Google says books beat websites in credibility

I love the internet for the volume of information I can easily obtain. I'd love to have something like the Kindle one day, just to save space when I need to have several books with me; for instance, it would be a great tool during Bible study, or in any class or study situation. But to truly enjoy reading, I need books. I need to feel the paper pages between my fingers, be able to take my reading to bed and use it in any prone or sitting position until I fall asleep, and I need to be able to make notes in the borders, and underline favorite lines.

I don't believe books will ever go away. Their enjoyment will only be enhanced by new tools which make it easier to find them and reference them at will.

OK, so I am a book purist. I love the feel of the book, relishing its broken binding, knowing how many pages remain before the book comes to its climax, and being able to throw it across the room when I've finished it. (I'm pretty sure only guys do that.)

I'm a library and Half-Price-Books connoisseur. There's nothing like wandering the stacks and coming across that "bluebird" find that I didn't expect. I hold it tightly and caress it gently, whispering "my precious," ala Gollum, all the way home.

But then Santa brought me a Kindle. And overnight my world is upside-down.

Suddenly, whatever I feel like reading, is instantaneously (or faster) available. Read a book review that sounds interesting? WHAM! I own it. Hear an author speak on NPR? BAM! I own his entire collected works! Make small talk at a party and someone mentions what they're reading? I sneak off to the corner and order it. Suddenly, I have the power to own anything my heart desires!

And my reaction? I'm freaked out! Way back when I delivered newspapers, I scrimped and saved for every Hardy Boys mystery in my collection. I spent hours in the library until I discovered Michael and, later, Jeff Shaara's historical accounts of American wars. And then I languished in each volume. But that is all such foolishness now. What a colossal waste of time! Today, Amazon tells me what I should read. And everything else that everyone else read when they read what I read. We've moved even beyond instant gratification. It's like simultaneous gratification - think it, and it's yours.

Is this a good thing? I love it, but yet... I can't help but feel I've been able to satisfy my desires at the expense of something greater. When something doesn't really cost anything, how valuable is it?

I love my Kindle. It's makes reading very efficient. But where's the joy?

Marcus,

I’m with you. I write in an electronic medium because I can. However, reading something on a monitor, regardless of how big it is, just doesn’t seem quite as “real” as reading it from the pages of a book.

I’m sure there will come a day when words on paper have gone the way of horse draw carriage. Call me old fashion if you like but I’ll stay with the printed word on a page of paper for the time being.

Bill

I agree that books beat websites in credibility. Think about the cost involved with printing compared to going to the web. Sending things to print costs money... before a dime is ever actually made on sales. If something makes it to print, then that means that somebody thought that it was credible enough to invest in it. And with the tightening economy, many publishers are tightening up on what they print which means that it must be of even higher standards now. I think that when you see something in print, that it would have gone through much greater scrutny than something that just goes to web.

I use digital reading only as a 'window' into what I buy on paper. Any extensive reading for me is much better on paper than online (or a Kindle).

Online does however offer the opportunity to reach a wide audience with very little investment...

I'm in trouble! My comprehension is never higher than when I read a book held in my hands. Reading on a PC screen is just not the same for me.

If all goes digital, I become a literary dinosaur overnight.

AndyC, Kindle is never meant to replace books. At least not for awhile. I'd
argue that books are the perfect machine, in fact. But if I have to choose
between carrying 20 books with me and carrying one Kindle type device, then
I'm more likely to choose the Kindle. I don't think books will ever go
away. TV didn't replace radio. Radio didn't replace newspapers. Even the
web isn't replacing newspapers.

But publishing is going to look different 20 years from now, that's one
thing I'm willing to predict.