Today I'm welcoming Author Scott Nicholson and joining in on The Haunted Computer Blog Tour. Thanks Scott and welcome to the blog.
Tina’s blog theme is “Savvy thoughts about books.”
And that set me thinking: “What is a book?
These days, I just don’t know.
For some, a book will forever be that pressed-pulp object that most of us grew up with. And I am sure that is the savvy move for those people. Realistically, it is the only format that will last the rest of our lifetimes.
A few years ago, the local mayor came into our newspaper office to discuss a time capsule that was going to be buried at a civic event. The idea was that the capsule would be dug up in 50 years and the contents shared with that future audience. She wanted to know which format would be the best for storage, the one people of the future would surely be able to read.
I shrugged. There was only one real choice.“Paper.”
At that time, you could still put stuff on a floppy computer disk and have it read by most computers. That’s not so true now. Likewise, CDs, mini-DVDs, audiocassettes, vinyl records, eight-track players, wax cylinders, 16-mm films, and other formats all require somewhat specialized devices for playing. Zip drives are ubiquitous but in 10 years will our devices even have slots where they will fit?
Additionally, magnetic and electronically stored data can decay unless you keep moving the data around to newer and better storage devices. The e-book you buy today may have to be replaced in five years, assuming you plan on re-reading it at some point. (Maybe that’s not a good strategy for getting you to buy my e-books, but I am sure you—SUBLIMINAL MESSAGE!!!—want to read them all immediately).
The book as physical object is a pretty complete invention. Good ones last hundreds of years. But they all turn to dust eventually, no matter what. You can buy some L. Ron Hubbard books etched on titanium plates for tens of thousands of dollars, books built to withstand a nuclear holocaust, but who will be around to read them?
So I say let the book be the story or ideas that can be shared, and let’s worry less about the format or the object or the storage medium or the distribution flow. It’s certainly not worth fighting over “Paper vs. Plastic.”
I look at my own reading habits and the place I “read” the most books is in my car, on audiocassette. Since I read and edit so many manuscripts, I rarely read paper books anymore. I use the Kindle for Desktop PC and plan to buy a Kindle before Christmas, but again, I am writing so much, and reading so much online content already, I can’t see cramming another 200 books onto my virtual TBR pile this year.
When I bought my house six years ago, I moved in with 10 boxes of bound books. I gave away three of them as contest prizes. I opened one box and spread the contents around on my closet shelf. The other six have never been opened. I am comforted by their presence in the attic, but for necessity, they are worthless. I read the ones that appealed to me and there are others I will never read. A few I will probably re-read, but in other formats.
So I don’t know if I have any savvy thoughts about books, because a book is whatever you want it to be. The term “book” is just a generic label for the means of conveying thought from one person to another.
All I know is I have the many treasures of memories, emotions, journeys, information, knowledge, and adventures that came to me through the words of others. Some are forgotten but still stored inside me at a cellular level of collective unconsciousness.
Books are just our current way of sharing experience, and figuring out why we are here, what it all means, and who we are. Maybe our race will develop ESP and books will go out of fashion, or perhaps one day everything will be stored on the Internet or future collective storage medium. But we’ll still need the words. And we’ll need each other.
I don’t care about format. Just keep sharing.............
Scott Nicholson is author of Speed Dating with the Dead, The Skull Ring, and 10 other novels, five story collections, four comics series, and six screenplays. A journalist and freelance editor in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, he often uses local legends in his work. This tour is sponsored by Amazon, Kindle Nation Daily, and Dellaster Design.
To be eligible for the Kindle DX, simply post a comment below with contact info. Feel free to debate and discuss the topic, but you will only be entered once per blog. Visit all the blogs on the tour and increase your odds. I’m also giving away a Kindle 3 through the tour newsletter and a Pandora’s Box of free ebooks to a follower of “hauntedcomputer” on Twitter. And, hey, buy my books and put me in the Top 100 and I’ll throw in another random Kindle 3 giveaway. Thanks for playing. Complete details at http://www.hauntedcomputer.com/blogtour.htm
Thanks Scott and Goodluck to all the entrants..................
Books were paper. Books are paper and electronic. Books will be electronic. I read both forms.
