Maybe E-Books are More E-Nooying Than We Thought?

I have yet to fancy into the whole Kindle or Google Books epidemic. Why? My main issue is the potential for distraction when using an electronic to read. Reading is a pastime that requires more cognitive thinking and concentration than most. It is not like a movie where the graphics or sounds jump out at you. There are no sound or scenery effects to set a certain scene. You, as the reader, are forced to insert yourself into the book by imagining a tale described by words. In order to do this, many people need to be in a silent, non-distracting environment where they can divulge as much meaning and context from each page of words. For this reason, I find E-books to be more difficult than convenient. While E-books allow me to open up a novel without bringing the physical, one or two-pound novel with me, I find it seemingly impossible to concentrate on the E-book screen. With the newest Apple software updates, I am constantly getting updates and notifications that pop up on my computer screen. While books do grab my interest, I am very tempted to click a notification that entails a text from a friend or an email from a potential employer. It is as if I have not escaped into the world of the novel, which is what the physical novel allows. Shockingly enough, there are credible sources that agree with me and see a similar future in the literature industry: Why Ebooks Will Never Be as Good as Real Books.

"Several years and a healthy does of cynicism later, it seems clear that these heady claims about e-books were suffused with the same millennial hopes and dreams that had helped fuel the late 1990s dot-com boom and its accompanying faith in a resplendent technofuture" (E-books and the Digital Future). Looking past the shiny screen of a seemingly-attractive piece of technology, one can begin to spot the benefits of sticking with a paperback book. In my opinion, there is something to holding a book in your hand. And the article I posted above agrees with me. When holding a novel in your hand, it acts as a centerpiece for discussion and allows those around you to know what exactly you are spending your time doing. If you are on your computer, that is sheerly impossible with the vast capabilities of the Web. It also tells a bit about you, or your interests. A novel adds character to your everyday individual. It is my fear, with the Web, we are taking away unique characteristics of ourselves by allowing technology to take over parts of our every day lives.