Luxurious Book x E-Book – But what about simply a book?
Here in the US, printed books are becoming luxury items. Special editions, not just in hardcover, but also sets in beautiful boxes, are displayed in privileged shelves in the still existing bookstores. I’m part of the crowd that still buys printed copies, specially from my favorite authors, you know, the ones we know we’ll read again and again. But there are those who consider printed books, which are not elevated to a work of fine visual art, a waste of time and especially money.
Journalist Daniel D’Addario from Salon is among many who think so. In a recent article he highlights the value of books created by masters in visual arts, like “J. J. Abrams and Doug Dorst’s S., a book full of inserted cards bringing one an immersive multimedia experience, or Chris Ware’s Building Stories, a box containing 14 discrete volumes that can be read in any order.” D’Addario questions the value of buying a printed book that is simply based on words saying, “If a book isn’t immersive and incredibly visual, is there much of a point in seeking out a paper copy?”
His abrupt conclusion ignores the value of experience and the power of touch, it discards the rituals of reading developed in centuries of relationship between humans and paper. The smell of a new book, flipping through its pages, visits to a well stocked bookstore, or a charming used book store, the delicious sound of pages being slowly turned, as we are about to finish the last paragraph, and already wonder what lies ahead. Of course I appreciate a book with impeccable art, but I don’t need to have an ultra sophisticated copy in hand to enjoy the pleasure that holding a physical book gives me, or the well-written prose.
I do own a Kindle, and I particularly appreciate its convenience, especially when I’m not reading at home. Dentists’ waiting rooms, waiting for our kid’s swimming, ballet, violin, you-name-it lessons, airport lounges, these are the kind of places e-readers are perfect for. I own plenty of digital book copies, but do believe that both technologies have their moments in our lives. Even the software engineers responsible for the platforms that support e-books have already discovered that our relationship with books has an undeniable emotional charge, as this article from The New York Times shows, “…the features unique to e-books had largely fallen away. A format that had originally promised all manner of functionalities was now fairly restrained, similar to an actual book — goodbye, public comments on books, multimedia elements and hyperlinks! Hello, potential embedded author autographs, just like the signed first edition on your shelf.”
We, readers, are not interested in graphics jumping in the middle of the page, or electronic buttons with links, or any kind of allegory that interfere with our immersion in the story. What we want are words that excite our imagination and transport us to another dimension; words that take us away from the realities of our busy schedules, the bills to pay, and the office commute. As readers, we want to be in communion with our favorite authors through their words. And we want to say: “I treated myself to a signed copy.”
Not to mention that the physical book won’t run out of batteries right when you are in the most exciting part of the story, in the middle of an airport, and far from a power outlet.
Note to self: Buy external battery backup.