Friday, August 30, 2013

August 30

JOURNAL TOPIC: [today's tunes: "Stairway to Heaven" by Led Zeppelin; Bonus: Stanley Jordan's version]

Those of you in the on-the-ground course have all seen the sign: "There is glory in the attempt." Describe how this idea applies in your life.  Season your answer by listening to the music and reflecting on the evolution/remix of English and the stories we tell.  How does your understanding of the same idea change as you age/mature/gain more experience?

AGENDA:
1. Journal/return schtuff & distribute 6-year plans/transcripts
2. Vocab quiz
3. Co-constructed preview of coming attractions

HW:
1. Choose first literary analysis book, post choice/reason to your blog (title: WHY THIS BOOK?), and start/continue reading.
2. Complete/curate Beowulf materials.
3. Audit & update your blog.
4. Read "From Scroll to Screen" (as follows) and please comment to this post with your views on e-readers versus books.  Be ready to discuss Tuesday 9.4 along with "The Art of Hosting Good Conversations Online"


The Mechanic Muse: From Scroll to Screen
Illustration by Joon Mo Kang (in original, which you can see via link: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/04/books/review/the-mechanic-muse-from-scroll-to-screen.html)
By LEV GROSSMAN
Published: September 2, 2011
The New York Times

Something very important and very weird is happening to the book right now: It’s shedding its papery corpus and transmigrating into a bodiless digital form, right before our eyes. We’re witnessing the bibliographical equivalent of the rapture. If anything we may be lowballing the weirdness of it all.

The last time a change of this magnitude occurred was circa 1450, when Johannes Gutenberg invented movable type. But if you go back further there’s a more helpful precedent for what’s going on. Starting in the first century A.D., Western readers discarded the scroll in favor of the codex — the bound book as we know it today.
In the classical world, the scroll was the book format of choice and the state of the art in information technology. Essentially it was a long, rolled-up piece of paper or parchment. To read a scroll you gradually unrolled it, exposing a bit of the text at a time; when you were done you had to roll it back up the right way, not unlike that other obsolete medium, the VHS tape. English is still littered with words left over from the scroll age. The first page of a scroll, which listed information about where it was made, was called the “protocol.” The reason books are sometimes called volumes is that the root of “volume” is volvere, to roll: to read a scroll, you revolved it.

Scrolls were the prestige format, used for important works only: sacred texts, legal documents, history, literature. To compile a shopping list or do their algebra, citizens of the ancient world wrote on wax-covered wooden tablets using the pointy end of a stick called a stylus. Tablets were for disposable text — the stylus also had a flat end, which you used to squash and scrape the wax flat when you were done. At some point someone had the very clever idea of stringing a few tablets together in a bundle. Eventually the bundled tablets were replaced with leaves of parchment and thus, probably, was born the codex. But nobody realized what a good idea it was until a very interesting group of people with some very radical ideas adopted it for their own purposes. Nowadays those people are known as Christians, and they used the codex as a way of distributing the Bible.

One reason the early Christians liked the codex was that it helped differentiate them from the Jews, who kept (and still keep) their sacred text in the form of a scroll. But some very alert early Christian must also have recognized that the codex was a powerful form of information technology — compact, highly portable and easily concealable. It was also cheap — you could write on both sides of the pages, which saved paper — and it could hold more words than a scroll. The Bible was a long book.

The codex also came with a fringe benefit: It created a very different reading experience. With a codex, for the first time, you could jump to any point in a text instantly, nonlinearly. You could flip back and forth between two pages and even study them both at once. You could cross-check passages and compare them and bookmark them. You could skim if you were bored, and jump back to reread your favorite parts. It was the paper equivalent of random-access memory, and it must have been almost supernaturally empowering. With a scroll you could only trudge through texts the long way, linearly. (Some ancients found temporary fixes for this bug — Suetonius apparently suggested that Julius Caesar created a proto-notebook by stacking sheets of papyrus one on top of another.)