ReplyDeleteI have a problem with the changes. My mind still likes to browse books on the shelve, look at pictures on the cover, and read the cleverly-worded phrases that are meant to hook you in. I have a hard time doing that with the electronic book. Browsing the internet for a book is okay, but nothing will ever replace the smell of paper and the visual delight of browsing a great book store.
byonge@lonepinetv.com
Interesting observations, Scott. I wouldn't mind owning an e-book reader loaded with books, but I will not be getting rid of my paper-and-ink books just yet - not after having seen how quickly one medium replaces another. Maybe in 15 or 20 years time the e-book reader will be obsolete and replaced by a technology we can't even begin to imagine yet. Until then, I'll hang on to my physical books.
ReplyDeleteThis brings new meaning to the phrase "content is king". The words are more important than the format it's delivered on. Without the words, books are just blank pages and eReaders are empty devices. Even verbal storytelling existed long before the written word. Each format has it's own pros and cons, advantages and disadvantages. But no matter how grand a particular format is perceived, what truly matters is whether the ideas contained within it are fulfilling and the experience is worthwhile.
ReplyDeletemichaellmartinjr[at]gmail[dot]com
I agree with both of you, while I use an e-reader and like it sometimes.....I love holding and reading a book, I love going into a book store and mostly I just love them on my book shelfs. Theres something about the sound of turning pages, the weight and smell of a book that can never compare to my computer screen.
ReplyDeleteYeah, technology is pretty irritating. It seems like they're always coming up with something new. Well, I still watch VHS movies...LOL! I do watch DVDs, but I have a large library of VHS. I still prefer paper books to ebooks...just can't help it. I pray that they don't go the way of the dinosaur!
ReplyDeletetruebookaddict(at)gmail(dot)com
Seriously? L. Ron Hubbard books on Titanium? Wow. Ok Scott how are you going to up that one? :-)
ReplyDeleteRandymir@gmail.com
I think there will always be paper books as well as e-book (in whatever format). I love them both
ReplyDeleteauthorjcphelps(at)yahoo(dot)com
I'm a big reader, but it's always been the story that's important, not the format. That's why I usually bought paperbacks instead of hard covers (cost and ease of taking with me) and why I'm now a fan of kindle (cost and ease). I can carry multiple books and always read if I have my phone with me, synced to where I was at in the story on my kindle.
ReplyDeleteGood luck Scott. I'd love to hear if you're seeing any sales impact yet from the blog tour.
Doug
dwdorow@gmail.com
Thrillersrus.blogspot.com/
My favorite thing to do is browse books on a shelf and read the back covers. My second favorite thing to do is sit on the couch with a cup of coffee and browse the internet. Now I can browse digital books on a shelf while sitting in front of my computer with a cup of coffee (buy and begin reading in seconds). There is nothing more immediately satisfying than that.
ReplyDeletecanadell@bellsouth.net
the joy of different formats is that sometimes one is better than another. example, i really wanted a book last night...couldn't find it in the online library...did at audible! as i have heard the author speak before, i thought, i'll get that version. as it is a memoir, best way! WRONG! good story but she read it too fast! so today, i will resort to the finding written version...kindle for my mac...i do want it asap.
ReplyDeleteI am a book addict. The format isn't really an issue (as long as it's readable and not too small). The main thing is that the plot must keep the reader hooked. You can reach me at luvpinkpanther@gmail.com
ReplyDeletesorry...spvaughan@yahoo.com
ReplyDeleteI logged onto this blog and the first thing I saw was Scott Nicholson staring at me. Thanks, Scott, for scaring me like this! Oh, by the way, did you get a new pair of glasses? Never mind.
ReplyDeleteMy first exposure to technology was learning how to turn the wheel on the old black telephone and put the needle on a vinyl disk without scratching it. I was ten when we got our first black-and-white TV (God, I feel so old!) Anyway, technology advances, people fight it, and then accept it. Remember when they screamed bloody murder and said that the steam engine was the work of the devil? (Okay, I'm not that old yet, I read it somewhere.) I, too, believe that content is more important than format. However, the format or the environment we read in often determines how we absorb content. Reading a book (whether paper or ebook) in the quiet of your home where you can focus on what read, you are likely to get more out of it, dig deeper into its meaning than if you listen to it on tape while driving and have to pay attention to traffic. Since I work on my PC all day, I'm used to reading a lot of content online. I also notice that I don't read it as carefully as when I have a printed copy in front of me--or a copy on the Kindle reader. I still love paperback and hardback books, but I very much enjoy the opportunities an eReader provides. I am more likely to try out new genres and unknown authors on Kindle and I have become very selective when it comes to buying the paper versions. Some of it, of course, has to do with the lower prices of ebooks. All in all, I'm optimistic about the changes and the new opportunities for writers and readers.
