Wednesday, September 7, 2011

September 7

JOURNAL TOPIC: [today's tunes (and our first student pick!): "Stairway to Heaven" by Led Zeppelin. I'll throw in Stanley Jordan's version]

Those of you in the on-the-ground course have all seen the sign: "There is glory in the attempt." Describe how this idea applies in your life.

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Peer editing: Poisonwood Bible essay

HW:
1. Last edit Poisonwood Bible essay
2. Read "From Scroll to Screen" (as follows) and be ready to discuss tomorrow (Thursday, 9/8) [UPDATE 9/7 11:00 AM: Please comment to this post with your views on e-readers versus books.]

The Mechanic Muse: From Scroll to Screen
Illustration by Joon Mo Kang (in original, which you can see via permalink: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/04/books/review/the-mechanic-muse-from-scroll-to-screen.html)
By LEV GROSSMAN
Published: September 2, 2011
The New York Times

Something very important and very weird is happening to the book right now: It’s shedding its papery corpus and transmigrating into a bodiless digital form, right before our eyes. We’re witnessing the bibliographical equivalent of the rapture. If anything we may be lowballing the weirdness of it all.

The last time a change of this magnitude occurred was circa 1450, when Johannes Gutenberg invented movable type. But if you go back further there’s a more helpful precedent for what’s going on. Starting in the first century A.D., Western readers discarded the scroll in favor of the codex — the bound book as we know it today.
In the classical world, the scroll was the book format of choice and the state of the art in information technology. Essentially it was a long, rolled-up piece of paper or parchment. To read a scroll you gradually unrolled it, exposing a bit of the text at a time; when you were done you had to roll it back up the right way, not unlike that other obsolete medium, the VHS tape. English is still littered with words left over from the scroll age. The first page of a scroll, which listed information about where it was made, was called the “protocol.” The reason books are sometimes called volumes is that the root of “volume” is volvere, to roll: to read a scroll, you revolved it.

Scrolls were the prestige format, used for important works only: sacred texts, legal documents, history, literature. To compile a shopping list or do their algebra, citizens of the ancient world wrote on wax-covered wooden tablets using the pointy end of a stick called a stylus. Tablets were for disposable text — the stylus also had a flat end, which you used to squash and scrape the wax flat when you were done. At some point someone had the very clever idea of stringing a few tablets together in a bundle. Eventually the bundled tablets were replaced with leaves of parchment and thus, probably, was born the codex. But nobody realized what a good idea it was until a very interesting group of people with some very radical ideas adopted it for their own purposes. Nowadays those people are known as Christians, and they used the codex as a way of distributing the Bible.

One reason the early Christians liked the codex was that it helped differentiate them from the Jews, who kept (and still keep) their sacred text in the form of a scroll. But some very alert early Christian must also have recognized that the codex was a powerful form of information technology — compact, highly portable and easily concealable. It was also cheap — you could write on both sides of the pages, which saved paper — and it could hold more words than a scroll. The Bible was a long book.

The codex also came with a fringe benefit: It created a very different reading experience. With a codex, for the first time, you could jump to any point in a text instantly, nonlinearly. You could flip back and forth between two pages and even study them both at once. You could cross-check passages and compare them and bookmark them. You could skim if you were bored, and jump back to reread your favorite parts. It was the paper equivalent of random-access memory, and it must have been almost supernaturally empowering. With a scroll you could only trudge through texts the long way, linearly. (Some ancients found temporary fixes for this bug — Suetonius apparently suggested that Julius Caesar created a proto-notebook by stacking sheets of papyrus one on top of another.)

Over the next few centuries the codex rendered the scroll all but obsolete. In his “Confessions,” which dates from the end of the fourth century, St. Augustine famously hears a voice telling him to “pick up and read.” He interprets this as a command from God to pick up the Bible, open it at random and read the first passage he sees. He does so, the scales fall from his eyes and he becomes a Christian. Then he bookmarks the page. You could never do that with a scroll.