Over the next few centuries the codex rendered the scroll all but obsolete. In his “Confessions,” which dates from the end of the fourth century, St. Augustine famously hears a voice telling him to “pick up and read.” He interprets this as a command from God to pick up the Bible, open it at random and read the first passage he sees. He does so, the scales fall from his eyes and he becomes a Christian. Then he bookmarks the page. You could never do that with a scroll.

Right now we’re avidly road-testing a new format for the book, just as the early Christians did. Over the first quarter of this year e-book sales were up 160 percent. Print sales — codex sales — were down 9 percent. Those are big numbers. But unlike last time it’s not a clear-cut case of a superior technology displacing an inferior one. It’s more complex than that. It’s more about trade-offs.

On the one hand, the e-book is far more compact and portable than the codex, almost absurdly so. E-books are also searchable, and they’re green, or greenish anyway (if you want to give yourself nightmares, look up the ecological cost of building a single Kindle). On the other hand the codex requires no batteries, and no electronic display has yet matched the elegance, clarity and cool matte comfort of a printed page.

But so far the great e-book debate has barely touched on the most important feature that the codex introduced: the nonlinear reading that so impressed St. Augustine. If the fable of the scroll and codex has a moral, this is it. We usually associate digital technology with nonlinearity, the forking paths that Web surfers beat through the Internet’s underbrush as they click from link to link. But e-books and nonlinearity don’t turn out to be very compatible. Trying to jump from place to place in a long document like a novel is painfully awkward on an e-reader, like trying to play the piano with numb fingers. You either creep through the book incrementally, page by page, or leap wildly from point to point and search term to search term. It’s no wonder that the rise of e-reading has revived two words for classical-era reading technologies: scroll and tablet. That’s the kind of reading you do in an e-book.

The codex is built for nonlinear reading — not the way a Web surfer does it, aimlessly questing from document to document, but the way a deep reader does it, navigating the network of internal connections that exists within a single rich document like a novel. Indeed, the codex isn’t just another format, it’s the one for which the novel is optimized. The contemporary novel’s dense, layered language took root and grew in the codex, and it demands the kind of navigation that only the codex provides. Imagine trying to negotiate the nested, echoing labyrinth of David Mitchell’s “Cloud Atlas” if it were transcribed onto a scroll. It couldn’t be done.

God knows, there was great literature before there was the codex, and should it pass away, there will be great literature after it. But if we stop reading on paper, we should keep in mind what we’re sacrificing: that nonlinear experience, which is unique to the codex. You don’t get it from any other medium — not movies, or TV, or music or video games. The codex won out over the scroll because it did what good technologies are supposed to do: It gave readers a power they never had before, power over the flow of their own reading experience. And until I hear God personally say to me, “Boot up and read,” I won’t be giving it up.

Lev Grossman is the author of the novels “The Magicians” and “The Magician King.” He is also the book critic at Time magazine.
A version of this article appeared in print on September 4, 2011, on page BR13 of the Sunday Book Review in The New York Times with the headline: From Scroll to Screen.

42 comments:

  1. For the most part, I prefer books over e-readers because I enjoy reading from the physical book (or codex) itself rather than off of a device. If I spend money buying a book it must have some personal value because I'm willing to put it on my bookshelf and keep it in nice condition. (I find a nice collection of books to be more aesthetically pleasing than a Kindle). However, for something like Montaigne's Essays, I'd rather have it on an e-reader because it isn't exactly important to my taste and interests (sorry Montaigne!).

    On the other hand, e-readers books do give me free-will to highlight, take notes, etc. without a feeling of guilt for destroying its pages. They're definitely not pointless. But basically, if I don't necessarily love about the story, I'll resort to getting it on a device (especially if it's cheaper or free).

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  2. E-readers are useful when it comes to literature books, they are usually free or cheaper than buying the actual book. (ex. Scarlet Letter) I agree with the article about how compact and green an e-reader is. Personally, after awhile I tend to miss the smell of new books and turning the pages on my own. That's why certain books I buy on my e-reader and others in print.

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  3. I am very bias towards a physical book or codex, because that is what I was brought up with reading. I love having them on a self to look at and being able to turn every page. There is something about a new book smell that can't even be compared to an e-reader. I understand though, that an e-reader is more convenient when you're on the go and need to fit several books in your bag. There are pros and cons to both, but I love my hard cover books.