Christa
cpolkinhorn@msn.com
I think I will always do a combo of "normal" books and ebooks. I just love the smell of books!
ReplyDeletekaitlynkline[at]gmail[dot]com
I think I will always do a combo of "normal" books and ebooks. I just love the smell of books!
ReplyDeletekaitlynkline[at]gmail[dot]com
Hi Scott! I am stalking you today, again :D
ReplyDeleteThanks,
Ashley
sorry forgot email: ashleysbookshelf@gmail.com
ReplyDeleteNow that's not a nice thing to do Scott, because that's exactly what I tell people! But they don't listen to me -.-
ReplyDeleteSO it's not nice to steal people's speech. Altho I don't think you heard mine (ok I AM just joking)...
Because even tho the way of carrying the word may change, paper, digital, cd, dvd, whatever, the BOOK will always exist, one way or another and THAT is what trully matters.
Not sure why people make such a noise about e-books being more read than paper books or not and such. Peeps, a book is a book, whatever's the way it's published or printed or not.
Lovely post once again :)
mayarend -at- yahoo.com.br
I think paper books will be around for a long time. I still really like the space saved with ebooks!
ReplyDeleteForgot to leave my contact info. I'm the one who wished I still had the Nancy Drew books.
ReplyDeleteMorgan Mandel
http://morganmandel.blogspot.com
email - morgan@morganmandel.com
Some day books will be downloaded to our brains like a dream. We will read them in seconds. Than share them. We can give reviews instantly and even write and share books with our minds. But for now ebooks rule. Thanks Scott for your thoughts. Reg
ReplyDeleteI love the look and smell of paper books. To have a library in my home with countless bound volumes filling the shelves is a life long dream of mine. That said, I'm also a technology nut and love the idea of being able to carry 200 books around in a single device such as the Kindle. I think that the library concept (which my wife and I are well on our way to completing) is more for visual appeal. More of a decoration and a way to feed my "collection" habit.
ReplyDeleteThe future of books is within the digital world but one kindle sitting on a book shelf sure doesn't look as good as hundreds of hardcovers.
calseeor (at) gmail (dot) com
I feel like a groupie following you around on the tour . I prefer my kindle, can't believe you don't have one! They are light and will slip into any bag/purse. And no matter where I am I can pull it out and read, finish the book and "click" got another one! But paper is the only way to truly save books for future generations.
ReplyDeleteI've always kept all of my physical books and have frequently re-read most of them. I love books! However, I also love my Kindle and the easy of reading any of my books anytime and anywhere I want to, they are all with me. It's also nice not having physical books pile up around the house, I only have so much room.
ReplyDeleteWill I get rid of my physical books and replace them with digital? No way. I still buy the ones I want to keep forever as hardbacks.
Another fun stop on the tour! Thanks Tina and Scott!
lorraine_lanning[at]yahoo[dot]com
It's too bad, since I love the feel of paper, but it's clear that printed books will go the way of vinyl or CDs or 8-track or VHS, they may have some advantages but it's impossible to compete with a medium in which copying and distribution are almost free.
ReplyDeleteYou posted yesterday about what that could mean for the writing and publishing industry. Certainly, a time of change, and if publishers don't find a new model, then it may be a temporary collapse in writing-for-profit. I agree.
Thanks for another day of great ideas.
Tom
tztomfromcali _ at _ gmail _ com
I'm still a man of the 20th century and read books almost exclusively in a physical form--with a few exceptions. I suppose the main thing holding me back is finances, as I still consider e-readers a hefty investment when paper books are readily and cheaply available. And that tactile feel carries a measure of satisfaction and accomplishment with it.
ReplyDeleteI would mind having one if someone gave it to me.LOL. But I love books. I don't think there isn't a room in my house that doesn't have at least one book in it, (well maybe one room). I can't imagine a world without printed books. Reading a book is a very sensory process. The smell of the paper, the feel of the book. I don't think I could ever give that up.
