I was really prepared to hate this book by Jason Merkowski. I was sure it would do nothing but tout the perfection of technology and how reading is now infinitely better thanks to the Kindle. How technology will improve the reading experience through new features such as sound effects and pop up video and other such nonsense.
But I was quite wrong, and Merkowski gives a fair assessment of the eBook, its advantages and its disadvantages to the reader, and to society. He's a reader's-reader, one that happens to have feet firmly planted in both the analog and digital worlds.
We agree on all of the basic points. Our love of the printed book, our belief that eBooks are unstoppable and net-net, offer far reaching improvements over print books, once you get over the emotional attachment to paper.
As I've said in the past, I'm sure that countless book lovers bewailed Gutenberg's fancy printing-press books in the 15th century. "I just love the look of a handwritten page," they exclaimed "and I'll never read those perfectly printed books by Gutenberg," they assured us. But that obviously didn't stop the inevitable transition to press-printed books.
We're in the midst of the same type of a shift right now, and most everyone will benefit in the long run. It's the quality of the writing that matters, not the form in which it is presented.
Our love of the printed book aside, Merkowski points out some advantages of ebooks I had never considered. For example, I will always have every book that I've ever read at my finger tips, no matter where I travel in the world. This offers interesting possibilities for me as a history nut: If I need a refresher on the Normans, for example, a quick search on my Kindle takes me back to every reference to the Normans of which I've ever read. That's pretty cool, and will no doubt help me retain more from my reading.
My only turn off from the book was Merkowski's frequent reminders of how "he" created the revolution in reading. Yes he was one of the central figures in Kindle's creation, and yes he gives significant kudos to Jeff Bezos of Amazon. But that doesn't stop him from self-aggrandizing his involvement. Even if it's true, you don't need to repeat it ad nauseum in a self-centered way.
So reading will forge ahead, evolve and grow for many years to come. And for that I'm eternally grateful.
No comments:
Post a Comment