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  4. I believe that the e-readers are more convient than books, but people will "sacrifice the nonlinear experience" if they use e-books. My solution to this problem is to use the e-book for less prominent books and for long passages such as Montaigne, while important books such as the bible should be read without the e-book. E-books can hold thousands of books into a 2lb 10x8 e-book, while books take up tons of space and weigh a lot. In other words books that I like I would get a hard copy of, while books that I'm not interested in (school books) I would have it on e-books.

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  5. I have very mixed feelings on this subject. I do own a kindle and there are many reasons why I love it, it is so small I can take it anywhere, it is environmentally friendly and my favorite is how much cheaper you get a book and the fact that they have a huge selection of free books, and not to mention how much space I'm saving by not having to buy a physical copy of every book I want. But some of the things that I love about regular codex copies is that there is something so unique and special about holding a book in your hands and there is a special connection you get with a book that you can't seem to get through an e-reader. And there's the fact that plain old hard cover books are so simple and require no use of technology, and also I grew up reading hard copy books so its simply what I am used to and there's something about opening the first page of that book that I've always loved and can't get with my kindle. I have to say as convinient as my kindle is I will have to stick to the good old regular books.

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  6. If I have to choose between an e-reader and an actual book, I would definitely choose the actual book. (Even if it’s the worst book ever) However, the idea of an E-book is very interesting. Like the article says, both have advantages. In my opinion, the E reader can be read anywhere because it looks stylish but reading a book in public doesn't always look good.

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  7. With all the evidence that he gave to save the codex, it is hard to stop a ball once it starts rolling. Just as in the days of the scroll once the new technology came along it was all but a matter of time. Same goes for the E-reader/ codex battle. Although the written form does pose many enduring qualities, it does not negate the fact that in today's world the book has a bad taboo around it, and e-readers have a familiar glint. So as in the scroll days, the codex is as of now outdated.

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  8. I personally prefer an actual book over an E-reader because I enjoy being able to physically turn the pages, rather than taping or sliding my finger on a screen. Even though I would much rather have a book than an E-reader, I can still see the pro side of having an E-reader. First off, they save paper which ultimately saves trees. Second, they can hold thousands of books, which equals a lot more space in your house. I would have no problem reading off an E-reader, but overall I would much rather have the actual book in my hands.

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  9. I've never actually tried an e-reader, so I'll be slightly biased towards books in this comment.

    The idea of an e-reader does sound cool to me, if slightly strange-- I mean, I can carry as many books as I want in one tiny package. Plus, if I get a special (read: expensive) one, I can carry games and the Internet in it, too! It's almost like a Mary Poppins bag. However, giving up physical books in favor of digital ones seems... odd. I like being able to bookmark pages and flip back and forth, as this article mentions, and I like being able to turn the book sideways to see the length of the book and how far into it I've read. And that magical "book" smell-- I'm pretty sure I read that it's the smell of the glue they use to bind the book that people miss on e-readers.

    If I'm not mistaken (which I very well may be, since I've never used an e-reader), all books on e-readers come in a standardized form. Same font, same text size, same page size, etc. When we read Huck Finn in Mrs. Dolan's class, the school library ran out of copies, so I got one from the public library. It was a special edition book... It was beautiful. It was bound in leather, had a ribbon bookmark, and the edges of the pages were gilded. You can't get that from an e-reader. In the introduction, the editor specifically mentioned the font that the book was set in (the name of which I can't remember), calling it a "strong, masculine typeface." I didn't understand what he meant until I glanced at one of Righetti's copies of the book, manufactured by the same company as our literature textbooks, so of course it was typeset in Georgia. Not masculine at all; actually, rather feminine. I cringed, and was glad I got to read the novel in a font a real editor chose. [DISCLAIMER: there is nothing wrong with Georgia. I quite like Georgia. Just not for Huck Finn. Or Beowulf! But blogs are fine.] Real books each have a format designed specifically for the story; the binding, the paper, the font, everything lends the story an extra dimension of character. By comparison, e-readers are soulless.

