As a bibliophile married to another bibliophile, I can’t resist leaping into a discussion on our local book editor’s page on the subject of Kindle. Will it make books obsolete? Our modest condo is “nicely crammed” with over 5,000 books! Nevertheless, we are now experiencing our first Kindle read-aloud together, and there are things we actually like about it. Kindle is convenient, and it’s readable in most any lighting. But somehow reading a Kindle book still feels to us more like getting an email from a friend than having a real face-to-face visit.
That being said, my preference for books as a reader has not prevented me from keeping both bases covered as an author. Even my children’s book, The You-Song, is available as an eBook, and Daughter of Jerusalem, my novella for middle grades, definitely had to be. They were written for a generation that’s as comfortable with screens as I am with paperbacks. And who knows where that could lead?
So book editor Jane Henderson’s question remains open: Will books eventually become obsolete? Will shelved volumes seem as cumbersome to future generations as clay tablets or scrolls would to us? I shudder to think of it, but I know it’s possible.
I think there will always be those who love holding a book so I have difficultly imagining it ever going away fully.
But as one who thought film far superior to digital photography and swore never to go fully digital and yet hasn’t shot a roll of film in a decade, I just know we do adjust even when we’re not sure we will.
As more and more books are published in digital-only formats (like novellas that tie into series and are released to keep the readers eagerly awaiting more), those who like books may be forced to adjust to the e-format. And the more familiar it gets the less objections.
Let’s face it, I carry several hundred books with me everywhere I go – and I do so in my pocket – no matter how nice paper pages feel in your hand, they are not as portable in mass 🙂
I do confess though, it has occurred to me what a mess I’ll be in if we ever lose power for more than 24 hrs lol. In that case, paper definitely wins out 😉