Right now we’re avidly road-testing a new format for the book, just as the early Christians did. Over the first quarter of this year e-book sales were up 160 percent. Print sales — codex sales — were down 9 percent. Those are big numbers. But unlike last time it’s not a clear-cut case of a superior technology displacing an inferior one. It’s more complex than that. It’s more about trade-offs.

On the one hand, the e-book is far more compact and portable than the codex, almost absurdly so. E-books are also searchable, and they’re green, or greenish anyway (if you want to give yourself nightmares, look up the ecological cost of building a single Kindle). On the other hand the codex requires no batteries, and no electronic display has yet matched the elegance, clarity and cool matte comfort of a printed page.

But so far the great e-book debate has barely touched on the most important feature that the codex introduced: the nonlinear reading that so impressed St. Augustine. If the fable of the scroll and codex has a moral, this is it. We usually associate digital technology with nonlinearity, the forking paths that Web surfers beat through the Internet’s underbrush as they click from link to link. But e-books and nonlinearity don’t turn out to be very compatible. Trying to jump from place to place in a long document like a novel is painfully awkward on an e-reader, like trying to play the piano with numb fingers. You either creep through the book incrementally, page by page, or leap wildly from point to point and search term to search term. It’s no wonder that the rise of e-reading has revived two words for classical-era reading technologies: scroll and tablet. That’s the kind of reading you do in an e-book.

The codex is built for nonlinear reading — not the way a Web surfer does it, aimlessly questing from document to document, but the way a deep reader does it, navigating the network of internal connections that exists within a single rich document like a novel. Indeed, the codex isn’t just another format, it’s the one for which the novel is optimized. The contemporary novel’s dense, layered language took root and grew in the codex, and it demands the kind of navigation that only the codex provides. Imagine trying to negotiate the nested, echoing labyrinth of David Mitchell’s “Cloud Atlas” if it were transcribed onto a scroll. It couldn’t be done.

God knows, there was great literature before there was the codex, and should it pass away, there will be great literature after it. But if we stop reading on paper, we should keep in mind what we’re sacrificing: that nonlinear experience, which is unique to the codex. You don’t get it from any other medium — not movies, or TV, or music or video games. The codex won out over the scroll because it did what good technologies are supposed to do: It gave readers a power they never had before, power over the flow of their own reading experience. And until I hear God personally say to me, “Boot up and read,” I won’t be giving it up.

Lev Grossman is the author of the novels “The Magicians” and “The Magician King.” He is also the book critic at Time magazine.
A version of this article appeared in print on September 4, 2011, on page BR13 of the Sunday Book Review in The New York Times with the headline: From Scroll to Screen.

64 comments:

  1. Although technology is a great thing and is beneficial in many ways, I don’t think I will ever be able to give up a codex, or book. I know some people who have a kindle and love it and would prefer it to a book but I personally rather have a book physically in my hands. I like having the freedom to fold pages and go back to them later or highlight important things for classes and make notes in the margin.

    Kristen Frias
    period 2

    ReplyDelete
  2. I have a Kindle and I love it. One of the reasons I believe that "e-book's" are better vs. an actual copy is because any book, any book at all is right at your fingertips. You don't have to wait for it to come in a package or waste the gas to go to a bookstore or a library. You pick up your Kindle and it is right there. To respond to what Krissy said, Kindle's have places to put notes and you can bookmark on them too. I believe the Kindle is excellent and efficient. I could not be happier with mine.

    Lizzie Level
    period 2

    ReplyDelete
  3. Ahh the fresh, crisp smell of a book.

    (P.S. I have sinned, I do have a Nook)

    ReplyDelete
  4. I have an app on my ipod that let's me buy books on itunes, but I have to say, I still prefer an actual book. There's nothing like the smell of a new book, or that crisp sound of turning a page. The Kindle and Nook are really convenient when you don't have time to drive down to the closest Borders, which, sadly, is going out of business, or when you don't have time to put your name on a waiting list at the library. But, I'm a nerd, and I just like having books, and I have my own personal library in my closet. ;P

    Marissa Tajalle
    P.2

    ReplyDelete
  5. E-books are cool I guess but I prefer codex/books. I enjoy going out of my way and heading to libraries and searching through countless books. Books are also inviting in a way, unlike cold hard plastic e-books. Snuggling with an e-book just isn't as appealing to me as snuggling with a paperback.