    Books FTW.

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  10. I have mixed views on physical books and e-books. I haven't really used e-books much to be familiarized with them. I have been raised with physical books, so, I am much more familiar with regular physical books. I like how, in physical books, I can skip through pages, flip back to pages, write notes in the book, highlight in the book, and put bookmarks where I feel is necessary. You can do the same things, in a somewhat different way, for the e-books as well. If I just missed the last copy at the library or if I feel like I should not buy the copy online, I will use an e-book. But, if the course requires me to use the e-books, then I will use the e-books.

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  11. My initial thoughts in e-readers when they were first introduced was a bit weary; I didn't think I could ever let go of the enjoyment of having an actual book in my hands. However, for my 14th birthday I gave in and asked for a Kindle, and was optimistic about it since it had gotten such great reviews. At first it was strange to hold it, but over time I grew to love the convenience of how light it was. I can read in bed and lay in more comfortable positions (so when you hold the book over your head, or on the side, it isn't falling shut or on you). I now have a newer Kindle version, which is even lighter and easier to hold and I protect it like it's my own child. I love how I can buy books for over 75% off (great for a jobless teenager like me, plus most books we read in school are free) and the options you have while reading. Unlike what Grossman said about bookmarking and such, you can. I tend to read my books multiple times, and can bookmark all the important parts. You can search key words and find parts as well. I never liked the idea of dog-earring the pages in real books anyways.

    So on one hand, I can understand why many people would be trepidation about the switch to e-book, but on the other I can say that reading has become so much more accessible for me and my love for it has only grown. My Kindle library is huge, and with the click of a button I have a new book to read. Some days I do wish I could have the physical form of my favorite books (I've even given in and bought them) but in the end, I don't regret switching at all. I think a lot of people act a bit like book snobs in a way when they completely snub the idea of an e-book. It's not for everyone, but you can't deny how it's changed reading. Both e-books and books have positive and negative aspects, and I can say that I enjoy both ways of reading.

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  12. Well well personally, I like having a physical book to read and take with me. With technology advancing at a fast rate books are bound to all be digital. It's neat to have a digital book on e-books, iPads, or kindles, but what happens if technology gets so advanced that actual books are forgotten and only a few are kept. Positives to having a digital book are this. The cost of the book is cheaper, you can take it with you anywhere, and bookmark like you would in a normal book. it's a neat feature. But what happens if one day all that's left for books are digital viewing? Could it happen? Possibly.

    I like having a shelf of books that I am interested in for keeps sake. I like having that comfort of holding a book while reading under a tree as cliche as that sounds. It's easy to mark up and take notes, save a page and remember what point you were at. If one day books wee no more I would want my own collection of my favorite books to have and reflect on. But overall in today's society, the codex is outdated. We are moving forward with technology. Technology is always finding new ways to make things easier for us being the buyers. But all in all its your opinion on what you prefer.

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  13. Choosing between reading a book on my tablet or reading it from a normal book(codex)is something I personally decide all the time since I own a way to read e-books. One reason that I normally choose to read the e-books over the codex is because you can purchase an e-book for was less on amazon then you can a codex book. I believe that this is most likely the reason that the sale of e-books has gone up 160 percent. It may not be a reasoning of liking e-books better, but a matter of it is more affordable.
    On the other hand there is nothing like picking up a book and reading it. Flipping each page until you get to the end. Some times you feel more connected to the book if you read it from codex, something about holding it in your hands and not just reading it off the screen. So maybe paying the extra amount isn't too bad, I know that I do occasionally. A good thing about codex books is that they a recyclable, you can read it and tell you friends how great it was, and then they want to read it and so on, with an e-book you don't share that same experience.
    Technology is advancing and e-books are becoming more and more popular, but I feel that it will be a long time before codex books go away. In Fahrenheit 451 books no longer existed but they had no other alternative, so at least society is still choosing to read, even if it is based off using the technological advances.

