I recently cleared out 2,000 books from my home and donated them to various organizations. There were just so many books that my family had read and would never read again. It was a difficult mindset to get into, but I finally concluded that my house is a home and not a library. And you wouldn't believe how much room was freed up after this large-scale purge! To this point, does society need paper books any more? After all, there's a widespread availability of e-books -- and a treasure trove of free virtual information accessible to the wired world via the Internet.
Truth be told, I like the way a book feels in my hands, as I am lounging on a hot sunny beach during winter vacation. I like the weight of the book, and that the thickness of the book diminishes as I dive deeper into the tome. And I like the reward of flipping a page to mark my progress, and the passage of time. And in terms of aesthetics, I love falling in love with the cover of the book that I am about to read for the very first time. I also like bending back pages, inserting a bookmark, cracking the spine, and the new book smell.
But does reading have to be tied into the tactile sensations that I've mentioned, even though it's meant to be a cerebral experience?
Reading on my smartphone, tablet or e-reader doesn't give me the same thrill as reading an old-fashioned paper book. I don't like that the thickness of the device never varies, or the feeling of being a hamster on a wheel, as I make unchanging progress in the book. Although I see that the page number is advancing as I read, the antiquated part of me wants to see and feel physical evidence, in respects to a thicker front half of the book, and a thinner back half! To me, these are the "perils" of an e-reader, which won't be faced by the newest generation -- born with an iPod, instead of a silver rattle.
I've concluded that despite the tactile experiences that I enjoy while reading paperbacks, I'd much rather peruse e-books and do my research online. The idea of visiting a library and treasure-hunting through stacks of books for information, just holds no appeal to me. I simply don't have the time or interest. After all, an e-reader fits an entire library of books, magazines and newspapers into the device itself -- and is just as portable as the average paper book! Why would I stop by the bookstore, or visit the local library, when I can download the latest books in seconds or minutes? And must we really chop down forests of trees in the pursuit of paper books?
So back to the original question: does society need paper books any more? Paper books are so ingrained in us and our collective unconscious, that I doubt that they'll ever fully disappear from society. As a people, we're sentimentalists and historians -- and books will live on, if only for a memory or a relic. However, in the industrialized world, virtual books are the tidal wave washing over our bookstores, libraries, workforces, schools and families. So to answer the question, no, society doesn't need paper books any more and they're quickly on their way out. And we've now arrived at their final chapter...
What do you think? Does society need paper books any more? Do you read e-books, paper books or a combination thereof? Please leave a comment below!
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Now, maybe this is unique to Canada as even though our dollar has been at par with the US for almost 5 years now, the price of a paperback is still 20% higher than the US price listed on the cover. Until publishers stop gouging, I will make them take lesser profits by having to print physical media.
There seemed to be no interest in the books on Freecycle, (where the books are offered to an e-community for free). I tried offering brand new titles, even children's titles, and there was no interest.
The balance of the books went to a charity drop box, after contacting many different organizations who turned them down.
I've seen books regularly at garage sales for .10 to .25 cents and they just sit there unpurchased. The same books are often put to the end of the driveway with a big "Free" sign, at the conclusion of the garage sale. Just an observation.
Ebooks also suffer from their own environmental impact. Energy is required to read ebooks, batteries which power ebook readers are an environmental nightmare. Then there's the energy & raw materials required to manufacture millions of ebook readers & ship them around the world.
The ebook readers components along with the batteries, must be mined from the earth. Tailings & leeching from those mines poison lakes, streams, rivers, underground aquifers & kill wildlife.
One very real difference between paper books & ebooks, no energy is required to ever read a paper book, while energy is required 100% of the time to read an ebook.
Ebooks have their place, which is to replace newspapers, magazines & advertising flyers. Ebooks function perfectly & efficiently at replacing what is of very short term use & value. Paper books don't fall into that category of short term value or usage. That's likely why paper books have existed for thousands of years in the same basic state, paper books are the perfect medium.
One thing ebooks do well is create enormous profit margins, which explains their fast proliferation. I'll stick with paper books.
I've had a lifelong love affair with books and passed that love along to my girls. I'm almost naive enough to believe that there will always be paper books to read.
In answer to the question....YES! We need paper books!
Love,
Sherwood
"Be Kind"
I hope we never lose our love for them as a culture; I know I won't and I've had a lot of flack from techier friends, but after an 8 hour day spent on the computer at home, the last thing i want to do is look at another screen of any kind.
I DO see e-books as providing a great advantage for the smaller sales, i.e. books with a limited audience. Where it is prohibitive for traditional publishers to do a print run, an e-book publisher has a smaller investment. It may mean that more authors get to print, and more targeted subjects will expand.
I'll be watching this in more detail over the next few years.
I also feel that as many people are tactile, there is something to be said (sacrilege for some book lovers, I know!) for highlighting important information which is something you can't do with a tablet.
Amazon does very well selling books by recognized authors (James Patterson, Nora Roberts etc) because it is a proven market for them. An interesting blog would be about what authors' experience has been with Amazon, Barnes & Noble etc.