As those of you who are “friends” of mine on facebook are already aware, I recently purchased a Kindle. It will arrive tomorrow, with three “books” already transferred to it. I’m very excited, as I have coveted the Kindle (2) ever since I read an article in The New Yorker about two years ago. Sadly, I never had the spare cash lying around.
Although it has come down significantly in price, what inspired my purchase was actually a debate between two friends over 4th of July weekend. Both book lovers, one was arguing that it is “text” that he loves — the content, not the object. The other, identifying herself as perhaps a more authentic, or sentimental, book person, argued that it was the entire experience of the book.
I identify myself very much as a reader and “book person” — but for some reason the e-reader concept immediately appealed to me. No more lugging books around, no more dusty bookcases (last year I brought 19 boxes of books down to storage, got rid of another five, and still have four full bookcases in my apartment). As for book versus text, I reasoned, when I loved A Tree Grows in Brooklyn or Heidi, it was the story and the writing that captured my imagination.
All that said, I was very moved by this article in The New York Times that describes the positive results of giving kids 12 books — physical books — to take home over the summer. Suddenly I had a different take on the e-reader issue. The physical book is part of the experience. I remember a fierce attachment to the physical book, walking around with it, curling up with it, just examining the pages, staring at the cover… And it seems that at least for kids this physicality is part of the experience. Not to mention the pride in building a library.
The Times article compares learning outcomes associated with reading physical books with a generalized experience of the Internet, not with e-readers specifically. I’m wondering how e-readers will impact children’s formative reading experience, and am thinking that these devices are more appropriate for mature readers who are already hooked than for novices.
In any event, I still can’t wait for my Kindle to get here!





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