Boy, do I get reaction when I bring up the subject of "new reading technology."
Just mentioning that I often read books–physically BIG books, like Tess of the d’Urbervilles, or Middlemarch– on the small, bright screen of my puny little Palm Pilot Tungsten E2–makes otherwise rational people suddenly go bananas. Here are the top two responses I get again and again:
"No, no. I would never want to give up reading from a real book." (Who says you have to? I read from books…and on my computer screen, and on my Palm screen. I haven’t had to "give up" anything.)
"Oh, I just can’t do anything computer-related. It’s just beyond me." (Oh really? Is driving a car beyond you? Or watching a DVD? Or talking on the phone?)
I’ve thought about it a lot and the only conclusion I can come to is that folks who love books are threatened by, even jealous of, newer ways of delivering text, just as they’d be jealous of a new possible lover in their husdand’s (or wife’s) world. With all the irrational behavior that goes with that.
Too bad, because it’s so unnecessary. And by the way, do I see these folks reading scrolls or cuneiform tablets? No, but when scrolls went out and the "modern" book came in, these same friends would be the ones saying, "Oh, I would never want to give up reading from a scroll." Or: "I understand how a scroll works, but these new ‘books’…" With that last one in mind, watch this….
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