The Ebooks Are Coming! The Ebooks Are Coming! No, Really!
What’s a guy with a carefully developed collection of books to do?
My father-in-law was a high-level academic librarian for many years. He always said the book is so good at doing its basic job, there will probably not be a solid replacement for it. I’m beginning to suspect he might have been wrong about that.
Exhibit A: I saw a fellow reading a book on some sort of electronic notepad device (possibly a tablet PC) recently. He also appeared to be able to electronically mark it up. Looked very good.
Exhibit B: Michael Hyatt’s weblog keeps mentioning that something like an iPod for readers is coming and it will have a big impact on the market. Since Hyatt is the president of big publisher Thomas Nelson, I think he knows whereof he speaks. His latest post really has me sweating it.
Why am I sweating it?
Because I realize that someday my collection may become quite obsolete and I will be able to do more, faster, better, etc. with a massive collection of books on some tiny media device.
Of course, I’m a Ph.D. student now and can’t wait for even next year. Still, it hurts a little to know I keep moving all these boxes of books when obsolescence is around the corner.
I have a tablet PC and it came with several e-magazines and a reader display program to show them in the same manor you would be able to read them as if they were an actual book. It seemed to me that they were trying to reinvent the wheel and not doing that great at it. I am tech savvy and understood the program, but showing my parents would be a different story. Also, it is tedious for the eyes to read off the screen so much. I just don’t see it happening too soon.
Can the warmth from a tablet PC replace sipping tea while reading Thomas Merton? I think not. Reading is not merely an experience for the eyes, but one for all the senses. There is a unique pleasure in folding up in a chair at the library, surrounded by the smell of books, as you work your way through a dog-eared marked up classic.