I鈥檝e just finished reading my first e-book and the jury is still out on what I think as a reader and as a writer. A number of people around me have embraced e-readers for a number of reasons so I thought I would see for myself.
聽A bit of context here. Readingis an important thing to me; it is not something I do frivolously. I usually read with a pencil in my hand and I can鈥檛 read in bed because I鈥檓 usually way too engaged and will finish the book rather than fall asleep. So such a drastic change in format is a big deal for me.
聽I read the Patrick DeWitt鈥檚 on an iPad and while the display is nice and clear and adjustable and the motion to turn the page is similar, I am discovering that part of the pleasure is that weight of the bound paper.
聽Whether it鈥檚 a second-hand pocket edition of a Dostoyevsky classic, a brand new hard cover work of non-fiction or (my favourite) a trade paperback Canadian literary novel, each has its own feel and smell that becomes part of my memory of the story. The iPad will always be the same size and weight no matter if the book is 10 pages or 1,345.
聽I also missed the sense of accomplishment as the pages shifted from the need-to-be-read right to the already-enjoyed left. And after reaching the middle of a book, the physical shift in balance also ratchets up of the anticipation of the story鈥檚 conclusion. The counter at the bottom of the iPad page didn鈥檛 do this.
聽Maurice Sendak, writer and illustrator of Where the Wild Things Are, is vociferous in his dislike for digital books 鈥� he calls them revolting in a recent interview. But other writers and illustrators are using the new medium and its potential to create interactive books. For example, is a visual artist in India who has created a kids book that changes up the characters聽and story when the iPad is shaken (warning - book contains potty humour).聽
But the most successful e-books seem to be picture or image-based books. Now, if someone created a word-based book that rearranged itself into a brand new, well written story when the iPad was shaken,聽THAT would get me excited about e-books.
聽The e-book to me feels perilously close to email and with that association, so much more impermanent.聽 For some reason, this association also seems to suggest that the work is less polished and maybe took less time and effort.聽Even though聽it didn鈥檛.
聽And if a reader feels like this, I wonder does the writer feel like an e-book is reward enough for the hours of effort? Guess I will have to write a book to see.聽 (Don't laugh, I just might.)