ReplyDeletetwoofakind12@yahoo.com
yet another great blog
ReplyDeleteCandy
dragonfly1976@gmail.com
I also am about to move with 10 boxes of books.
ReplyDeletesailorwind@gmail.com
Scott, best post so far. I read books in both paper and digital ebook
ReplyDeleteformat. As a publisher all of our submissions are electronic submission only so it is very handy for me to download submissions to my antiquated Ipaq with its 3.8 inch screen and read on the go.
A-ha! I knew it all along... That was the ONLY POSSIBLE explanation. And we've finally caught you. And I quote you:
ReplyDelete"(Maybe that’s not a good strategy for getting you to buy my e-books, but I am sure you—SUBLIMINAL MESSAGE!!!—want to read them all immediately)."
SUBLIMINAL MESSAGES! That's how you've managed to rise to the top of the slush pile and gained your mediocre success! Amazing!
Flipping through your books and carefully reading between the lines, I find a LOT of your attempts at putting thoughts in people's heads unknowingly. A quick look at "The Red Church" and --how did I not see this before? -- there is a message that clearly reads "Send Me Money." In "The Manor" I found "Buy My Books," "Cheetah Girls ROCK," and "I(heart) goats." And in "They Hunger" I spied "I want a cement pond," "fame whore" and "My four inches are huge and massive"!
God knows what I'll find in your other books (I'm almost afraid to look!!!)! But, HAVE YOU NO SHAME???? It's quite scandalous! There ought to be LAWS against the unsavory things you've been subliminally "sneaking" into your books. It's simply SHOCKING!!!
Hmm...seems my earlier comment has disappeared. It's probably wherever my motivation ran off to.
ReplyDeleteAnyway...the gist of my comment was that I love my e-reader, but I don't "browse" e-books all that well, yet. So far, I have only read authors I know. But I know I'll be branching out before long.
-Neal
Great post. While I currently read almost all paper books, I can see the usefulness of ebooks and ereaders. However, Im almost 100% positive that even once I do get an ereader I will not switch completely over and do a mix of paper and ebooks.
ReplyDeletebacchus76 at myself dot com
I wonder what the future holds for us. It seem that some people will not want to get away from reading an actual book. Some find the pleasure of turning pages and seeing the progress they make as they near the end of a story.
ReplyDeleteGreat post! I also read books in various formats but my favorite is still paperbacks. Ebooks are becoming more popular but no matter what books will always be around.
ReplyDeletelilazncutie1215[at]yahoo[dot]com
Christa, I had a rotary dial phone in my card shop and a kid asked to use it and he became paralyzed when I handed him the phone!
ReplyDeleteSharon, this is part Grateful Dead tour, part carnival, so the whole point is to follow it around! (though the canisters of laughing gas in the parking lot are totally optional).
Douglas, yes, I think it has helped sales some, nothing dramatic, but the 99 cent stuff is selling better so I think people are trying it. As enticement I am lowering The Red Church, probably my best novel, to 99 cents to see if I can reach the Top 100 and add another Kindle to the list. But the main goal is for us all to meet each other--readers, bloggers, writers.
This tour originally was going to be a paper book at giveaway at every stop until I realized the cost and work and trouble involved, with little overall impact int he world. This way at least some people get Kindles. Like teaching someone to fish instead of giving them a fish!
Scott
My attic has several boxes of paper books in it. I will not e getting rid of them.
ReplyDeleteI read ebooks on my pc and my ebook reader, and in paper form.
My favorite is still the paperback.
kissinoak at verizon dot net
Still following around.
ReplyDeleteweb at jasonfedelem dawt com.
Enjoying your tour
ReplyDeleteI hear so many people say they love the smell of books and the feel of them in their hand. The first time I felt the Kindle in my hand, I was hooked. Now the only time I read a print book is when the ebook is so expensive (this rarely happens with indie books) that I have to go to the library. I think ebooks will definitely be the preferred reading format in the future.
ReplyDeleteI love this definition from the blog: "The term “book” is just a generic label for the means of conveying thought from one person to another."
ReplyDeleteThanks for writing! I've just found you and will keep reading. Cheers!
Karen
www.photoskeptalive.com
Just keep reading and sharing. Keep the ideas flowing. I couldn't agree more.
