Charles Lee<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
It is a library as light as a pencil case and a dictionary at the touch of a finger. It is an e-reader.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrankly, there are no serious disadvantages,\u201d Robert W. Sawyer, a Canadian science
\nfiction writer, said. \u201cYou can even put your e-book reader in a Ziploc bag and
\nread in the bath tub.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sawyer\u2019s enthusiasm for the e-book reader is echoed around the world. The Kindle E-Book reader was only 33 months old when e-books first overtook the hard cover format
\nin sales just about a year and a half ago. Ever since Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos
\ndeveloped new marketing models for the e-book reader, businesses have been
\nscrambling for e-book market share before Amazon devours it all. The whole field
\nheated up, providing e-book readers with convenient services. What was once a
\ndull electronic machine only a decade ago has transformed into the dominant technology that may forever change our reading experience.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt’s the future; they will eventually replace almost all printed books\u201d, Sawyer said. \u201cAlthough I love printed books, and make my living writing them , it has always frustrated me that people in small towns can’t necessarily find my latest book and people anywhere might have trouble finding my older books. \u00a0E-books … solve that problem.\u201d<\/p>\n
Books, however, as some put it, are not just about convenience, but also about personal connection.<\/p>\n
An American novelist Jonathan Franzen launched a passionate defense of the printed book at the\u00a0<\/strong>Hay Festival<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/a>in Cartagena, Colombia, just a month ago, arguing that \u201cSomeone worked really hard to make the language just right, Sharon Andic, a Northern District librarian, also believes in the importance and convenience of paper books.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think print books will disappear for quite a while,\u201d Andic said, \u201cand In the midst of the Kindle hype, the CEO of Amazon chose words cautiously to not deter any print book lovers and made a note that \u201c[Amazon\u2019s] hard cover sales continue to grow.\u201d<\/p>\n Many publishers agree that it is still too early to say that e-books are cannibalizing sales of paper books and some institutions such as Bertelsmann AG\u2019s Random House Inc. have concluded that \u201cthere\u2019s not data to prove any connection between growth in e-books and the growth or decline in paper book sales. If anything, we may be seeing a positive effect in which the steady pace of e-book sales helps to keep a book in front-of-mind for a growing number of consumers after hardcover momentum slows.”<\/p>\n Cindy Leech, however, who stopped buying paper books after acquiring her e-reader, is optimistic about eBooks\u2019 effect on us and our culture.<\/p>\n \u201cThey provide another means of receiving information and enjoying novels, plays, and Leech also said that e-books will definitely help students, freeing them from having \u201cto lug heavy texts around as [these texts] will be replaced with e-readers.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Charles Lee It is a library as light as a pencil case and a dictionary at the touch of a finger. It is an e-reader. \u201cFrankly, there are no serious disadvantages,\u201d Robert W. Sawyer, a Canadian science fiction writer, … Continue reading
\nsociety\u2019s need for instant gratification through electronic devices is damaging
\nour culture.<\/p>\n
\njust the way they wanted it.\u201d Franzen said during his interview with The Telegraph<\/em>. \u201cThey were so sure of it that they printed it in ink, on paper. A screen always feels like we could delete that, change that, move it around. I think, for serious readers, a sense
\nof permanence has always been part of the experience [of reading].\u201d<\/p>\n
\npaper fiction will be around for a long time as there is no reliance on
\ntechnology which can fail, ease of use, [and] lose historical familiarity.\u201d<\/p>\n
\npoetry,\u201d Leech said.\u00a0\u201cIn most ways, they increase access to the masses
\nwithout even having to leave the comfort of one’s home.\u201d<\/p>\n