many are becoming better versed in the dos and don’ts of electronic care, there is still the significant potential of ruining an e-book, and thus destroying your entire library as well.
With no physical books to hold, readers might feel that something is lacking. Can you curl up in front of the fire with an e-reader? Can you truly enjoy the vivid pictures in a book when you’re looking at them through a screen? Do you feel the same sense of accomplishment when you’re done hitting a button as you do when you close the back cover? Will we be able to feel the same nostalgia our parents felt when talking about their childhood books, when ours all came from a six-inch screen?
The e-book revolution is coming, and given the e-reader’s practical benefits, it is probable that the electronic medium will triumph. Still, the victory will be hollow, and one that most bookworms will not rejoice in. Enjoy holding this newspaper while you still can.
“Enjoy holding this newspaper while you still can.”
Ironically, I’m reading this article on a computer screen.