WILL UNWOUND #669: “An Ah-Hah Moment”
January 30, 2012Just when I have internalized all the conventional wisdom that the glue and paper book is on a fast track to the thrift shop, the antique store, the museum, and the landfill, I have this ah hah moment where I simply unable to envision a world without glue and paper.
Yes, it is cheaper to produce and buy ebooks. Yes, with an ereader, every person can have an almost limitless personal library in the cloud. Yes, you can enlarge the print on an ebook. And yes, with its internally illuminated screen it is ideal for bedtime reading for people with partners. I get all those things, and grudgingly accept them.
But yesterday there I was happily ensconced at my local public library where I am a proud trustee. I had commandeered an entire study table and was researching exterior trim designs for a California mission style house. As you know from various blog posts I have written, I am building a new California mission style house in the historical part of town. I want the “look” to be right…just right. That’s why I keep going back to the library every two weeks or so. My approach is always the same. I amass a stack of maybe 15 or 20 books and then I open them to the pertinent pages. At any one time I may have as many as 12 open books spread all over the study table. That way I can compare and contrast the text and photos in a very direct way.
Ah hah! Can I do that with an eReader? I don’t think so unless they’ve come up with an app I’m not aware of.
When 6 year old Connor and 4 year old Sophia accompany me on my research trips to the library, the first stop is always to the children’s room so they can have their stacks of books to look at while I’m looking at architectural details. On any given day Connor can be into dinosaurs and Sophia can be into ballerinas. Hmmmm….their approach is exactly the same as mine. Spread out a bunch of dinosaur books open to the pertinent page (in this case, the formidable T Rex). Isn’t that really what research is…get all the relevant resources together in one place at one time and decide which ones are best?
Ah hah! Can that be done with an eReader?
Today I get home from a 5th straight frustrating round of golf. My chipping stroke has gone wonky. I head for my man cave (the garage) and my man cave library (35 golf instructional books). I pull out my 54 degree wedge, spread 7 of the golf books (Palmer, Player, Boros, Nicklaus, Hogen, Miller, and Tiger) on the floor, examine the various styles, start chipping golf balls off a little Navajo rug (my wife will never know) into a bucket tipped sideways until I find a style that works.
Ah hah. Glue and Paper trumps glass and plastic.
I agree with you, Will, and your diligent, persistent research echos the way I go about getting it right, but you know how it is. A true believer in one thing is unlikely to convince a true believer in an opposing thing. I will look forward to the responses of the true believers in e-books to this posting.
Wayne, is there room for both formats to coexist for a long time?
I agree 100% about the glue and paper vs the e-book reader. Every time the bagger at the grocery asks me “Paper or plastic?”
I smile and think “Book or Nook?” and choose paper.
But, about your chipping. Greg Norman’s tip: http://www.shark.com/sharkwatch/instruction/tip38.php
(Print it and lay it on the floor with the books.)
Mike, excellent link. I especially like the advice to keep the wrists comfortable and natural. Thanks.
The first urge is to say paper good, electrons not so good. Unfortunately, the library with the physical volumes I’d need to add more items to ( http://www.flickr.com/photos/34219731@N07/sets/72157624507692843/ ) is physically unreachable, so the electronic simulacrum (uspto.gov ) will have to do. I keep thinking there’s a book in all the “patent people” but they may never get beyond an obscure web presence.
Lately I got hooked on downloadable audio books to listen while plowing through the patents. Reading (whether from paper or a screen) is a primary activity that does not admit of doing much of anything else at the same time. Whereas one can “audit” while doing other things (including skimming texts).
Stan, you do some amazing research. Keep the patents coming. I love them!
Stan, check Patent Number 1,549,386.
I have always said that just as TV and radio each have a spot so do paper books and e-books. You have shown beautifully the perfect argument for paper and glue. We went on a 45 day cruise last year. I took 32 books — they weighed 8.5 ounces — total. In my mind the perfect application of e-books. I’m not sure why people think it has to be one or the other.
