If you watched the above video and can’t possibly imagine what is so “Amazing”, “Mad”, and “Interesting” about Jonathan Safran Foer’s book Tree of Codes, then have a look at this video as well. It will help explain.
I’ve not yet read the piece, but I do enjoy Foer’s writing style, and I am so impressed that he has visualized such an extreme way to keep us interested in real books. The debate between e-books and hand held old fashioned ones has been quite prominent since the invention of the Kindle and such instruments, which allow readers to store multiple texts digitally into one compact machine. The benefits of these for travelers and people prone to paper cuts are great, but to me, the most exciting part of reading a book is turning the pages in my fingers and smelling the binding with my sniffer, neither of which are possible when the books are just data stored on a flat glowing screen.
Door Sixteen inspired me to pass along this great comparison of real versus virtual with Foer’s example accompanying as proof that real is still better. Real books stimulate more senses than just one. I’d love to hear from anyone out there who has had experience with an e-book since I’ve never used one. Am I missing something or is it all just about convenience?
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Edit: My best friend (the person whom I picture every single time I hear the phrase “book worm”) received a Kindle for Christmas this year, and I was glad to have the chance to ask her what her thoughts about the new technology were. She represented it very well saying that it’s an excellent concept and has not let her down yet. My biggest fear was that looking at a screen to read typing would strain my eyes and cause a headache, but she has assured me that since the screen is not backlit, this hasn’t been a problem for her yet. She said that she appreciates the convenience of having plenty of backup storage available for her online as well as on the device itself, and that she may actually be able to pare down the collection of “real books” that has been growing to its environment since she was reading R.L. Stein and the American Girl series. She will, however, always keep plenty of her favourites around. I guess now that the only way I can find out for myself which is better would be to get one for myself…I’ll wait on it for now to keep my loyalties, but try to keep open minded about it if the opportunity presents itself.
