What kinds of texts have you read in the last six months? How have you accessed them? Can you identify any patterns in your reading preferences?
Read: The Conversation: What is a book in the digital age?
I move between electronic and printed books in my everyday life, depending on the context, what type of information is being accessed, what environment I am in and what my reading needs and preferences are at the time. Although a great deal of information I consume and therefore what I am reading takes place online whether on social media, accessing library e-resources or reading articles from media publications, when it comes to reading fiction, I think of myself as having a penchant for reading printed books as I subscribe to a romanticised image of nestling with a good novel. In Sadokiersk’s article, the pros and cons of ebooks are described which paints a broader picture of why they have not replaced printed books altogether and why the future of the book is not exclusively a digital legacy.
Challenges that arise with using ebooks include requiring digital literacy, a certain set of digital skills and an understanding of the electronic market as well as software and devices. The printed book is a much more intuitive and simplistic technology that does not place the same demands on readers. Conversely, ebooks can also work to meet accessibility needs for readers with a range of disabilities including vision and hearing loss, dyslexia friendly formats and other assistive devices that are compatible with e-readers. There is also the convenience of size, where someone preparing for a vacation may prefer an e-reader over packing multiple novels.
As new technologies shape the expectations of readers and how we culturally define bookness, I believe our definitions and ideas of a book will become more complicated and multifaceted. We turn to different formats depending on our needs, and our needs as a collective will always remain diverse. Electronic books have become as commonplace as the printed book and have the power to enhance our imagination and modes of interacting with literature and information.
Bibliography
Sadokierski, Z. (2013). What is a book in the digital age? The Conversation. Retrieved 27 June 2020 from https://theconversation.com/what-is-a-book-in-the-digital-age-19071