ReplyDeleteWakincade@gmail.com
Very interesting discussion. When I first looked at the Kindle, I noticed in the reviews that the first Kindle users were upset that their ebooks did not transfer to the new Kindle. We will probably get the new Kindle, but it would be nice to have some ebooks that last longer than VHS tapes. Hope the next Kindle allows a content transfer at least. I'm sure we will always hang on to quite a few paper books, whatever happens. I love books.
ReplyDeleteeBooks are the future. :)
ReplyDeleteI don't hate eBoooks, but if you don't have a Kindle or an Ipad or whatever, you can't read outside of your home. Plus, a Kindle is such an investment, one not everyone wants to make, especially reluctant readers. Also, staring at a computer/electronic screen for hours is a bit tiresome. I like eBooks and would love a Kindle, but I still love normal books as well.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the giveaway!
dancer_girl76(at)sbcglobal(dot)net
Physical books are still my favorite. I don't have an e-reader but maybe for Xmas. I'm still procrastinating since I get tired reading on the computer but I so love the idea of saving space and paper!
ReplyDeleteAlyssa
Teens Read and Write
I thought that I had left a comment here already, but I cannot fond it? Am I doing something horribly wrong? My original post was to the point and pretty well thought out (for me) and I would be bummed if it comes to nothing. I am loving visiting all the sites so far Scott.
ReplyDeleteJeff White
whitejw@ameritech.net
I don’t care about format. Just keep sharing...
ReplyDeleteHear, hear. :)
I love my books. I love to look at them all pretty on my shelves and to watch my collection grow and grow. But I love reading on an ereader as well. I don't think books are going anywhere anytime soon, I think book lovers will continue buying paper 'real' books, it just won't be as many because of the ereaders out there.
ReplyDeletecandace_redinger at yahoo dot com
PS. LOVE this blog! I'm a new follower and will be returning!
I love ebooks for my leisure reading. However, I still feel the need to have paper textbooks (even though they weigh a ton). For some reason, I have trouble studying from the computer screen or the screen of an ereader.
ReplyDeleteI would love a kindle for my leisure books though. I would love to free up the shelf space required to keep paper copies of all my books.
Kelly
kelly.r.morin(at)gmail(dot)com
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteWe moved hundreds of books with us repeatedly for years. We kept them all because I like to read a book again a few years later. They're heavy, they take up lots of space, and they collect dust. Having a library in a Kindle solves the problem of a house filling up with books, and having to re-pack and move them every few years.
ReplyDeleteGail in Florida
cowgirl3000 at gmail dot com
I'm still in the paper form because things keep delaying me from getting the E-Book reader that I want can't wait to make it to a E-Book readed person that I know that i am.
ReplyDeletesasluvbooks(at)yahoo.com
I don't like reading on my computer, because I can't curl up in bed with it and read. I can do that with my kindle, so it makes me happy. There are still books I want on paper- graphic novels, personally signed copies, fancy editions of classics, to name a few. And I don't see myself getting rid of the paper books that I own; we have too much history together. ("Grandma, was this book really only 75 cents?" "Yes, and I didn't buy lunch at school for three days so I could get it.")But I love that I can get books directly onto my kindle. I'm epileptic and don't drive. Getting to a bookstore can be a pain. When my husband was deployed, it was nearly impossible,and that was when I needed new books most. Ah, I'm rambling. I guess I just love books, whatever form they are in. :)
ReplyDeletebluefrog62@yahoo.com
Can't disagree with your observations but it will take me a while to get in the habit of calling all formats a "book".
ReplyDeleteOne of the things I'd miss about a paperback is the fact that you can just about toss them anywhere and not have to worry too much about them. Dropped it on the floor? No problem. Killed a fly with it? Wipe it off and get back to reading. I've yet to handle a Kindle and I can't comment on it's ruggedness.
ReplyDeleteWhat Gail said about moving books is so true. You've got to pick up the box from the bottom.
Speaking of paperbacks, can anyone explain to me why some new PB's are taller and narrower than a normal PB? Is this some new 'metric' size of what? Was there a problem with the old size?
Nuff said.
The first commenter is right - there is nothing more pleasurable (well, few things) than wandering around a bookstore on a rainy day, looking at all the possibilities of whiling away a lazy day. So browsing online, looking for ebook titles loses a lot of the experience for me.
