Dec. 23rd: Spineless

All through elementary school and middle school, I was that nerdy kid who could be counted on to have a book in hand. Everywhere I went, I would have to have something to read, to keep me busy, to entertain me, and to get me engaged.  It continued on to high school, although a problem arose: as I got older, books became bigger, heavier, harder to whip out at a moment’s notice. I began to shift my reading from a constant activity to a very much controlled one. I would read for a half hour before bed, or a few minutes right after school. I began to develop routines.

But, as is always the case, as the world around me got more complicated, so too did finding time to read. All of a sudden, I found myself in front of screens more often than pages. It was increasingly difficult to not only find the time, but also the motivation to whip out a book. With the limited free time I have, a book isn’t necessarily the way I want to spend it.

Throughout college, though, I have made it a point to always read a little bit before going to bed. There is no better feeling than reading a book you simply can’t put down. More so than any other media, books can lead to hugely creative entertainment.

Finally, I decided to make a change to my reading habits. I decided to invest in a Kindle. For years, people had been telling me that e-Reading was perfect for me, and I had refused every time. I like the feel of a book, the smell of it, the way I can track my progress. After years, though, I decided to make the not-too-expensive decision and cave.

It didn’t take long for me to regret my years of resistance. All of my opposition to reading had an answer. I could track my progress not only through page numbers but also percentage of the book, time remaining in a chapter, and chapter headings. I could transition from one chapter to another almost as easily as if I flipped the pages.

The quality of the reading is perfect. Plus, I never had to worry about running out of content. I can preload books when I’m getting close to being done with one, and get all set to pick up right where I left off in a series, or start a new endeavor immediately. I don’t even need to go to the library.

All of this innovation, though, led to an interesting consideration: does digital reading lead to an increase or a decrease in reading? Does it mean that libraries will meet their demise? Do we have a reading problem on our hands and, if so, are e-readers part of the problem or the solution?

After a little time with my e-reader, it is pretty clear that e-reading offers a multitude of solutions to the reading issues that are becoming all-too-popular. The ease with which reading becomes accessible offers the consumer a whole new opportunity to interact with different texts and different media. We can continue to use screens, but this time, we will be doing more with that technology.

The consumer side of the market is better, growing, and easier. That doesn’t necessarily bode well, though, for the book industry as we know it. Book sellers and libraries face a difficult reality. They will either have to change the way they play the game, or choose to remove themselves. As we see them now, bookstores are locations for buying hard-copies of books. You can get new digital copies on the internet. Same goes for libraries. Under the current system, there is no need for these institutions if a digital download is available.

Yet, both bookstores and libraries are making shifts. Many libraries offer online libraries, where patrons can download copies of books and return them online, just the same as hard copies get returned to the library building. The same goes for bookstores. Barnes and Noble has created the Nook, their own version of the e-reader, and offers their books both online and in-store. While this won’t necessarily help the stores themselves, the company is prepared for the future.

The world of reading is changing, and so must the locations where reading is stimulated. That doesn’t mean, though, that reading is going to struggle. To continue to allow reading to be competitive with other sources of media, the industry needs to move to continue to allow consumers to get their hands on material.

After years of waiting, I decided to buy into the future of reading. It didn’t take long to realize just how limitless the possibilities are.