Webster’s Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary defines the word book as “a written or printed work of some length, as a treatise, novel, or other literary composition, especially on consecutive sheets of paper fastened or bound together in a volume.” The reference work continues for half a column with a list of alternate uses of the word—book of cards, book of tickets, book of accounts, by the book, book a flight, etc. There is no mention of e-book because my old well-used copy of the dictionary was published in 1983, two decades before Amazon launched Kindle.
I have a Kindle reader. Its content gives me almost the same pleasure as a conventional book, but I miss the smell and feel of paper in my hands. And when I finish reading an e-book, I can’t store it on my bookshelf, preserve a visual reminder of what takes place inside.
This month I received an email that included
several cartoons illustrating how conventional books are losing favor, especially with the younger generations. The first two cartoons satirize what I hope
isn’t actually happening in this age of ubiquitous technology. The third,
imagines the first two are true and what that truth might look like when residents
of some future dystopic culture discover a long-lost conventional book. Note the
endurance of cell phones in cartoon number three.
No comments:
Post a Comment