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  14. I tend to go both ways on this debate. In one way, I think an eBook is pretty cool because of the fact that you have access to a large collection of books right in your hands. On the other hand, it takes the value and experience of reading an actual book. As mentioned in 5th period on Friday, (I think it was Nakesha that brought it up)there's a whole book reading experience that you can't quite feel with an eBook, like the sound of turning pages, the smell of the book... and so on and so forth. I find tablets to have more purpose than just reading a book, I use my Kindle Fire just for internet, to be honest. I have never read a book on my Kindle once, because it just wouldn't be the same. But that's just me.

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  15. I think that e-books are a good idea, but at the same time, I could never give up actual books. Seeing rows of books on my book shelf in my room is something that cannot be replaced by one e-reader. I enjoy looking through my many books and remembering the significance of each one by thumbing through them and I don't think I would get the same feeling with an e-reader. Going to Goodwill and finding random books is really exciting! I can spend hours in there going through the assortment of books and it's always fun to come home with a new stack of books to read. A lot more exciting than buying them on an e-reader.
    Books on e-readers are more affordable than buying them new from the store so I can see how e-readers are a good idea. As other people have already said, I would use an e-reader for certain school books that don't interest me, but there's something personal about reading an actual book. E-readers are more convenient. It's certainly easier to have an e-reader in the airport rather than trying to pack and carry around multiple books.
    E-readers do offer a lot of benefits and are useful in many situations but for me, they could never replace reading from codex.

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  16. Modern society is all about technology, which is helping the world grow and progress, but when it comes to kindles or other electronic reading devices, I'm not a fan. Technology is used in our society to make things either better or easier. I understand how e-books are helpful and much easier to access, but there is nothing better than a book (codex) in my opinion. I love turning the pages, the feeling of holding a book, and being able to share that experience with others by sharing it, but others may enjoy reading book off a kindle due to their preference. The choice between e-books and codex books are based entirely on the reader's preference and I believe there is no "right or wrong" choice.

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  17. I personally enjoy actual books. I'm that weird kind of person that enjoys sitting in book stores just staring at books and picking up random ones to see what they might be about and then noting the cover and weight. However, I do own a Kindle. I knew that I wouldn't really use it too much because I like turning the pages of actual books, but it is convenient. When I feel like reading a classic that I won't take notes on, it's convenient to buy free classics. Plus, with e-books, I don't have to suffer from precious pages being bent or torn. I am biased with actual books as opposed to e-books, but that doesn't mean that I don't see the positive outcomes of e-books.

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  18. When the new book technology came out like Kindle and Nook, I thought to myself "hey I want one." Technology is great, both useful and entertaining. I prefer books because there is nothing like smelling that old/new book smell, feeling the texture of the book and admiring the object itself. E-reader can be more convenient for some people because all your book are in one place and the device can fit in a purse or to go back easily, but to me a book is more meaningful for the same reasons listed above.

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  19. Honestly, I am not sure where I stand on the e-books vs. real books controversy. I have a kindle fire and I absolutely love it. I like the fact that it's so convenient as it can hold hundreds of books, you can change the font and brightness, and you are able to purchase books for a very cheap price, sometimes even for free. An advantage to reading an e-book is that if you come across a word you don't know, you can highlight it and have it defined for you in a matter of seconds. However, I also enjoy reading actual books. I love turning the pages and being able to compare the thickness of the pages you have already read, to the pages you still have left to read. Things that you cannot do with an e-book that you can do with an actual book includes getting it signed by the author at a book signing, or bringing it with you to the pool to read while you tan because you do not need to worry about it getting wet and breaking. In conclusion, I believe that both e-books and real books have their advantages and disadvantages.

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  20. I personally like books more than e-readers because I am reading from a book rather than a screen. I stay more focused as well when reading a book than going on e-readers because when reading from a book it is just me and the book and I don't have to worry about getting distracted more and going on another websight.

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  21. Personally I love e-readers they are very useful and can be taken anywhere and can hold many books. Regular books are great too because there is something about holding a new book and turning its pages. It all depends on your preferences but I enjoy both actual books and e-readers.

