I am and I think I will forever be anti E-books. In my first portfolio I argued that copyright is not doing it’s job of protecting original works by allowing E-books to be around. Although it is protecting the content of works, it lacks to protect the formatting, feel, and experience of reading a book. In her book, The Book: The Life Story of a Technology, Nicole Howard wrote, “printed books are the product of a press, but long before the type is set, it is the author’s vision and voice that makes possible a book’s existence.” To me, it is important that such vision and voice are protected in addition to just protecting the content. And with E-books, I do not think it is possible to have such protected.
On a different note, having never used a kindle before, I was appalled to find out that on certain kindles there are adds that pop up in the middle of reading. I think that that is absolutely ridiculous. How can you possible stay on track and indulged in a book, when there are adds popping up all over the place. The experience can’t possibly be the same as reading from a regular book. And that isn’t fair to the reader or to the author who wrote the work.
I think e-books are good for some things. Like having a textbook as an ebook, you can keep all of them with you without carrying 50 lbs worth of paper. I also think it is convenient that someone can buy a book whenever/wherever they want to as long as they have an internet connection. E-books might have some negatives, but they definitely have some positives too.
I was also very shocked to hear that certain kindles have adds that pop up on them. I can only imagine how annoying this must be and what a distraction it must pose to the reader. I feel like adds are just popping up everywhere nowadays and there’s no escaping them.
Ebooks are very convenient but they definitely change the experience of reading. I think that in the case of advertisements and other possibly distracting apps people are taken away from fully experiencing a book. Nowadays I hardly ever just read a book however without my phone nearby or music playing. Our culture often multitasks which matches up with this ebook mentality.
I haver never read from an ebook and the thought of some type of advertisement popping up in the midst of my reading just further turns me off from wanting to try reading one. While I can see how they are convenient I guess I am just more old fashioned. I can’t listen to music while reading and when my phone is near me I end up getting completely distracted. I love reading books because they allow me to divert my attention for periods of time without distractions and they allow me to get lost in the words. I think ebooks change that ability.