    Paola Trujillo
    Period 2

    ReplyDelete
  6. ^way to take my only adjectives and use them. Thanks haha

    ReplyDelete
  7. I personally will never give up codex for the simple reason that I love carrying around my book. It's nice being able to open it up anywhere I am at without worrying that the battery will die or anyone telling me to put away my electronics away. I have been wondering this, how do you get books on the e-books? Do you download them, buy them & sync them? I'd appreciate if someone let me know. I wouldn't be able to handle reading from an e-book either because after staring at the screen for a long period of time my eyes would get tired. I have no problem carrying my books therefore I wouldn't give them up for an e-book.
    More money too, why not go check out the book at a library for free?

    -Marie Alvarado
    Per. 3

    ReplyDelete
  8. As much as I love the convenience of the e-books (I do love my Kindle), nothing quite compares to reading an actual book. For me, it's not even about the nonlinear reading or any of that, it's just the feel, the smell, and the idea of turning a page. Nothing quite beats that. However, the e-books are much more convenient. Instead of having to drive to a book store (and there are none in Santa Maria), I can just go on my Kindle and have almost any book I want in a matter of seconds. I cannot give an opinion on this matter. Reading a book and reading an e-book are two completely different experiences. If I absolutely had to choose one or the other, however, I would have to pick reading a codex.

    Shannon Fahey
    Period 4

    ReplyDelete
  9. I don't have an e-book and have never used one but with my experience using this blog on my computer I realized that I would much rather have a book in my hand. It's so annoying to have to scroll up and down to find what I'm looking for while in a book you just mark the page and there it is. While I definitely would enjoy the convience of a kindle (I'm even thinking about getting one) the easy access of a book is simple and efficient enough.

    ReplyDelete
  10. @Shannon We have two book stores that I know of and the library.
    @Marie The e-books are designed not to strain your eyes and have an ink display.

    ReplyDelete
  11. I have found it really difficult to read off of a screen for long periods of time. I have a hard time focusing. I'm sure it is just a mental thing like many of my technology phobias, but having a book in my hands, right in front of me just feels better.

    Briana Stinn Period 3

    ReplyDelete
  12. I love technology and everything new that is being developed. Even though I'm I fan of technology, it's harder for me to read off an e-reader. With books I concentrate more and really try to comprehend the book. With the e-readers they remind me to much of a game device and are more distracting. I would prefer a codex or book. 

    Hunter Walker
    Period 3

    ReplyDelete
  13. I don't own an e-reader so I can't honestly judge the difference from a book or codex. I don't have any desire to buy an e-reader as I don't see any personal benefit. With books I'm not dependent on electronics or batteries or technology. I prefer a simple manuscript of paper pages, that i can touch, turn and write on if i need to. I can jump around pages or re-read sections as I need or want to. The only benefit I see in buying an e-reader is that we save trees??

    Patrick Sims P.3

    ReplyDelete
  14. I would much rather have an e-reader than just a regular book. With an e-reader you dont need to worry about holding the book open, so it can be set on your lap or leaned on something. An e-reader also holds multiple books in one, which is a big advantage as far as space goes. I think people just enjoy reading a book because it is the "traditional" thing to do. If you really think about which one is more beneficial, you will realize it's the e-reader.

    Nathan Seidenberg
    P.3

    ReplyDelete
  15. I see the benefit in both books and ebooks, but i personally prefer a good old fashioned paperback book! i enjoy seeing my bookshelf full, and being able to highlight and write notes on the pages. I also enjoy finding good books at the Dollar Bookstore or thrift store, and discovering notes that were taken from the book's previous owner. Owning a kindle or nook would be great for travel purposes, and I am not against them.