ReplyDeleteMaggie at tethered mommy dot com
Even with e books, I'll still have to have some print books.
ReplyDeleteI've had fun recently getting some of them autographed at Dragon*con.
andrea.infinger@gmail.com
I'm not particularly nostalgic about the feel, smell, or look of paper books. I am a clutter nazi, and paper books are just one more thing that takes up space and needs to be organized. So, I don't have many paper books. I have a few that have been given to me, and I keep all of my cookbooks in the paper form. Otherwise, I love the portability of the kindle and the way I can carry around my entire library and just read what suits me.
ReplyDeleteTo each their own though...
I do often wonder what will replace ebooks in the future.
Stefanie647@msn.com
My daughter reads all her books three or four times and has hundreds, reads at 99th percentile level for her age. When she saw her first e-reader, she immediately wanted to trade ALL of her books for one. "You can carry 1,500 books and you don't have to pay more when the paperback isn't available."
ReplyDeleteScotter, that weird size is called "upperbacks" and it is an attempt to add some sort of premium to the product. In other words, raise the price by two or three bucks. One of the first harbingers of the death of the mass-market paperback.
BTW everyone The Red Church mark-down sale is underway--99 cents for Kindle. I see most of you are paper fans so you can order it used for a penny! (Or the new edition for $14 or so).
Scott
I guess my brain is a non-linear book.
ReplyDeleteTwitter: MachineTrooper
I read both, print when at home and ebooks when traveling. As long as I have books to read I'm happy. Format doesn't really matter.
ReplyDeleteI like both print books and ebooks, although I honestly prefer print books. The wonderful feel and smell of print books is a missing component when reading ebooks. I've never tried audio books , because I like to see the words of a book.
ReplyDeletedekad1(at)hotmail(dot)com
Great post!
ReplyDeleteI forgot email addy!
ReplyDeleteyospinks at booksand dot net
I would love to win a Kindle as E-books seem to be the new way of receiving books. But I still love reading books the old-fashion way, too. Change is good, but some old ways need to stand through time.
ReplyDeleterbooth43(at)yahoo(dot)com
I would love to win a Kindle as E-books seem to be the new way of receiving books. But I still love reading books the old-fashion way, too. Change is good, but some old ways need to stand through time.
ReplyDeleterbooth43(at)yahoo(dot)com
The format of a book has never bothered me too much. I see books that I've read in hardcover, paperback and audible all in ebook formats now. That's what I read almost exclusively now. The words are what is important to me. Also saves a lotta shelf space. My problem is I have a lot of books by very early authors that are chiseled into stone and burnt onto animal hides, but not available in ebook format yet. That would really free up a lot of space in my home. That's the problem with being an early adopter of the written word.
ReplyDeletek00lhandster@gmail.com
I think, in the long run, the term "book" will come to mean so much more than it does today. It is an evolving thing, adapting with the times.
ReplyDeleteMargay1122(at)aol(dot)com
I would LOVE a Kindle DX. Thanks for the opportunity to win one! :)
ReplyDeleteP.S. Click on my name for my contact info. ;)
Lately I'm thinking of a book more and more like we think about movies - a bit of entertainment for a while and no more. Certainly helps to think that way when you consider what they're pricing ebooks at!
ReplyDeleteinannajourney at gmail.com
I totally love this book! I'm gonna tweet/rt...awesome that you can give it away! More people need to read it. Tessa's an amazing author!
ReplyDeleteXD
Certainly an interesting question/premise: what is a book? Or, these days, ask: when does a book stop being a book?
ReplyDeleteNotice that we usually define the format before saying it’s a book, except for paper. I’ve yet had someone ask me, “Can you pass me my paper book, please?”
EBook.
Audiobook.
But say “book” and paper-bound comes to mind. This is because it was the first way a book was presented.
Now we have “enhanced eBooks” surfacing. Though I’ve never seen one, they seem to me not really enhanced but just a kind of hodge-podge of media.
Look at comics. There are print comics and eComics. There are motion comics, which I’ve seen. Look more like stilted cartoons using the original comic art as the visuals. They’re narrated, so you’re not reading them despite the speech bubbles and captions being present.
