[Lit]Your View on the Death of Paper

[Takuya]

Writer's Digest - The Death of Print Magazines and Other Fairy Tales

So you've probably heard of the internet age overtaking the printing fields in content, or, if you've read Scoot McCloud's Reinventing Comics, the graphic novel real world. How do you feel about this possible change? Do you support/revile it? Is digital really better that real paper? Do you see yourself living in a totally technical world in the far future? Do you want to?

inb4 ecological views

[chaywa]

I test tried one of those Sony e-reader things and in all honesty I absolutley hated it.

It's not the fact that it's a novel idea (no pun intended), and in certain situations could be worthwhile (i'm thinking overly large textbooks for young children in secondary school here), but for casual reading it's pretty pointless, it doesn't emulate the same feeling as holding a real book does and whilst the user interface is simple enough for all to understand, it just doesn't really click. Battery life and backlight were subpar in my eyes as well

The digital age won't trump books, litphiles love having their entire collection on display, which is something you can't do with these dinky little bastards

[Attack! Attack!]

welcome to the matrix

[Ordeith]

While I'm sure that these new e-books and the like will catch on with quite a few, I'm positive that the majority of readers will still prefer traditional printed literature.

[Crimson]

Originally Posted by Glaurung

While I'm sure that these new e-books and the like will catch on with quite a few, I'm positive that the majority of readers will still prefer traditional printed literature.

I agree.
I prefer printed literature over some weird "e-books". :/

[∞]

If nothing else, it's sentimental value that will hold me to books well into the age of e-reading. No screen or image sheet emulates the feel of sitting down and reading a book.

[Enchanted Rose]

Yeah, there's no comparison, having a hard copy is much better - using a REAL bookmark, bending back pages, annotating and underlining bits...

Besides, sitting in bed, with hot chocolate, and reading in such a decadent fashion is what makes reading such a pleasurable experience. It becomes mechanic when you do it digitally.

That article points out that magazine readership is on the increase, and just as many people are still buying books, so unlike the music industry, I doubt reading will become digitalized.

[Bleeding Soul]

Originally Posted by Zero Inferno

If nothing else, it's sentimental value that will hold me to books well into the age of e-reading. No screen or image sheet emulates the feel of sitting down and reading a book.

Dude, that's exactly how I feel.

Originally Posted by Enchanted Rose

Yeah, there's no comparison, having a hard copy is much better - using a REAL bookmark, bending back pages, annotating and underlining bits...

Besides, sitting in bed, with hot chocolate, and reading in such a decadent fashion is what makes reading such a pleasurable experience. It becomes mechanic when you do it digitally.

Exactly how I feel too.

But like these two said, there's nothing better than having a copy of the real thing. In my opinion, there's nothing better than sitting on the front porch in your favorite rockin' chair with a glass of iced tea sitting next to you and a big book in your hands. Add a bright sun, warm gentle breeze and birds chirping in the trees and you'be got yourself some heaven.

But then again, equally good is sitting in the living room in your favorite recliner and a spit bottle held between your legs and a big book in your hands. Not even the internet can get me out of that state if the book is good! And so far only Sabriel and Maximum Ride have done that.

Plus there's the fact that most people can't stand to read too much on a screen because of the strain on their eyes. And then you've got the feeling of the actual item. Normally with a book you have a warm, rough feeling that seems to relax you but with a machine, it's cold and hard. Nothing good about that, unless it's used for text books in schools. I can highly back that up because of the straing that the books put on the children, mostly their backs. I used to be one of them and my bookbag weighed over 100 pounds. The only thing that was good for was getting a good work-out to stay in shape.