    Rebecca Patterson Per.6

    ReplyDelete
  16. I personally prefer books over e-readers because of how they feel. But I think a lot of people are critical because e-readers are replacing something they grew up with and are attached to. If you use a nearby library, I think books are for now a better choice over buying an e-reader. If you purchase all your books then all the slight pros and cons make them about even.

    Dannielle Edwards, 4th.

    ReplyDelete
  17. I understand that an e-reader or a kindle are more convenient and can get books faster, but I still prefer a hard copy of the book. I have never liked reading online or on a screen like the kindle because my eyes start to hurt and I get distracted easily. I have tried using my little brother's kindle before and I just get annoyed. If I have a real book in my hands and can turn the pages myself, I concentrate better and focus more.

    ReplyDelete
  18. I'm more of a book girl. I enjoy the feeling of holding a brand new book in my hands, the new book smell, and being able to flip through the pages. One of my favorite things to do is spend hours in a book store, but with the e-book you don't get that. E-books have many beneficial advantages, like not having to drive to a store because you can instantly buy a book or the saving of paper. However,I think at the end of the day I would much rather have a paperback book in my hands then an e-book.

    Briana Derr
    Period 3

    ReplyDelete
  19. I personaly believe that a book is much more satisfying than an e-book or kindle. Technology has improved our culture in many ways but I believe that things such as e-book are actually holding us back. In the article it talked about the difference between the scroll and a book. A book is much more hands on and the reader really has a chance to digest everything. You can flip back between first and last page if you so choosed and you can compare two pages at one. With a scroll you only had one chance to read everything one line at a time. To me the e-book represents the modern day version of a scroll. It is one page at a time which makes it hard to flip between pages, and you cant take notes and you have to really careful with it because it costs a lot of money. Why not get a book that you can just mark up and it is truelly yours. then again it does depend from person to person weather they prefer the e-book or a book.

    A.J. Franklin
    Period 2

    ReplyDelete
  20. I've not tried any of the electronic stuff for reading, so I wouldn't really know which is better. There is a nice feel when reading a hard copy, makes you feel like you accomplish something when you're done reading the book. It comes in handy to have the e-book because let's say it's dark out or that you're in a car and you want to read without turing on any lights (for those who are sleeping) It helps. It's nice to have both for convenience sake.

    ReplyDelete
  21. I can't fill shelves upon shelves with an e-reader so that already makes my room look less sophisticated and impressive. Also carrying a paperback around vs an e-reader is the difference between looking cool vs. A tool. Trenton P.2

    ReplyDelete
  22. Although I don't have much of a preference, I have to say that books are classic. Paperbacks and hardcovers of novels go back through many generations. Everyone in their lifetime has read a book from the front cover to the end. It's almost like comparing records and iTunes; although iTunes and e-readers are more convenient, they don't have the classic feel like records or books have. Who doesn't love a good, physical book to just pick up and read?

    -Kelly Brickey, Period 3

    ReplyDelete
  23. I personally prefer a classical paperback book. Already we are too distracted in technology and are forgetting alot of traditional methods of communication and such. I enjoy being able to sit back and physically hold a book in my hand. The only major benefit of ebooks is that you can instantly buy a book.
    Lupe Perez per.3

    ReplyDelete
  24. Paperback books are by far much better than reading off of screens. I can't stand not feeling the smooth paper texture between the tips of my fingers when I'm reading off of a screen. Although digital books are easier to find and buy, I'd much rather read books...the ones that are actually made of trees.

    -mari kagawa period 3

    ReplyDelete
  25. Even though some people would prefer e-readers to books, I would still go with the old-fashioned way (not back to the scroll but to the codex). When I read a book, I love to flip through pages and mark it up with notes. With the kindle,however, it's a different feeling. Also, the kindle can be convenient for people to save gas and time, but it's like any other technology: they restrain people from socializing with the society and keep them in their rooms reading a book from the kindle. Not to mention the high price of the kindle, it's way more economical to go to a library nearby and check it out for free. I personally don't like to have electronic devices with me at all times because my eyes begin to tire and they distract me.