In general, right now my stance is a book is something very long that you read. It’s what a book was when books started. So print books and eBooks I consider “real” books. Audio books--you don’t read those no more than you read the fairy tales your mommy told you when tucking you in at night. Someone’s reading you a story, long or short.
If there’s no act of reading, it’s not a book. Instead, it’d be a different delivery system to give you the same story.
Do you consider faithful movie adaptations of a book a book? No. It’s the same story, sometimes abridged, just like audio books can be. We don’t call it a motion-book or movie-book. It’s a movie.
Make sense?
I think the ol’ “duck checklist” has to apply here: if it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, talks like a duck, then it’s a duck. Otherwise you got something else, a platypus, maybe.
That's an interesting way to put it: If you read it with your eyes, it's a book. Audio books aren't books, although ebooks are.
ReplyDeleteI used to agree with you but I can't.
I listen to a lot of books on MP3. I get the same story as a book.
I hear the words of the story in my mind as I would if I were reading it, except that the narrator usually sounds better than my own voice-in-my-head. Then I take the words the voice says and make a graphic image of the scene and "see" it play out as I "hear" it or "read" it.
Yes, the delivery system is different but it activates the same processes in my head.
A wonderful benefit of an audio book is that I can listen to a book while I do dishes, sort clothes, wash and dry the laundry, pick up after the kids, walk to work and do the grocery shopping. All the hours that made up these chores were dead time to me because I couldn't read a book -- until I started reading audio books.
One interesting thing about audio books is what happened to me when I listened to Shirley Jackson's "Haunting of Hill House".
I'd read it twice before with my eyes, but when I listened to it, I "saw" things I'd missed before -- such as when the book describes Eleanor's apartment. Listening to the narrator I suddenly realized that Jackson was foreshadowing Eleanor's tangled relationship with Theodora by telling us her roommate was a woman and alluding to a relationship without explicitly stating so.
For me audio books are as much a book as ebooks.
--Greg the Undead Rat
theundeadrat (@) gmail (.) com
I agree with many others who say they don't care about the form or format, only the availability and accessibility. I read both, but usually take my kindle when I leave the house. It's just easier than hauling around a paper book, but some of my favorite authors have back-catalogues that I can't get in digital form, so I read what I can get.
ReplyDeletegeekgirlunveiled at gmail dot com
Most of us learn to love books at an early age. I remember as a toddler sitting on my great grandmothers lap as she read to me. Kids, especially, need paper books because the illustrations keep their attention and they are comforted by the act of someone they love sharing the content of a book with them. I've collected childrens books all my life, and I have enough books to have my own library.
ReplyDeleteI love my Kindle and the ebooks, but I want to believe that a love affair with books begins with holding and mulling over a real paper book. While ebooks are taking a large chunk out of real books sales, I want to believe we will always be able to enjoy the pleasure of holding and reading paper books.
Ummm...yeah - my post above - but I forgot to leave my email.
ReplyDeleteCarol
crljqs1@gmail.com
Ahhh but you see when the apocolypse comes and civilization collapses you won't be able to burn a Kindle to keep you warm :0)
ReplyDeleteeva.s.black[@]gmail[.]com
I much prefer the electronic format - it makes it so much easier to buy a book with just one click. Okay, maybe that is a bad thing . . . :)
ReplyDelete~Chrizette
baychriz[at]gmail[dot]com
I've always loved my books. There was comfort in the well-read pages, the way the book felt in my hands, the way that it opened to certain passages that I read over and over again. But, I live in a small apartment and have to large bookshelves filled with books, with another 2 boxes in the spare room. Ebooks have become my new best friend. They're generally much less than the "real" books, and I don't have to listen to my husband and his complaints of being slowly buried under a pile of paperbacks.
ReplyDelete♥mischievousmaya
mischievousmaya@gmail.com
count me in!
ReplyDeletesheree
neednspace at aol dot com
Awesome.
ReplyDeleteI'd love this. As much as I'm a new-book-smell fanatic, I'm also slowly falling in love with e-books. I kinda sorta just want to own an e-reader. xD
rivkarno1(at)hotmail(dot)com
I work in a library and our members are very poor. Think Ohio and no jobs. Probably about 90% could not afford an e-reader. What then? I don't know if the library will lend out Kindles but I'n guessing no, as we do not rent VCRs or DVD players. Hmm...
