Continuing on the line of the Documentary of the 14th century codex.

I would like to possibly launch the topic here and possibly engage in some conversation over these matters.

Do e-books warrant the extinction of physical books? Does only content matter, regardless of a digital or printed form? Are e-books a step forward in the free exchange of ideas? a new convenience for the spread of knowledge? or do we beginning to loose meaning once the physical form disappears?

I’m a bit torn on this issue personally. I think the e-book is symptomatic of a much bigger problem. We are part of the “now” generation. We are used to being catered to instantly, we get information instantly, things have become easy and convenient. It’s not necessarily a bad thing, quite the opposite actually. The problem resides in how we use this instant access. We (me being first in line) fall prey to so many distractions. I can’t tell you the last book I’ve read from beginning to end. Why? Because there’s always a new video to watch, a new link to jump to, someone to email or text, games, apps, amazon and this and the other thing.

For me personally I love the convenience of have a reading app on my tablet and access to millions of books easily, but the digital format is not conducive to concentrated and focused reading. There are too many other options on those devices and my reading is always interrupted. I wish to return to a world of paper and ink, where the only thing you can do with a book is dwell in the pages, travel through the ink and truly read. I feel like my attention is always drifting and I miss out on the true meaning of what I’m reading and especially the meaning behind what the author is trying to say.

Which launches a whole new debate about contemporary authors, but that is a debate for another time.

Please leave me a comment and tell me where you stand on this issue.

^^