We discussed in class the fate of books in the digital age. One of my students wrote a letter addressed to modern people. Since it is not personal, feel free to read and comment on it.
From: A Book, Personal Library
To: Modern people
To be delivered personally
Hello,
I don’t know who you are reading this letter, but nevertheless, if you are reading it, I guess, my choice is right, I hope you will understand me. Let me introduce myself, I am a Book, you might say quite a common one, but it sounds a little bit offensive. No, I am quite pretty, I should say, a beautifully printed book in a luxurious jacket. My pages are well-thumbed because of being frequently read. I have a bookplate; it is a sign of my owner’s love. You see, she used to read me voraciously, in quiet winter evenings curled up in a chair. She really enjoyed it. That was a good time we had together…
But nowadays something strange happened: she doesn’t want to read me any моre.
I can’t but feel worried. She doesn’t need me any longer, does she? Have those profound and controversial ideas kept on my pages lost importance to her? Now she is engrossed in the Computer (as you call it). If she has time to spare, she spends it with the Computer, saying it is very useful and convenient.
I feel jealous. Of course, she used to read other books besides me, she could skim some magazines and newspapers, but then she would always come back to me. I was her favorite book. Is the Computer going to substitute me?
Why do you, modern people, leave books alone? You simply forgot all the brilliant knowledge you’ve learned from us. But, you see, this knowledge, these ideas that rest on our pages, they have not been destroyed by the time or by new beliefs, they are eternal and they are always alive.
I can’t but feel sorry for what happened to you, and I appeal to your mind – don’t betray us, as this betrayal may lead to irreparable consequences.
Always Yours,
Book
***
click
on a picture for a closer view
When you come to enumerate the advantages of e-books, digital format gains an easy victory over print books. Yet, the preferences split. Which books do you choose? What determines your choice? Is there anything no e-reader can provide? Do you think paper books are doomed?