    Samuel Moon
    Period 6

    ReplyDelete
  26. Borders is currently going out of business due to a severe drop in book sales. This is a sad product of the increasing popularity of e-readers and Kindles. It's not easy to force one of the largest book stores out of business, but this shows how much better e-readers are compared to books. E-readers offer convenience to their users. So many things are no longer necessary thanks to e-readers;Going to the bookstore , traveling to the bank to take out money, searching through isles of books, waiting in long lines. Books are headed toward extinction while Kindles and e-readers are becoming everyday house-hold items.

    Patrick Fraire P.3

    ReplyDelete
  27. Books are just better. when you read and carry a book, it's as if you are carrying part of the author's and character's soul.
    I mean would rather go on a date with an actual person, or message them on facebook?
    Nicole Montoya
    period 3

    ReplyDelete
  28. E-readers have certain benefits that books cannot match. Like saving trees, convenience etc... But they don't allow you to do some of the things that make reading from a book irreplaceable; and it's because of that that I think that books are better.
    Drew King
    p.3

    ReplyDelete
  29. I prefer books to e-readers. E-readers are definitely easier to take with you when traveling, but i'm so used to books that that is what I continue to use. I also like being able to flip between pages and having page numbers, not just being told what percentage I have read.

    Arianna Farmer
    Period 2

    ReplyDelete
  30. Even though ebooks are more convenient than physical books, it alone cannot eliminate the experience of a "real" book. I have bought a couple of ebooks it was easy and useful, saving gas and trees. But I prefer going to the library and searching for the book, actually holding it and flipping through it's pages. In my opinion it feels more real to read a story that is written down on paper rather than a story that is digitally imprinted on a screen. Reading on paper has become so familiar to me that I find it difficult to transition to reading on a display.

    Daniel Gonzalez Per. 2

    ReplyDelete
  31. I think that e-readers are much more convenient to the people who have them. It enables them to not have to go by the bookstore, they can stay at home and get any book they want. I have never used an e-reader so I would say that I prefer books over an e-reader.

    P4

    ReplyDelete
  32. I definitely prefer an actual book over an e-book.
    As explained in the article, with a book, a person can mark the pages as they wish or flip back and forth. Also, for some reason, I just don't like reading on the computer or digital screens. I prefer reading off of paper. Maybe it's because that's what I've been used to my whole life.
    Cayla Salazar Period 2

    ReplyDelete
  33. Although i use technology every day, i find it very difficult to read off an e-reader. Its much easier for me to have a book in my hand, its less distracting and easier for me to learn the information with the hard copy to refer back to, instead of having to scroll up and down.

    Max Kuhlman
    per. 2

    ReplyDelete
  34. An E-Book, I have never had one and honestly, I wouldn't like one either. I am just so used to holding a book in my hand instead of an electric device. In my opinion, I think this whole E-Book is too much of a hassle. Technology and reading, I just can't combine them, like this blog, it's a lot of help when it comes to like the vocabulary or any of that but just having to scroll and everything isn't really the best. It's also easy to lose your spot and not be able to find it as easily. Another thing, e-books can easily stop working which is a bummer because then you can't keep reading. Books are what I rather use.

    ReplyDelete
  35. I have tried several times to read e-books, either on Project Gutenberg or on my Ipod, but I just can't seem to get into it as well. My biggest problem with the idea has always been having to scroll through the text in a single direction. I like flipping back and forth through the pages; I like folding pages to mark important passages; I like having the ability to look back to certain chapters or pages when I want/need a better understanding a plot development. Reading an e-book makes all of these things so much harder, if they are even possible. The fact that e-book technology is much more convinient and accessible than the codex doesn't make it a superior medium.

    Kari Griego
    period 4

    ReplyDelete
  36. Katie Enstad Per. 2

    Personally, I think having a book in my hands makes it easier for me to stay focused, and actually get into the book. Although, the ebook has convenience it lacks substance. With an ebook, you only have cold hard plastic to hold, no pages to flip through. There is nothing better than breaking in a brand new book. As generations continue, I think, ebooks will become the everyday reading source and books will be obsolete. There are pros and cons to both, but I side with books.

