I realize debating this topic is basically is going to be a rehash of what most people are probably either thinking or have said in the past.
I love books and I love to read. There was a time in my life in which I wouldn't think of possibly reading off of an electronic device and thought the idea abhorrent. It wasn't that I didn't think that reading an e-book as disgusting or contemptible, its just that I didn't see any reason to engage in it and I just liked holding a paper book.
Before I go on, I will not be referring to paper books as a physical books for the simple reason that I think that a physical book can also be an e-book. Its just that the delivery is different than a paper book; it still has the same aspects as a paper book (a cover, a copyright page, a table of contents, "pages", etc.), but comes in different format. Enough of what I think of what a physical book should constitute and back to the topic.
Anyways, it wasn't until a few years ago when I received a Kobo Vox for Christmas that my view on e-books changed and I quite embraced it and was reading a lot on my tablet. It wasn't until a few months later that I realized that I would need an e-ink device to enjoy reading in the wonderful sunshine. Eventually I purchase a Kobo Touch and could read in the sunshine.
But most of my reading has and still is done with paper books. Its not that I don't like reading on my Touch, its just that the vast majority of my vast library collection (its over 200 books) is in paper format and that is how I get most of my library books.
And honestly I am getting tired of the debate between paper books and e-books. I realize that there is a segment of the reading population that prefers to read paper copies of books and the more power to them, but to those that think that somehow they are somehow superior because they only read paper copies and think e-books somehow beneath them, well, its almost like telling people that YA should only be read by young adults and not adults or that somehow reading fantasy or sci-fi or romance or graphic novels is somehow is lesser than reading literary fiction.
I personally don't care how a person reads, whether it be on their phone or through a dedicated e-reader or a tablet or a paper copy, just that they are reading something. With the rates of reading declining, we as readers shouldn't be squabbling about how or what people are reading. Sure I would prefer somebody read a book over a magazine or a newspaper, but who is to say that the article that they are reading won't put a thought into their head to research the topic that they are reading about and find a book on the topic that they are reading about or are intrigued by the books that are listed in the magazine or newspaper.
I would like to think that there were debates over how one should read when there was a shift from scrolls to individual pages that were bound up together. Sure the shift from paper books to e-books is a more dramatic shift, but I don't think Shakespeare is going read any different if it is on an e-book than in a paper format. And probably Shakespeare would embrace the new format and wouldn't see what all the fuss was about.
Before I forget, I want to wish dads everywhere a Happy Father's Day. I hope you have a wonderful day!
This is a photo of my dad enjoying The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo a few years ago. And if you are wondering, he's already shaved and hasn't had the beard for quite sometime. And yes, I do realize that it is a paper book that my dad is reading...
Books finished last week:
• Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
Books I hope to finish this coming week:
• The Rosie Project