ReplyDeletekristiedonelson(at)gmail(dot)com
Kristie,
ReplyDeleteDon't worry about Kindle prices. This year we saw the Kindle drop in price tremendously. That is a trend we're going to continue seeing.
I also work in a library in Ohio and I noticed that as DVDs gained more acceptance, the price in DVD players dropped so much so that many of our staunch VHS customers shifted to DVDs.
As Kindle gains more and more acceptance, its price will continue to drop. It's a fundamental law of business in technology -- perhaps all businesses -- and I won't pretend to understand it.
However, the prices will drop and if ebooks do begin to replace books, you'll see your patrons purchase ebook readers or at least upgrade their cell phone to ones that support ebook reading.
--Greg the Undead Rat
Thanks for this lovely post! But that pic with glasses... creepy....
ReplyDeleteatta.girl@rocketmail.com
I'm going to disagree with the point one commenter made that audiobooks are not books. To me, the real difference between books and movies (even ones that stick close to the original) is that in a movie, the interpretation has been done for you. The inflections, images, and subtleties are all presented to the consumer as the actor or director envisions them, whereas, with a book, whether it's read or listened to, all or most of the interpretation is the job of our imagination. The author may have given us many clues to guide our imagination, but ultimately, we "see" the story through the lens of our own personal experiences, which is why we can all react so differently to the same story. What one reader/listener finds horribly frightening, another may call "lame". What one considers clever, another may describe as obvious. The requisite interaction between producer and consumer is what I believe sets written works apart from all other media.
ReplyDelete--Maria
Still catching up with all the blog tour stops!
ReplyDeleteIt doesn't matter what format it is in, as a Deaf person books will always be my world. Just like to some hearing people, music is their world.
conrad.jd (at) gmail (dot) com
Interesting post.
ReplyDeletemelissahelwig@hotmail.com
Genre labels never do the book or movie or music justice.
ReplyDeletebunkercomplex @ gmail . com
I've got over 680 books on my Kindle, most of them read, quite a few needing to be read. I know paper will be with us forever, but I still prefer my Kindle. I'm not sure why. well, I do. I always have an extra book on me no matter where I go. When I go on vacation, I don't have to lug a suitcase full of books (you relax on vacation right? Reading. LOL) Plus, it takes up less room, I never lose my page (my kids have a tendency to grab my books and the bookmark falls out), and my wrist doesn't hurt ever when I go through a long reading stretch.
ReplyDeleteSince I do reviews, I still read a lot of paper books, but the Kindle is always my first choice.
Love the blog tour, Scott. This is a great blog site- I will be coming back here!
ReplyDeletedreamer dot ima at gmail dot com
Thanks for another interesting post!
ReplyDeleteredicoder at gmail dot com
I hope paper books are around for a long time. nothing beats the heft of a good book in your hands.
ReplyDeleteteawench at gmail dot com
Okay , folks, entries here capped at 93 but you're welcome to keep commenting. Jesse, yes, it's great there are so many choices for all of us--I know a lot of vision-impaired people like e-readers because they can adjust text size.
ReplyDeleteMaria, I love a good audio reading, where the actor can do voices. It's a real talent. I have done some audio samples but (as you will see in Saturday's post) I am definitely not an actor!
Scott Nicholson
Love your blog tour Scott!
ReplyDeletepurposedrivenlife4you at gmail dot com
While I have no personal objections to ebooks, I love the touch and feel of books; I find I like to hold books and flip through them, something I don't get from an ereader. I just haven't warmed up to audiobooks, but I think it's because I'm usually on the go when I'm listening to them and that's probably not a good idea.
ReplyDeletegreat contest and great author!
ReplyDeletemonacart32 at hotmail dot com
I've never heard of Scott Nicholson, or his books before. This is a great way to get your name out there!
ReplyDeletecoriwestphal at msn dot com
@coriwestphal
awesome interview. good luck with the blog tour, scott!
ReplyDelete-Len-
maidenveil(at)gmail(dot)com
Wonderful idea!
ReplyDeleteivechosendarkness[@]gmail[.]com
Great tour! And I'd LOVE to have a Kindle! :)
ReplyDeleteLaQuiet(at)gmail(dot)com
I'd love to read this book (and the rest of the books he's written) on a new Kindle!
ReplyDeletehufflepuffgrl13@yahoo.com
ReplyDelete