There was a big brouhaha in the writing community this week when literary hotshot Jonathan Franzen spoke at the Hay Festival and talked about how much he hates ebooks. Well, that’s what all the headlines said. To be fair, he talked about politics, the permanency of print books and something about capitalism. So, he talked about several subjects. Specifically as to ebooks he said:
Someone worked really hard to make the language just right, just the way they wanted it. They were so sure of it that they printed it in ink, on paper. A screen always feels like we could delete that, change that, move it around. So for a literature-crazed person like me, it’s just not permanent enough.
Honestly, I’m not quite sure what that means since print books can be, and some are, updated as new editions are released. More importantly, a book is a book. The issues in the debate about ebooks versus print books aren’t really about one being a book and the other not. They’re both books.I guess Franzen can pretend that’s not true, but I don’t know how he would make a compelling argument for his position. The real issues in the ebooks versus print debate are about delivery (how you get it) and the bundle of rights given to the reader (what the reader gets – i.e., can you turn it into a used book store or give it to friends). We can talk about those, especially the latter since it deserves some discussion, but the book, the actual book I buy in print, is the same as the one I download to my kindle. If the book is only available in digital that doesn’t make it any less of a book. it simply means someone decided the delivery will be digital only. Again, and this warrants a repeat, regardless of how you get them books are books.
I really think the “ebooks are the devil” argument has more to do with fear of change than anything else. For some reason, and I’m not exactly clear why, there are folks out there who are terrified that the rise in ebooks will mean the end of reading as we know. As if democracy will fail, societies will crumble and people will lose the skill of writing things down. I just don’t see it. Seems to me the availability of ereaders has opened more people up to reading. I know that’s what happened in my house. My husband is not a big reader, or I should say he wasn’t until he got his Kindle Fire. In the past, he’d read a book every now and then, most of them based on real-life events, like books by Erik Larson. Then he got the ereader at the end of last year. He started out downloading some $.99 books just to try them. Then he found The Hunger Games and raced through it. Then he started downloading books he’d heard about from…somewhere. He now emails me from work about books he’s seen in the Wall Street Journal or online and asks if I’ve heard of them. There are a few books I’ve found because of him. He’ll try anything at all – popular fiction, literary fiction and self-published wonders. He does not have any book bias or snobbery issues. Buying books for fun is not something he did before. He does it now. And I could not be happier about the change.
My theory about ereaders boils down to this: the sky isn’t falling. It’s expanding, opening to more options for authors and readers. If people are like me, they buy print and ebooks and try things they never would have tried before. That can only be good for anyone who loves books.
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I definitely buy more books now that I have a Nook. It’s (way too) convenient, just a few clicks and I’ve got it. I don’t even have to move. Which, actually, is quite dangerous because it doesn’t give me time to mull over a book and decide whether I really want it, but it’s also wonderful because I discover authors I might never have read if I was looking for a book in a bookstore. I can understand what Mr. Franzen meant when he said ebooks feel less permanent (and as a writer, I definitely want to see and hold a printed copy of my book someday), but I like ebooks and think they open up more opportunities for people to become readers and unknown authors to find an audience, which should be the most important things.
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I just ended up buying three books for the kindle, books that I wouldn’t of bought in hard copy. For me it is easier to buy on the kindle so I can read it on my phone at work on breaks or long patrols. I could never sneak books out before, then if i like it, I still buy a printed copy of it.
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~Angi
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E-READERS: “…the sky isn’t falling. It’s expanding.”
Love the quote above: Chicken Little you big ninny who doesn’t own a Kindle!
Even if change isn’t scary it can be a little unsettling. My sister and I skulked around several B&N’s recently and I must say I was a little shocked
to see how large the toys, games and stationary sections are getting!
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I’m so there with you on the husband issue. In fact, I got a whole blog post out of the fact that mine stole my kindle and is whipping through my library. Including Sasha’s book that I won from Genreality!
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I totally agree with you- a book is a book no matter the way we read it.
I think that e books are a great way for people to read books they can’t find in print where they live- I for once live in Israel and it’s very hard and almost impossible to find the books I want to read and I used to pay a lot of money on shipping but now that I have a Kindle I can download so many books and it’s less expensive and I don’t need to wait for the book to arrive.
I still buy a lot of print books (and I mean a lot LOL) since I finally found a web site that offer free shipping but I do read a lot more now that I have a Kindle.
Another good think about e books is that now a lot of out of prints books are available as e books and it’s good for authors and readers.
Also the fact you can download free e books on Amazon and B&N is great- I get to discover new authors and the ones I liked I go and buy other books by them.
Just now I’m reading the 3 book in a series where the first book was free and since I enjoyed it I bought the other 2 books so I’m happy since I got a free book but the author is also happy since I bought 2 books by her and maybe even more.