The changing nature of reading is upon us. The publishing business is in the doldrums, and all too sadly, bookstores are closing, especially in the US.
But is how we read books changing? There are those who blanch at the thought of anything other than a book in paper form. Then, there is the Kindle and books readable on the iphone and itouch.
Josh Marshall, in "Frightful Kindle" on TPM explores the Kindle, books, one's collection of books and reading.......
"I've always been an inveterate collector of books. Not in the sense of collectibles, but in the sense that once I buy a book, I never let it go. As I made my way through adulthood it was while dragging a tail of several hundred books along with me.
Finally, only a few months ago, I purged a decent chunk of my collection. And most are now in storage. But in our living room we have two big inset shelves where I keep all the books I feel like I need or want ready at hand. And last night, sitting in front of them, I had this dark epiphany. How much longer are these things going to be around? Not my books, though maybe them too. But just books. Physical, paper books. The few hundred or so I was looking at suddenly seemed like they were taking up an awful lot of space, like the whole business could dealt with a lot more cleanly and efficiently, if at some moral loss."
But is how we read books changing? There are those who blanch at the thought of anything other than a book in paper form. Then, there is the Kindle and books readable on the iphone and itouch.
Josh Marshall, in "Frightful Kindle" on TPM explores the Kindle, books, one's collection of books and reading.......
"I've always been an inveterate collector of books. Not in the sense of collectibles, but in the sense that once I buy a book, I never let it go. As I made my way through adulthood it was while dragging a tail of several hundred books along with me.
Finally, only a few months ago, I purged a decent chunk of my collection. And most are now in storage. But in our living room we have two big inset shelves where I keep all the books I feel like I need or want ready at hand. And last night, sitting in front of them, I had this dark epiphany. How much longer are these things going to be around? Not my books, though maybe them too. But just books. Physical, paper books. The few hundred or so I was looking at suddenly seemed like they were taking up an awful lot of space, like the whole business could dealt with a lot more cleanly and efficiently, if at some moral loss."
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