After reading the Newsweek article on new reading, a sudden surge of impulsive instincts has overthrown all my preconceived notions on e-book reading.
I first heard about it last year in a TV
news report, then followed by a considerable number of facebook wall posts of
my friends 'in the literary world' announcing that they have purchased the e-book reader. I was a little skeptic
(for lack of a better term) about it during that time.
Why would they want to replace books? What
would happen to publishers? Would they have the same plight that Kodak Company
had experienced when digital cameras dominated the market? How about the
thousand collectors of brand-new and second-hand tomes? Would there be panic
buying scenes?
The string of worries and fears seemed to
be endless. Then unknowingly I have turned into a hypocrite, selective Luddite
living in the twenty-first century. (According to the dictionary installed in
my computer, a Luddite is an opponent of technological or industrial
change. It was coined after Ned Ludd, 18th century farm worker in
Leicestershire, England, who destroyed machinery.) My love for the physical
book, particulary children's books, fueled the reluctance for the e-book but
not to other gadgets (e.g. mobile phones, computer, mp3 player).
But after going through this article by
Steven Levy, I was urged to make a better and more informed decision.
The mental weighing I have done tells me
that for every downside of new reading there is a better upside, or
three. The first problem that comes to mind is the price of the
Kindle.
For a second-hand bookstore denizen like me, an
internationally-published book priced at two hundred bucks would instantly elicit
second-thoughts. (But this one really depends on a person's socio-economic
status.) If your pocket couldn't afford a brand-new, hard-bound ShelSilverstein poem collection, then where's the hope of getting a pricey Kindle?
This might not pose any problem to the middle and upper classes whose buying
power commands (/is controlled by) these manufacturers and distributors, but
for a mimimum wage earner it does. To a Marxist, new reading is another potent
source of class struggles--particularly a digital divide.
After a closer look, one would find out
that in the long run, a reader, i.e. Kindle-using reader, who buys e-book
online would get more value for his money than the one who purchases physical
books. A Kindle user could get away with the 30% to 50% mark-up or the postage
and import costs that he has to pay to import books from England or the USA
because in fact many out-of-copyright books are available for free
already. Thus, he'd be able to buy and read more works of literature.
Soon, the price of an e-book and the reader would plummet once there are more
publishers and manufactures who would succumb to this trend.
One major argument that has stemmed out is
the way this technology-mediated reading affects traditional typographic
reading. Some educators have raised their brows when the supporters of new
reading suggested that physical books be replaced with e-book readers. In that
case, students won't hear their teachers
classic line" Class, bring out your (name of subject) book and open
it to page (number)". Instead, it would be like this "Class, turn on
your e-book reader and open the file…" For the new generation of teachers
and students, this may sound sophisticated, thus, making learning more
appealing.
With the
memory capacity of an e-book reader, owners are entitled to a wider range of
books--making it possible to learn a broader range of information that can be
used for a variety of purposes. Technology, in this case, helps the reader
realize the functional purpose of reading in one’s life--personally in the form
of ludic or pleasure reading, professionally
and as an active member of the society.
The role of the teacher now becomes more
challenging and extra exciting for he needs to provoke that something which
physical books have elicited from their patronizers--the sense of wonder for
learning. (Some call it serendipity.) I can see that there's a possibility for
that sense of wonder to vanish from the e-book reading scene. With the
bombardment of fast-paced images of computer and video games, technology has
created a generation with shorter attention span. Nowadays, rarely would a
reader stop and be fixated with a scene or
dialogue and savor the message and image it conveys. Readers in this
generation couldn't resist the impulse of knowing how the loose ends in a story
be tied. Teachers need to inject that "Aha" moment to their students,
in this way giving justice to the effort exerted by men of letters.
The way reading would be taught gets more
stimulating because photo, audio, and video sharing becomes easier. Visual and
aural learners may find more motivation to participate actively in reading
activities. Activating prior knowledge using pictures, songs and video clips
wouldn't pose any problem given that the ratio of e-book reader to students is
1:1. Helping children with visual problems like myopia and hyperopia would
easily be addressed because font size can be adjusted based on the need of the
reader. But drawing from experience,
reading things on my computer screen has led to my declining eyesight.
An added job to the teacher is the need to
teach children the proper handling of the e-book reader and the information it
gives. Just like a book, an e-book reader should also be handled with utter
care for just like any gadget, once trouble gets into the software or its
hardware, repair, i.e. expensive repair, is needed. Responsible handling of information must be
instilled to the users. Gadgets like the e-book reader, plus internet
connectivity, make plagiarism a constant lurking enemy.
Other pros of using e-book readers include
the ease and comfort of carrying lighter
schoolbags--the top answer in an informal survey I've made among Grade 6 pupils
in a private school and sparing trees from being cut off and making learning
more fun (whatever they meant by that).
In the long run, it’s the education
sector--the curriculum developers and education officials--who will decide
whether new reading, i.e. the use of e-book readers, will be a boon or bane.
But for the meantime, let’s enjoy the
remaining days of the physical books. Lend books, scour through the shelves of your favourite
bookstore, join book clubs, get the autographs of your favourite authors…for
the days of the physical books are numbered.
Note: I wrote this paper for my Psychology of Reading class. Shoot! Academic writing is so challenging.
Note: I wrote this paper for my Psychology of Reading class. Shoot! Academic writing is so challenging.
