Reading as a Sacred Act
“the sensory engagement with the physical book, touching its binding, turning its pages, inhaling its smell; the way fiction can draw you into a world so that you take up residence in it and it inhabits you long after you close the physical pages of the book…a book is solitude, privacy; it is a way of holding the self apart from the crush of the outer world.”
An amusing article in Library Journal has the author writing as if he is in 2009, and has just received a “personal digitizer” to digitize his home library. What relief to finally get rid of the clutter of books! The worst part about moving, he says, is having to move all those books and Ikea bookshelves with him. However as he begins to really consider his book collection, he gets a bit misty-eyed:
As I begin to digitize our library, though, I realize that I always loved living with books. They decorated our walls in their multicolored and multisized bookcases and their own varieties of size, shape, and color. They entertained, too.
Yes, what I'll really miss when the books are gone is the heft and shape and feel of them. The way they smell. I'll miss discovering scraps of paper or marginal notes left by other readers, or rediscovering my own highlights in a text or history book or novel. It is fun, and often surprising, to see what I thought was important enough to mark in the pages of a book, to deface it, two or three decades ago.
- DISCUSSION QUESTION:
posted by N James at 8:09 PM
19 Comments:
Hi Norene,
Yes, I think one can relate to ebooks. As an example, I have copied and pasted the lectures from the TL-DL courses. Then, offline, I can read and highlight with the highlighter function of a Word document. This then makes reading a lecture from this format very similar to reading the 'old' coursepacks.
Incidentally, when I was in Edmonton in the Summer of 2004, I purchased the coursepack for this course. This course, winter 2006, we did not have to purchase a coursepack. Time is moving us on.
Muriel
Hi Muriel,
Thank you for your comments. I think e-books are a highly functional tool, but what about recreational reading? I don't think we relate in any sensory way to textbooks for a class, but we might engage more with a book read for pleasure. Do you think the experience differs?
Norene.
I had a professor in my first year whose textbook was in e-book format (sortof... he had the PDFs for the textbook he was writing, and just posted them on his website, so we wouldn't have to buy the book, which was useful.
For recreational reading though, I think it will be a while before e-books grasp the sensory impact. (They're trying, I know people in the industry who are working on that sort of thing) And even at that, I don't think they'll ever capture the way books decay. It sounds weird, but old books feel different, and I like the way they feel. I don't think I'm the only one.
Anastasia
Anastasia,
I like the feel of old books, too. I usually don't like mass market paperbacks because they seem so poorly designed and put together. Trades are better, but old books with solid bindings and hardcovers are the best!
Norene.
Hi Noreen, I don't think it is possible to have the same sensory engagement with a digital book. I always find I print everything so that I can have it in my hands! Arlene
I don't think that I could get the same sensory stimulation from ebooks as from paper books. I also printed out the lectures, etc and put them in binders...do you think most people who read ebooks do so online or do they also print them. For recreation...there's nothing like a book that can fit in a purse, go fishing, go to the beach, travel in the car or plane.
Carol
Hi Karen,
I think our habits change with time. Ten years ago when I was in library school, I had to write out any essays first on paper, then I put them into WordPerfect. I just couldn't seem to compose a paper on the computer! Now I wouldn't dream of writing something out first before typing it in. I wonder if our reading habits will change as well? I can already see it in my own kids. The next generation is poised to embrace a digital world.
Norene.
Hi Norene and all: No, I don't relate well to etext, especially as you said when it is for pleasure. I like to be able to easily check back a few pages and have the book "to go". I think I am in sync with Norene's thinking. I know that I, as many of you do, prefer to print out long passages and use the hard copies to peruse and flip back and forth. For long essays, I need to print them out when near done and spread out the pages to really get a feel for my train of thought. However, my methods are evolving and as I said in the previous question, most of my students and one daughter in university do not need to have the print copy in hand. They have grown up with the e-text style and are very comfortable.