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  22. My opinion is biased because I have not had any experience with an e-reader, but I have no interest in having one either. When I read I want to read from a book. An e-reader would take the experience of reading away from me. When I read I like to put down the technology, and just read and distance myself from the technology based world. I would much rather flip through pages then scroll down a screen. The price of a book compared to an e-reader does not affect me either. I have many friends who enjoy reading so we are constantly exchanging books we already own with each other and I have yet to run out of options from them. And if I can't get a certain book from them I go to the library, and occasionally the used bookstore. The only thing that interests me about the e-reader is what Micaela said in her response about being able to highlight a word you don't know and getting the definition right away.

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  23. For me, actual books provide more entertainment than e-readers. It is much more satisfying to be able to open a physical copy to any random page than to have to load the book and only have the chapters to choose from.

    It upsets me that because of products such as Kindles and society's lost of interest in books, many bookstores such as Borders have gone bankrupt or out of business. Of course e-readers also have their advantages. They offer a large selection of books and offer them at a lower prices, but to me, they just lack the odor of the pages that I have known for so long.

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  24. I myself am typing my response on an e-reader right now. However, I find books to be a much easier choice, when one is weighing their options. Books never have to be charged. I personally like to read when I have extra time in class. Most teachers do not allow the use of any electronic devices in class. I definitely do like using my e-reader, but I don't like to worry about the possibility that I may not be able to use it.

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  25. Personally I prefer a codex book. I love going into a used book store and finding a new book. With a regular book you don't have to worry about a charged battery you can just open it and start reading. The other thing I love about used books especially is the smell and wondering who owned the book before me and if they enjoyed it as much as I did. Also the kindles and nooks freak me out I hate the creepy matte screen.

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  26. When it comes down to it I will always prefer books over e-readers, but that doesn't necessarily mean I don't enjoy using an e-reader as well. As everyone has mentioned before me there are various pros and cons. Books to me are nostalgic, they bring me joy. I'm a total book worm! I read all day and night just to finish a book if it i'm hooked on it. I'm not kidding when I say that I have loved reading books since I was in the womb because my Mom had always read to me. When you have the book in your hand it takes you into another world. If I could spend my money on only one thing it would be books.

    One word that completely sums up an e-reader would be convenient. There are so many features to the e-readers its ridiculous. Everything from highlighting words, web browsers, and endless storage of books. Books are cheaper, easily accessible with this device, lightweight and portable...the list goes on. You do not have to carry around big hulking books on your person all the time! I should know, I used to carry around three inch books on my person. What books you may wonder? ...The Twilight Saga. I know, I can tell you're cringing. (Don't worry this was years ago before I knew better.)I believe that e-readers are worth the investment. I have used an e-reader before and i'm still getting the hang of it, but it is really convenient to use. It now makes sense why sales have skyrocketed.

    Overall I enjoy using either or when necessary. I do not think that they will get rid of books (codex) definitely because not everyone can afford an e-reader. I just wish that when you purchase a hard-copy of a book they give you a code where you can download it on your e-reader, so we don't have to buy it digitally. Then read it on the go if you have forgotten your book or don't want the hassle of carrying it. (Can we make this happen?)

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  27. I have never used an e-reader in my life. I would not know which would be a better tool to use, but I never felt that books were a handicap. I enjoy the fact that if I want to reference something I am just able to go back to the book and look over whatever I didn't understand in just seconds. However when it comes to storage, the e-book is very useful because one is able to store many books without taking up much space.

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  28. I personally prefer reading a book over using my Kindle. Though my Kindle is compact and convenient, it can be a burden. When I have a book in front of my I'm aware of what i'm getting myself into due to its size, weight, etc. When i have my kindle I have no idea what to expect, it doesn't give a number of pages (just percentages), I can't flip back to previous sections without pressing a button repeatedly, and it dies after a week of reading. Books are very simple, not only am I able to see the number of pages, but I can bookmark and skim through certain things when needed.