    ReplyDelete
  37. I prefer e-books due to convenience. It’s much easier to search for a title or author, and press buy, rather than having to drive somewhere to purchase an old school copy. You can also order a physical copy from an online store, but when you’re pressed for time (Fridays due date) it is unlikely you will revive your book on time.
    -Trey Period 2

    ReplyDelete
  38. Honestly, I don’t own or ever used a kindle. But I would personally say that a book is much more pleasing that an e-book. Although kindles, are probably more convenient and easily accessible, they cost way more money and omit some of the necessities of reading a normal book. For instance, on the kindle, they only display one page at a time. Whereas in an old fashioned paperback book you can easily flip back and forth through the pages to relook up something or simply re-read a certain part for enjoyment.


    Jolissa Jiles p.4

    ReplyDelete
  39. The book/codex will always win my heart. I can never stop interpreting plot lines. I can never stop questioning themes, word choices, actions that various characters performed, why a series of actions resulted in result A when result B could have been just as good or if not better. I am always flipping through pages of books trying to remember certain passages on different pages and using page numbers to mark places where I had questions or comments.
    Yes the Kindle is very portable, can be seen at almost any angle and read, and can carry a library of books on one device. In fact if you are a person who likes to read a book once, dump it and sell it after, I would highly recommend you by a Kindle.
    Here is the catch though; there are some people like me who like going places where electronics hate, (the outdoors maybe?) do not typically have access to any sort of charging port, and in general are just travelers and adventurers. Books/codices can take a beating without breaking and even if the book gets destroyed, it’s only one, not one hundred.
    Books also have that nifty thing called pages where you can flip to a passage and not scroll through endless type praying to find the right paragraph which happens a lot on a scroll… I mean Kindle. I stated earlier that I never stop questioning what I read until I understand the content. To use a very convenient connection to the passage we read, I am a Christian who is actually trying to read the Bible. Only 30% of people can ever do that because in some points it can be as dry as the Sahara or confusing as Daedalus’s labyrinth. I need pages to point out incongruities I find in the Bible as well as clarification to some passages that downright confound me. It would be impossible to do if I could only scroll through an entire book in the Bible and site each passage that gave me trouble earlier verse by verse. And to quote scripture or use the Bible as an actual teaching tool using the scroll method of Kindles… I shiver at the prospect of that nightmare.
    Yes, Kindles are portable and good for the one time readers who don’t mind scrolling, but they nothing to benefit the adventurous or the analytical persons. I count e notes as a hindrance if e notes are actually developed for the Kindle. Until Kindles can better access information and various passages from texts better than codices/books, I will always be a champion for the codex.
    Jon Hoffman
    Period 2

    ReplyDelete
  40. When I read my first e-book, a couple years back, it wasn't the same as really reading it on paper. I couldn't quite name it, but something about it just wasn't the same. It wasn't until I read this article, that I realized what it was. I would often refer back to a book on my ipod, however trying to find a specific spot or text in the e-book was a dire task. With a book, I was able to flip right to the page I needed with ease. That's the main benefit and function of a book as stated by the article. The fact that you don't have to scroll through countless other pages to find one far out ways the benefits of being connected to the internet or portability. Don't get me wrong, e-books have tremendous potential and could very well be what we are all reading in the future. But for me, I would take a real book over an e-book any day.

    Nicholas Joshua Lycan
    Period 4

    ReplyDelete
  41. I have never used an e-reader because the idea of not being able to flip through pages seemed unappealing. I see the positive aspects or benefits to using an e-reader but would avoid using one. I'd probably find it more distracting to read off of a screen and it would make my reading experience less exciting/enjoyable. There are also worries that come with using e-readers such as the battery running out or it breaking. For me it seems less of a hassle to read an actual book and more enjoyable compared to an e-reader.

