Debate can be such a wonderful waste of passion. |
Books Vs. eBooks is a wretched
argument that won't actually sway consumer practices. People who grew up with
physical books and enjoy the feel of pages and smell of paper won't find a
substitute in e-readers. Meanwhile, kids growing up with tablets won't have the
same attachment. Tablets and phones take less space, are more convenient for
traveling, and have more functions than my doorstop copy of the Riverside
Chaucer. Both forms have appeals, and the appeals differ between readers.
Fighting between loyalists of the two forms is worse than futile, a miserable
distraction from the love of reading, and of each other.
The afternoon of instantly
gifting Ghost Bride was revelatory. I even signed up for a Barnes & Noble
account just to gift a price-matched copy to a friend with a Nook. This was a
beautiful new function I'd previously only experienced with digital videogames.
Why? Because if a copy of State of Decay was 50% off on Steam, yes I'd want it,
but I wouldn't buy it for myself. Meanwhile if a friend was going through a bad
break-up and loved zombies? Yes, I'd be very likely to gift the game to him.
That's the kind of impulse buyer I am. I don't grab the candy bar through the
checkout line for myself, and I'm not alone.
It cemented itself into my
heart when one friend IM'd me that she'd torn through the book. She was
struggling with clinical depression and hadn't read any book to completion in a
year. It was a loss for humanity, because until her problems, she was the
absolute best kind of reader, enthusiastic to consume, discuss and share, with
broad tastes and minimal cynicism. Health took that from her, and she was
thousands of miles away, so I could never be there for her the way you'd want
to be for a good friend.
And then, after finishing my
two-dollar gift, she was sifting through the digital storefront for more things
to read. Screw it, pun intended: her love of reading was reKindled.
I'll still browse bookstores.
Yet eBooks appeal partially because my friends are global, and the neighborhood
we chat in is the internet. Now I could tweet about my Ghost Bride buying kick,
only to have Choo herself give me a personal message to relay my friend whose
work she'd loved.
This is more exciting than Amazon's Paper White, or new
screen tech that will mimic the texture of low grain paper as you swipe. This
is a sharable future that appeals to me as not just a customer, nor as a
reader, but as a friend. Cynically, it's a great way to get more money out of
people like me. And I'll thank you for the privilege.
I do love how easy gifting a book can be. No mailing address. No waiting. Click and it's delivered.
ReplyDeleteNot only is it easy to gift an eBook, but it's much cheaper than mailing a print book.
ReplyDeleteWell, exactly. Count me as someone who wants *all* the formats (except for hardcover. Those make my arms go numb.). I love the beauty of a well-designed paper book, I love the thrill of the find in a bookshop... and I love having a couple of novels on the go on my phone. The rest is just details.
ReplyDeleteOh, that's sweet. I really liked that book, too. And I missed the two dollar sale.
ReplyDelete