    I do like Kindles in the sense of convenience, as stated earlier, when my kindle is missing,dead or malfunctioning, I can always download the app on my smartphone and pickup where I left off. If I lose a book, it's more than likely gone forever unless I take a serious effort to search for it(very unlikely). In the end, books still triumph over e-readers. I can get a hell of a lot more distracted when using a piece of technology compared to a plain paperback book. If it weren't for books, I don't think that I would ever get my reading done. Aside from the travel hassle, books are pretty damn great.

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  29. For me, personally, I like to have a collection of books. I like to find books a be given books to read later on. My sister has a Kindle, and although in the beginning, I thought it was pretty awesome, I have to say that nothing beats the classic enjoyment of turning book pages and finally reaching that last page of your book. A Kindle could be very practical, and you could switch from book to book with ease, but I'm a sucker for simpler things. I like having a bookshelf in my room filled with books. I like that sense of pride that comes with my stack of books on my bed side table, and being able to say that I've read every single one of them. And if one day I want to let someone borrow my favorite book, I'm sure not going to lend them my $100+ Kindle! I want to be able to write notes on the pages in my crappy handwriting for myself and other readers. I'm sorry but I will always take a book over an E-reader.

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  30. I am more of a paperback kind of girl. The sense of being able to focus on the novel, rather than playing Angry Birds or getting into a heat convo on facebook. I am someone who tends to get distracted easily by the smallest things. It is hard enough to read on my own and than, POP, and get rapped around my own ideas and thoughts

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  31. In my opinion, nothing will ever compare to the feeling of holding an actual book in your hands. The smell of the fresh pages or the familiarity of turning the page for the umpteenth time on your favorite novel truly cannot be beat. That being said, the pure convenience and availability of E-Readers is quickly becoming a necessity for modern times. Not everyone has time to make a trip to the library to check out a book for school. But honestly why bother when you can make few easy clicks and have an entire library at your fingertips? The accessibility of Kindles is really something to be praised. Personally, I have run out of room on my shelves to even fit one more book horizontally, vertically, or even diagonally so the sheer storage space on E-readers is very much appreciated.
    However, I've never had a physical copy of a book die on me in the middle of the most important chapter because it needs a good charge...just saying.

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  32. I am torn over what my preference is. On the practical end, e-books are definitely easier to handle on a tablet than heavy books are, and you have the ability to store more novels electronically than you probably ever could on the shelves in your house. Personally, I usually only read a book one time. People like me end up with shelves of books that we may not read again because we've already discovered what stories they contain. In addition, e-books make life more convenient. You can read anything you want instantly with e-books; you don't have to go searching for the title in various stores. You don't have to even leave your house if you don't want to.
    On the other hand, I like being able to feel how many pages I have read, to know my progress from the chunk of paper in between my fingers rather than from a number out of a total number of pages on the top or the bottom of the screen of a tablet.

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  33. Personally, I prefer the hard copy book over an e-reader partially because I have never owned or read off an e-reader and I am not quite sure what it's functions are, and partially because books are classy, the content of both are the same, but going around with a gold leaf-leather bound copy of Mobey Dick is much more impressive than reading it off a tablet with hello kitty stickers on the back. It makes you look much more scholarly.

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  34. Although presenting the same stories, e-readers do not hold the same appeal or depth for me as regular books. I like feeling the pages and physically seeing how much I have read in traditional books verses holding a slim piece of glass/plasic. Books seem to have more personality or mystery in them. Although practically e-readers rank high due to their compactness, their tech appearance lacks warmth and does little to welcome the reader. With books we have the opportunity to make them ours, we can highlight our favorite passages, turn down page corners we especially liked and even get them signed by our favorite authors.With e-readers this is impossible.

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  35. Although e-readers seem both convenient and interesting, I personally prefer an actual book over an e-reader. Yes, e-readers have the ability to hold a number of books and could be taken anywhere, however, I find actual books to be more useful. With a physical book, you are able to turn the pages on your own, write notes along the margins, highlight important information, and also take it wherever you please. Unlike e-readers, books never have to be charged. When it comes to referring back to previously read text, simply flipping the pages of a book is much easier than scrolling through the text of an e-reader. I would much rather physically hold a book while reading than read off of the screen of an e-reader.

