Check out this awesome essay from Alexander Chee about his decision to move to e-books and his burgeoning Internet addiction. The Spark Notes version? Chee lives in a cramped New York apartment. Ten more books added to an already massive collection will deliver him into “crisis.”
Ever have this problem, readers? Would you ever consider going digital purely for the spatial benefits?
3 responses
Living in Manhattan, making a living teaching writing, and having “too many” books. That’s a problem I’d like to have.
Good grief, if I have to buy another bookshelf. The sheer amount of stuff we accumulate. So, yes, for spatial benefits.
But, eHoarding is just as bad as the real deal. In fact, I think I am more overwhelmed by the number of things “I have to” read online. Also, the DRM implications of book ownership (or lack thereof) that you download from Amazon or B&N as opposed to that from, say, Project Gutenberg gives me pause. The shit ton of books threatening to kill me are still all mine, see?
“A room without books is like a body without a soul.” -Cicero
I think I am probably an old fashioned luddite but I will never give a damn for an e-book. I like holding books, the smell of books, the sight of book spines lined on a shelf, etc. Plus, the book remains excellent technology– portable, easy to operate, functional, and affordable. I don’t see how the e-book has really improved on the book from a technological standpoint.
All this having been said, my friend is a high school English teacher and a grant recently paid for a bunch of Kindles to be kept in her classroom. She says all the kids love them and students who would never crack a book have no problem sitting down and quietly reading Shakespeare on a Kindle.
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