    ReplyDelete
  42. To me it seems like reading a book is way easier than trying to over think it with the use of the ebook. In order to be able to actually read the book through the ebook you would have to be a total expert to control it, if not you're just tangled up in the thoughts of what's the best way to use it. You're not getting the real effect of what may be going on in the novel. Also, personally, technology always presents distractions. I have never been able to sit and be online without ending up with at least three web pages open. I would much rather have the book in my hands where I can make sure I stay completely focused.

    Betzy Bras
    Per:6

    ReplyDelete
  43. I personally prefer a book, over an e-book. In a book you can physically highlight key points so you can go back to refresh your memory, or if you didn't really understand a certain passage. I am also more inclined to let someone borrow my paper book then to allow someone to borrow my 100 dollar kindle. Books can also carry sentimental value. Like the Bible that has been in my family that dates back before 1893.

    ReplyDelete
  44. I am forever faithful to the codex. There is just something about having a book in your hand and being able to feel the page you are turning. I could never get that from an e-book. They say that e-books are more functional when it comes to wanting to read a specific book, what with the book arriving instantly to your e-book. But what about libraries? You are on your way to the library and have a specific book in mind, but when you get there you are surrounded by thousands of books. You come for one book and leave with twenty... that is the experience of a library, of a codex. I personally enjoy the amount of knowledge at my fingertips that I encounter at the library. But maybe some don't enjoy that, and maybe they are better off with their e-book. Everyone is bound to their own opinion.

    ReplyDelete
  45. I agree with Grossman. The codex to the e-book cannot compare to the technological enhancement from the scroll to the codex. I refuse to use an e-book because I feel limited when reading from it. I get the feeling that I am limited to the single page of text displayed and that I cannot return to previous sections as easily. When I read a novel, I tend to bounce around the text piecing things together as I read. With an e-book, this is much more strenuous and time consuming. An e-book requires me to scroll page by page until I find what I'm looking for instead of having a simple bookmark for a section I may want to review. (i.e. A quote) Until the e-book is updated with a feature that makes it as groundbreaking as the codex was for the world, I will not use it.

    ReplyDelete
  46. While the e-reader is more portable and more "advanced" in some ways, I'll always be more in favor of an actual book. I like being able to flip back to any page I choose whenever I want to do it and to me nothing can compare to the feeling of holding a book in your hand. The smell of a brand new book is something that you just can't get from a screen. I like the fact that its more traditional and I like the idea that reading a book is still more advanced than the e-reader in some ways.

    Hannah Hosking
    Period:4

    ReplyDelete
  47. e-books are better because I read late at night and find it easier to stay awake reading a brightly lit screen than ink on a page. Also it is more convenient to find books and it is technology. Though I would prefer having a book to read at school instead of reading with a kindle.

    Paul Hurd

    ReplyDelete
  48. I would much rather have a page-turning, made out of wood book in my hands. As convenient and economic as it is to have an e-reader, having a book is so much more of an experience. The technology that we have today is mindboggling, but it doesn’t have to replace everything. Are we going to read picture books to our children from a Kindle/Nook/iPad now? How bad would that be. The emotions and sentimental value just aren’t there in an e-reader like they are in a book. There’s just something about having a book in your lap that is just so comforting; a rush of memories from that single book all come rushing back to your head. It’s nostalgic feeling whenever I open a book, whether a good or bad memory, they hold so much more content then any e-reader could ever hold.

    Laura Wong
    2nd period

    ReplyDelete
  49. I've never used a kindle although it sounds like it is a convenient tool for reading. However, I could never give up a book/codex. I like turning the pages of books. For instance, when I get down to the bottom of a page, my fingers are already preparing to turn the page just so I can start back up at the top again. Flipping the pages of a book also motivate me to finish chapters.

