The eBook Blog Entry Trend

So...I was planning on building on my post from last week; but instead I'm going to talk about eBooks like I've read about from a few of my fellow classmates. I don't own an eReader, my boyfriend would like to buy me one for Christmas, but I just don't think I want one.

I love to open a book and to smell the glue and the binding and the paper. I love the feel of the pages. And really old books, if you fan the pages in front of your nose, that smell. It's amazing! (I know, it's mold, but it's good mold because of that smell, ha-ha).

This is from Amazon's web page on the Kindle:

Reading, Revolutionized

Lose Yourself in Your Reading
The most elegant feature of a physical book is that it disappears while you're reading. Immersed in the author's world and ideas, you don't notice a book's glue, the stitching, or ink. Our top design objective is to make Kindle disappear — just like a physical book — so you can get lost in your reading, not the technology.

http://www.amazon.com/Kindle-Wireless-Reader-Wifi-Graphite/dp/B002Y27P3M/ref=amb_link_354011402_3?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-1&pf_rd_r=0692KW5Z2C3REVG6691Q&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=1276003742&pf_rd_i=507846


So, here's my problem with that statement. I do notice a book's glue, stitching and ink. That's what gives me that warm fuzzy feeling. Then I get under a blanket, find a nice hot cup of cocoa, and rest. I love to browse my bookshelves (or my five 18 gallon buckets of books, I have every book I've ever owned since I was born) looking for something that I haven't read in awhile. Running my fingers over there spines, the calligraphy of one title, the colors on this jacket, that's what initially pulls you in. I don't pull out my Kindle, load up my page, and go to it. It just loses that feel, that character. Part of a book is it's feel. Are the pages cheap or are they expensive? If I didn't have to turn a page, I don't know what I would do with myself! Are there pictures? I love a book with the flaws. Like a picture where it didn't print completely and the child's arm in the picture is fainter than the rest. LOVE IT!

The printed word (printed as on paper in ink) was this momentous moment in history, and I'm all for technological advancement, I have hard time adapting to it, but I'm all for it. But, I believe one of the saddest moments for me was when Amazon announced that they had sold more eBooks than "real" books. I was like, awww, really? That's like when the VHS tape went out of style or the cassette tape. I still have all my old VHS tapes and cassette tapes by the way and they all still work! Thank you!

So I guess, maybe I should go buy an eBook (gasp! why is technology so damn expensive is another issue that I have. Working mom and part-time college student, excuse, part-time grad student, not a lot of extra money laying around!). Maybe I shouldn't judge a book by it's cover (pun intended). But, I will always be that person browsing through the real live in your hands books. I don't care how "uncool" it is. Just like my original Nintendo or Atari, I've been playing them for years and then Wii "rediscovers" all the old games. Please, come to my house and I'll kick your butt in Duck Hunt any day.

History has a tendency to repeat itself, so I know books will have there glory again! Maybe in a hybrid fashion. I could deal with a hybrid book/eBook. But I can't deal with the extinction of the written/printed (on paper and with ink) word.

And that is my rambling for this week!

P.S. After I wrote this, I thought of something and wanted to put some screen shots in from one of my favorite TV shows.

Okay, so this is my "fear." If you don't know, this is from Futurama. I believe Season 2....I'd have to go check out my DVD collection though, and I'm feeling lazy right now. It's the episode where Fry enrolls in the University and bunks with the Professor's experiment, Gunther the talking Monkey. Anyway, they are walking on campus and they come to Wong Library (Amy Wong's parent's donated the money for the library). They walk up to this huge, beautiful building (top picture) and inside Fry sees the collection (Bottom picture). It's a hysterical moment, because it's this big huge building, but at the same time we're seeing this reality come about. Except, even this is out dated now. It won't be on CD's or DVD's that the library is housed, but on iPads and Kindles.

So, now, really, that is my rambling for the week.