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  36. I would say that personally I like to read off of physical books more-so then with e-readers, though both have their pros and cons. One nice thing about e-readers is that you can not lose the book, unless of course you lose the e-reader. Also, it is easier to carry around more then one story at a time without straining yourself. But what I don't like about them is how small the font can be, at least on a iPhone, and that honestly the books aren't really any cheaper then if you bought the physical copy. Also, it is harder to loan your friends and family books you like when they are bought with your credit card online, and can only be viewed through your account or your e-reader.
    What I like about books is that they are so much more personal, and it adds to the experience of the book to be physically holding it. Also, they are easier to pass down, and 20 years after you have read the story, it will be there for future people to appreciate.

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  37. I have a Nook and apart from being a device I use for reading, it serves many other purposes. I can listen to music, go on the Internet, and play games, amongst other things. It’s practical because it allows me to read three books at the same time without me having to carry around three books. I also have my entire library at the touch of my fingertips. Not to mention that I can also get so many different electronic books for half the price of the physical copy. However, nothing really can compare to the feeling of the page a book has, the smell, the memories it recalls. For example, I can pick up my old books and when I read them it’s like I’m transported back in time and I’m the person I was when I first got that book. I recognize the need for change and betterment. In some ways, e-readers are better and in other ways, books are better. I use both and I’m happy. I have a digital library and a physical library. I use my e-reader for its entertainment value and practicality and I use my books for their sentimental value.

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  38. Although, the E-reader appeals as a more "eco-friendly" and convenient product for this generation, I would hands down choose a codex over an E-reader any day. I've never had the chance to use an E-reader before and the closest thing I've come to using something slightly similar was reading The Scarlet Letter on my iPhone, which was still a task for me. I'm a very sentimental person and when it comes to books I'm head over heels for having a physical copy. I enjoy the fact that I can accumulate books and watch a personal library grow over the years. Also, I like the idea of flipping through pages and personalizing the book the way you want it. I feel like that it makes reading the story more memorable.

    Some argue that it is cheaper and sometimes free to buy books off an E-reader, but in all reality the same could be said about buying a book. I personally buy most of my school books used (I got The Poisonwood Bible Hardcover for $1 !) unless it's a book I know I'm going to love. There are alot more points I could argue about the E-Readers, but in the end it all just matters to user interface preferences.

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  39. I'm undecided for this because like almost everyone said above the senses you use while using a book bring you deeper into the experience of reading while using something like a Kindle you are losing the experience of feeling and smelling the book. If I had a life or death decision to make between and e-reader or books I would choose an e-reader because of its convenience and storage. I travel a lot and have a small car so I can't lug around 10 hard cover books but I can take one small kindle. Overall I would choose a kindle but if I really loved a book I would get a hard cover.
    Quick note: anyone who wants a cheap book and doesn't want/have a kindle check out a thrift store they have tons of books and once you are done reading, if you don't want to keep it, you can donate it again :)

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  40. The Books vs online situation is one where I am biased extremely. I'd rather read a book in my hands than be on the computer for hours or glued to a tablet for awhile to read. For me particularly, staring at a screen hurts and burdens my eyes. Yes it does save money ( sometimes ) or saves paper but I'd rather carry a book around. Since books can also be re-used and sold/bought at used book stores getting them cheaper than available through via kindle.

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  41. I personally would rather read a book because when i turn the pages i feel a sense of accomplishment. However, i can see the upside to online books; they are more convenient, easier access, cheaper, and most importantly there is no late fees from the library. All those reasons for using e-books still does not out way the feeling of a real book.

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  42. I do love the good, old-fashioned feel of a well worn book in my hands, but I also enjoy the convenience of things such as tablets or kindles. I will continue to buy books because I enjoy being able to carry it around and be able to just slip it in my bag. I will also use a tablet though because sometimes it's just easier, if I want to read at night I don't even need the lights on to disturb anyone else, I just turn it on and shut it off on the page I left off on no problem. While I do see how e-readers are becoming a more popular option, one that I'm interested in as well, I will continue to buy books purely for my enjoyment.

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