Many have predicted that in the not-too-distant future books as we know them will cease to exist. Technology, they shout, will render books as useless as the beeper or the Walkman or the Segway. We can just read books on our laptops or our Kindles, or on our super fancy-shmancy phone thingamajigs, they say. Who needs to carry a cumbersome old book around? We have computers now, and computers do everything. I can fit hundreds of books in my fancy gadgets. Save the trees! Old books smell weird! The words are too small! They say a lot of things, these possibly well-meaning folks who want to ruin a passion of mine. But isn’t there room for your Kindles and your computers and your fancy phone thingamajigs and regular, old-fashioned books? But of course.
A great byproduct of books is, of course, bookstores. So much to see at a bookstore. So much to read. I love nothing more than wandering aimlessly inside a bookstore. Let me share my current experience, as it happens, for your reading pleasure.
I’m sitting in a large bookstore overlooking Union Square in San Francisco, sipping coffee, eating a pretzel with cream cheese, people watching and writing. This particular bookstore is mobbed, and it’s a strange, wonderful mix of people from all over the world, and from just down the street, like me. It’s nearly Christmas and everyone is scrambling for last minute gifts. What the hell does Aunt Edna Read? And what about Uncle Bob? The place is alive and vibrant, selling books and magazines and coffee to people who can’t get enough. People are pushing and shoving, fighting over the last copy of Augusten Burroughs’ new Christmas book with the Santa flasher on the cover.
I look around, I smile.
A woman scrambles past me, a child in one hand, a new edition of Where the Wild Things Are in the other. A man with a wild mustache stares at the cartoonish cover of A Confederacy of Dunces, not quite sure what to make of it, yet intrigued all the same. The Book of Genesis Illustrated by R. Crumb rests crookedly on an empty table, left behind by a read-and-runner. A young kid with purple hair and a jet black computer watches Lady Gaga videos on YouTube while sharing a table with an older woman in jeans and a neon green sweater who’s reading Miss Marple: The Complete Short Stories by Agatha Christie. A woman who plays the violin in front of the store every day has come in from the cold for a few minutes, to warm her fingers while counting her accumulated change. A group of college kids speaking a little too loudly discuss the horror film they’re planning to make that will be “like Paranormal Activity but way, way more scary and good and totally kick-ass!” The woman at the table in front of me breastfeeds her daughter, while her husband silently scans the pages of the newest David Sedaris book.
A poster hangs on the wall promoting the upcoming in-store appearance by porn star Tera Patrick, who’ll be signing her new book: Sinner Takes All: A Memoir of Love, Marriage, and Porn. I glance through the window and stare out at Union Square’s giant Christmas Tree. People are ice skating and I hear the faintest echoes of holiday music. Macy’s has glowing wreaths in every window. I look away from the window as a large man bumps my table, nearly spilling his 4 dollar gingerbread latte.
I glance over at the nearby business section, and notice a pretty young girl talking on her cell phone, her boots exceedingly fashionable, her stockings dark, her smile big, and I imagine that she’s not thinking about business at all; I imagine she’s thinking about some sweet romantic encounter she’s either just had or is about to have. A middle-aged, sharply-dressed woman leafs through a copy of Push by Saffire, tears in her eyes, as she waits for a table. Many people are waiting for tables, eyeing me as I type and probably wondering when I’m going to finish whatever silliness I’m working on. Maybe I should get up and browse. So many books to read, so little time. I type my last words. It’s someone else’s turn.
Comments & Discussion
We humans have overpopulated ourselves beyond the planet's ability to provide, and we are wrecking our planet, besides. There will be wars over what's left. But even without those calamities, we could soon be without steady electricity. There is a worldwide shortage of truly qualified tradesmen. This situation evolved because arrogant dolts in 3-piece suits who have never done a day's work in their indolent lives decided that we don't need to train workers as well as we used to. They convinced governments (other men in 3-piece suits) to reduce the amount of training for the trades to save money to give all men in 3-piece suits more tax breaks.
So, even if the oceans don't rise enough to drown us all and some exotic strain of swine flu doesn't kill us all, and the incessant Oil wars leave some of us alive and unradiated, we'll have no one trained to manage and run powerplants. We will not have any electricity unless we know how to make it ourselves.
But one can always read books-- in daylight, anyway--if one had the presence of mind to put books in her survival pack, along with enough writing utensils and paper to write one's own books.
Governments will then have total control over what you read, as the transmitting medium (some form of internet) is controlled and censored. This is already happening. Australia will have a censored internet next year, legislation is already prepared and ready to go when parliament re-opens.
We have maybe another 30 years before it gets to the total control of all published material, but believe me, it will come.
We have maybe another 30 years before it gets to the total control of all published material, but believe me, it will come
This is precisely why books (paper ones) will not become obsolete. They will become less abundant perphaps, but not obsolete. A real book smacks censorship in the face. Even if people have to go back carving in stone, there will be books.
I won't mind carving some stone to tell stories, if I gotta!
One of the surprising things is that the Amazon marketing campaign has so effectively overshadowed other electronic book devices. There are many alternatives to the Kindle and ultimately, I decided to buy an alternative.
The Kindle has the flashy feature of downloading books directly to the Kindle. This is both a plus and a minus. If I understand correctly, if you want a non-Kindle book format in your device, you must upload it to Amazon for conversions.
On the other hand, divices suchs as Sony's readers (500, 505, 700) directly support file formats such as Adobe pdf, Microsoft Word, Plain and Rich text formats and a propriety Sony format. There are a number of Sony-like devices out there, just not very well marketed.
Ultimately, I choose a Sony 505 device. The new 700 wasn't out at the time and the 500 had some little issues. The 505 seemed like the best selection.
Big Myth #1: I'll miss the feel and experience of a real book.
B.S. It's the experience of a book's contents that captures our imagination. I found the feel and experience of an electronic book quite natural within a few days. The fact that I can enlarge text becomes a growing advantage as I get older. After owning the device for over a year, I can't imagine reading in any other format.
I added a cheap 2 GB memory card to the Sony and after adding almost 80 books still haven't made a dent in the memory.
I recently started creating audio files of the stories I write using an inexpensive Text to Speech program and have added them to the Sony (yes, it supports mp3, wav and other audio formats).
So, are paper books doomed? Is Barnes & Noble a bad stock choice? I doubt it. Too many people still refuse to consider viable alternatives. That, plus the vested interest of publishers, distributors and retailers will likely keep the steady consumption of forest alive.
I still love paper books and actively collect certain examples. On the other hand, I am open to any format that delivers the experience I've come to love with a good story.
I'm certainly open to any format that will allow writers to tell their stories. I just have a special love for reading stories via the steady consumption of forests. Old fashioned books and bookstores are an experience I just happen to want to cling to for a long, long time. But you make some wonderful points. Happy New Year!
As one getting a little long on the tooth, most people expect me to be rigid in certain areas (I am), however, I love the experience a book gives so much I support any format that gets me there.
Ebooks, pdfs, et al open up publishing to a much larger author population and I think that is a good thing. Granted, there is, and will continue to be, publications not worthy of reading, but that's a bit like the internet: Lots of sites, only a few great ones.
I think that being open to multiple routes to the same place will, ultimately, mean we have a richer range of literary choice. Spend a little time with an ebook reader and most people will agree it's different, but not bad...
Thanks for a great discussion.
Tom T
