The Future of Reading is in Our Hands.

Catherine responds to a newspaper article on e-reading.

Image from bookdepository.co.uk

I think that one of the most exciting uses of mobile devices is accessing books online. As Ebooks rapidly outsell p-books, I am starting to imagine the demise of the book as we know it. So, I read with interest Professor Sherman Young’s article in the Sydney Morning Herald (3/5/11) that the book is dead. Indeed, the professor is so vehement in his beliefs that he has just written a book on it. He states: No longer are ideas tied down by the weight of physical objects. Now digital screens in all their multi-directional, technicolour, connected glory provide new opportunities to explore how we think, create and communicate. It seems that the reality of modern day publishing begins on the computer screen and it stands to reason that that is where it will stay. The professor propounds: ”Like it or not, the iPad and its ilk are the future of reading.”

While Young admits that there is an argument that screens (by way of distraction) will turn us into a generation of skimmers, he sees this as a cultural rather than technical reason. Perhaps we are too attracted to the “tabloid snippet”. I concur with this especially with the exponential growth of Twitter in our cyberworld. How easy is it to glean the essence of a conference, discussion, Hollywood marriage split, by reading a selection of 140 character comments?

Yet, the professor argues that texts online are actually becoming longer given the economic restraints of paper have been removed. He notes that academic papers are largely online and I have certainly found this to be the case when studying at present.

Perhaps the most interesting argument that Young makes for e-readers is that reading will become more tactile. As a teacher librarian, formerly an English teacher, this too excites me the most. Reading will become interactive with videos, animations, online dictionaries and translators. Young explains that: “The lines between movie, soundtrack, book and video game will become more and more blurred as reading becomes a more visible negotiation between author and reader.” For me, the possibilities are endless with this amount of interactivity especially with regard to boys, dyslexic readers, ESL students, in fact, all language learners. Students will also be able to collaborate with texts, adding subplots, choosing narrative pathways, annotating text and sending these to fellow students and teachers, interacting with characters and more.

Two exciting examples of how interactive texts have become are:

The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore iPad App Trailer from Moonbot Studios on Vimeo.

Mike Matas talking about Al Gore’s new interactive book for the iPad.


It’s what books can do rather than what they are that is important. Print books will give way to e-books and we should embrace the emerging possibilities especially in education.


The future of reading is in our hands.
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For those who would prefer a more “balanced” argument they may want to view the following sites:

http://prezi.com/6z-wxjwxjucl/lets-talk-about-e-books-e-readers-positives-pitfalls-perils/

http://livebinders.com/play/play_or_edit?id=69250

http://ireaderreview.com/2011/08/11/what-are-the-deeper-implications-of-the-shift-to-ebooks-for-us/

References

http://ireaderreview.com/2011/08/11/what-are-the-deeper-implications-of-the-shift-to-ebooks-for-us/

http://livebinders.com/play/play_or_edit?id=69250

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/20/technology/20amazon.html?_r=1

http://prezi.com/6z-wxjwxjucl/lets-talk-about-e-books-e-readers-positives-pitfalls-perils/

http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/now-the-future-of-reading-is-in-your-hands-20110530-1fd6k.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z38EdtRHlnA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LV-RvzXGH2Y

http://www.bookdepository.com/