The traditional print media hasn't really changed too much in recent years, and I still enjoy the sensory/sensual experience of reading a finely crafted book, both in the literary sense, and in the fabrication sense.
But over the last decade or so, I've sold or donated many books that I'd not read again; fiction that doesn't interest me now, reference books that are out of date, how-to books that have nothing left to teach me, that sort of thing.
So I'm sitting here today, looking at my bookshelves again, and thinking it's time to seriously prune them, again. But this time, rather than discarding them outright, maybe I'll search for a digital replacement.
The benefits are pretty clear:
- More shelf space making a cleaner, distraction free office
- Eliminating out-dated reference information
- More portable, digital versions of replaced volumes
Reluctance
But yet, as my wife would say, I'm a bit of a pack rat. I find it hard to hand down or discard something that gave me value, be it entertainment, educational or technical. I've formed an 'attachment' to that physical object that seems important to me -- though that's kind of odd when you think about it. I don't have that same kind of emotional attachment for a 'digital object' or eBook.
But the song remains the same
Even though the content is identical, I seem to enjoy reading a physical book more than a digital one, no matter the reading device. For example, I have a battered copy of Robert Heinlein's Starship Troopers; it cost a whopping $1.50 when I bought it new. I dust it of and re-read it every few years -- it's a pretty good yarn.
I also have an ePub version of the story, on my iPod Touch, which is emeinently readable. Yet the experience of reading it, the scent of the old pulp pages, their rough texture, is missing, and subtly, noticeably absent. The experience is lessened.
I have photography books, large format 'coffee table' books. The image quality, the subtly of the shadow and light, when produces by high-quality printing presses is second-to-none and cannot be replicated easily on today's mobile devices. Maybe if/when Apple comes out with a tablet sporting an ultra-sharp OLED display, it'll be close. Maybe.
It's the experience
But back to my dilemma of shedding a few pounds of literature, so to speak. I'm going to harvest my book shelves. But I'm going to be selective. Print objects (books) that I've formed an attachment with will stay. Ones that I use for reference, will be replaced by digital versions, where possible. In some cases I may have to consider the cost of buying a new digital version, or keeping the (already paid-for) print version. The rest will go.
Because I'm finding that it's the experience of the act of reading a book, ink and paper and glue, that can be just as important as the words, paragraphs, chapters and pages that make up the book. Something I haven't yet had when reading an eBook.