Ebooks are functional, but books are like the people who populate our lives - they are wrinkled, smooth, funny, tempermental, dirty, . . no, I don't think ebooks can be a good substitute.
Yet again I have forgotten to leave my name. Shannon. Aaarrrgg.
Shannon,
Great comments.
I think what you are saying is that books seem to have a personality, and we almost have a relationship with our books. I have yet to experience any sensory satisfaction or a sense of "kinship" with my computer.
Norene.
Hi all - I think Karen mentioned writing in the margins. I have begun doing that on the lecture notes in a Word document -- by putting my comments in a square bracket in red font colour with my initials. [ie. should underline this! or metnion this in VS, etc.--MHT]
Muriel
When I read anything online I feel like it is homework. Even when I am reading an email from a friend, it feels a bit unfeeling. I prefer and get more out of solid books and snail mailed letters.
But I do agree about this maybe changing, I too started off by writing everything out on paper before typing it in word. But I really like the idea of being able to download a book at night when I have nothing to read because I didn't have time to go to the library. And I can see myself using a portable computer to read if I got used to it.
There is something about the tactile experience, as well as the sensory elements of a book that you just can not get from a monitor's screen. The clean smell and crisp feel of a newly purchased book or the well worn pages of a popular library book! Even my daughters who have plenty of access to blogs, email and ebooks prefer a good old book in hand when it comes to recreational reading. It's something you can go back to in the comfort of a cozy chair or snuggled in bed and know it is yours to enjoy another time. You can also share a book with a friend or another family member, which is not the same pleasure as with an ebook.
I've read a couple of books on line. They were out of print books. It was difficult to stop and I found myself reading way beyond my comfort level, emerging from the reading with a stiff neck, sore shoulders and head buzzing.
RoseAnn
RoseAnn and Tina,
I feel the same way. Every time I'm on the computer, it usually involves working, so computers does not equal relaxing to me like a book does.
Personally, I like the traditional book. I've tried reading e-books and it just doesn't hold the same appeal to me. Ask my brother the same question and he'll give you a different answer. He reads graphic novels that have been scanned and downloaded onto the internet. He can sit there for hours and read chapter after chapter of graphic novels. I've tried reading one graphic novel the electronic way and I didn't like it. I missed the ability to physically turn the page.
I find that because computers are so good at multitasking, I can very rarely do just one thing on the computer. I usually have my music going, a word document or two, my MSN messenger, and several web pages open at one time. This would make it quite a challenge for me to just read; I need background noise when I am on the computer. I too associate the computer with work, although I think that has a lot to do with this course, because when I was between high school and college, my computer was just for fooling around and having fun!
I like being able to carry my books with me wherever I go. I have two houses, and one does not have a computer or the internet, so I need an offline version of anything I am going to do when I am there. Plus, I love to read before I go to bed, and I do not want to curl up with something that is going to beep and spew out error messages.
I'm old. I would print the ebook and read it in comfort. My computer is at a desk, and although I have a decent chair, there is nothing like curling up on the couch with reading material. I just can't see myself sitting here staring at the monitor for long periods of time (unless I am playing Mah Jong or Slider of course) like I do when reading a book.
My son, on the other hand, will read a lot of text on the computer if he is really interested in the subject. He is 14 and grew up with a computer. He hasn't shown much sign of taking on my penchant for reading so far. I don't see any problem with the ebook reading. Why does it even have to be one or the other?
For myself, I simply love books. There was a time that I couldn't walk past a book store without going in and buying something. I've grown out of that habit since I have finally convinced myself that owning the book brings no more reward than borrowing it from the library.
Shelly
Hi Norene
I personally find it hard to relate to e books. I have tried to view a non-fiction book that was one of EPL's and I found that it took longer and I did not enjoy looking through the book. I feel that you do not have the same sensory experience when reading and ebook. I find that I am printing out articles from websites for class because I prefer the print format to read.
For recreational reading I also prefer the print format. I would rather be able to read in a favorite chair with a book that I can hold and read as long as I want.
Katie
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