    Kayla McCallie
    Period 2

    ReplyDelete
  50. I tend to use electronic readers most of the time. For example I have books on my iPod that I read and it's not because of preference, it's because it's the easiest way to acquire a book for me. In preference the actual hard copy of a book wins over an electronic copy for various reasons. To start off it's easier to manouver through the pages unlike on my iPod. Another thing is that I like to collect books and electronic books can't hold a candle to the actual copy.
    Carlos Cruz, Per. 3

    ReplyDelete
  51. I don't have an nook or a kindle,but the idea is excellent. This way you can choose whatever books you want and have hundreds at your fingertips. At the end of the day, this couldn't beat the feeling of cracking open your own book. There is just something about holding it and turning the pages that is so inviting.
    Ian Janssen period 4

    ReplyDelete
  52. Yes e-books are just as good as books, but I prefer that feeling of having a book in my hand. The turn of the page and the anticipation of reaching that last page is what I look for when I read a book. I don't feel like e-books keep that essence that I enjoy so much from picking up a book.
    Kelli Carrillo p.3

    ReplyDelete
  53. The artical has a good point about nonlinear reading in an original book, but you can't beat the quickness and convenience of and e-book. I don't own one but it would be a great investment because it would be worth every penny. The abililty of having any book almost instantly is hard to beat. I think it's only a matter of time until every student will be reading off of a kindle.

    Matthew Giddings p.3

    ReplyDelete
  54. The good thing about the internet and e-books is the exposure to volume. And if you find something you really like in the massive digital library that is the internet, then go buy it, in hard copy. However, I collect books, sometimes I know nothing about them, the cover just fascinated me or it's a really old, late 1800's republished library book with leather or cloth covers. There's almost a mysticism in books, which leads me to believe that the won't fall away like the scroll did.

    Trevor Hudgins
    Period 6

    ReplyDelete
  55. I don't recall having ever read an e-book in my life, so I don't think that I can properly judge one. However, I think that reading a book is better than reading an e-book for many reasons. One of my main reasons is that it can't possibly be good for your eyes to be staring at a screen all day. Another reason that I prefer book over e-books is that they are one of the few escapes from technology that is left, or at least one of the few that I enjoy. Although the power to have any book you want in mere seconds is enticing, I prefer an actual book in my hands.

    Nancy Rubio
    Per.2

    ReplyDelete
  56. Even though I am a fan of technology, it's harder for me to read off an e-reader. With books I concentrate more and really try to comprehend the book. With the e-readers they remind me to much of a game device and are more distracting. I would prefer a codex or book. 

    Chad Foster
    Per.2

    ReplyDelete
  57. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  58. I think books are more intimate and "realer" than books. I also want the least amount of technology in my house when machine uprising takes place! So I definitely prefer books over e-readers.

    ReplyDelete
  59. Since e-books are new to us, I feel like a lot of people are resisting them just because we aren't used to them yet. If you give it time a lot of people who prefer real books over e-books will probably sway their opinions. Technology changes us for the better and to be more efficient. Personally, I prefer a bookcase filled with books that I enjoy and that I can look at and hold.
    Kira Asel Period 3

    ReplyDelete
  60. Still waitin' on the cyber-books they beam directly into your cerebellum....*siiiiiigh*

    ReplyDelete
  61. Jojo Relyea Period 3

    I have a Sony Reader essentially an e-reader and it is collecting dust in my closet. I have bought a book on it and tried it out, but i can't get myself to use it again. I feel like I am betraying the shelves of books in my room, my own little library. I love being able to write myself notes in my books, especially marking quotes that strike me. I use a lot of modern technology throughout my day. I have an iPhone, a mac, a TV. At the end of the day its nice to settle in bed with my paper-filled book sitting on my night stand. My vote is for good old fashion books!

    ReplyDelete
  62. Technology has made our lives a whole lot easier. However, I still prefer a book to an e-reader because you can be more hands on with it. I feel more accomplished when I put down a 500 page book but when I read off the computer (I don't have an e-reader) I feel like i didn't do anything. Besides reading from a book just seems more natural.

    ReplyDelete
  63. Coincidentally, I just learned that the inventor of the e-book died this week. You can read the obituary here:
    http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Michael_S._Hart

    ReplyDelete