Irene…I think the “one or the other” issue stems from the economics of producing and selling books. Which format is more profitable?
It does not have to be one or another but both work for me. Whenever I suggest an e-book to a patron, I’m confused by the look of panic in their eyes and the declaration that they love the look, the feel of a ‘real’ book. I own hundreds of books, oversee thousands at my library but use my Kindle too.I believe children’s books will always be a player in the market and there are research materials that are not duplicated in e-books so paper/glue books won’t totally disappear in my time.
My support for e-books is that we send our tatty old volumes to a child in my imaginary, 3rd world country, Cokapeaco and the child has old books. With an e-reader there is the possibility that that same child can have an entire library, sans drool stains.That image makes me unbearably happy.
Deborah, you make good points, but economically can the formats really coexist. I hope the answer is yes.
Deborah, I agree. I use both and would never abandon a “real book.” E-books are here to stay, but a great use for them may be college textbooks – having just spent a small fortune on them for my daughter…
From what I’ve heard even the students don’t like them.
My spouse is on jury duty today and NO electronics were allowed in the courthouse. I reminded him to bring a book. Jury duty without a book would be intolerable!
Alice, is the etextbook on the way?
I definitely think e textbooks are the way to go. Publishers gouge students on them and they are heavy to carry around. On the other hand, Harry never would have heard from the Half Blood Prince in that scenario, lol.
I don’t see why textbooks in eformat would be priced in a less gouging manner than those in paper. Most of the expense is not the printing. I think profs would still want what they think are reputable texts from reputable publishers and authors with a good academic record.
I know kids that adore the kindle fire. A lot of children’s books come as apps with interaction. That said, a kid can be hard on electronics and there is something to be said for using imagination instead of seeing things on a screen.
Matthew…what do ebooks do to the parent/grandparent and child book connection.
I don’t know if I’ve outed myself as a big ol’ nerd to the rest of the Unwinders yet, but here goes: whenever people talk about the book being some kind of Tasmanian Tiger, I think of Star Trek: The Next Generation (and the other ST shows set in the same futuristic time frame). Think about those little electronic pads they would all use for reports and other business types stuff. Smart phones and eReaders when you think about it. Heck, Jake Sisko (from ST: Deep Space Nine, for those of you who are unaware) even wrote his books and short stories on one of those pads. And yet, there were still print books. My favorite captain, Captain Janeway, was fond of reading poetry from physical books.
I have not embraced ebooks, but I have read some things in that format. Further, I try to have an ebook on my droid for those times when I need a distraction but don’t have a book (doctor’s office waiting room, for example). However, there is something to be said of the sensual aspect of holding a book and flipping the pages.
So, yeah, I’m with you this time, Will.
Jessica, unwittingly you have given me fodder for my next post: waiting room reading.Thanks.
Good analogy. I heard William Shatner talking the other day about their handheld gadget (transponder? don’t remember and I’m not a big Star Trek fan), and he claims it was so wild to believe that such a thing could exist. Then he pulled out is cell phone — the only thing it can’t do is transport him from ship to planet. . .
Somehow I think that is next providing they can work out the necessary security lines!
Speaking of waiting rooms: is it REALLY necessary for them to have blaring TVs with continuous ill-chosen (IMHO) movie loops or a broadcast station airing inanity after inanity. With volume I can’t lower or stations I can’t change even when I am the only one waiting? I prefer the outdated magazines but I can’t concentrate with all the noise.
Audio noise has become white noise.
Couldn’t agree with you more, Lynne I. When I filled out a survey my kid’s orthodontist practice, I commented on this. They have two waiting rooms, and BOTH have TVs playing. I notice that since completing the survey, they have the sound turned down on one of them.
Props to Will for this insight. This is why the tabbed browser was such an important innovation. When I was working on my last book I always had at 5-7 different sites open on my browser in addition to the manuscript in a word processing window. It was so I could check things in Google Books, our local newspaper, acronym finders, and similar reference sources.
Just try using an e-reader to compare historic maps or photos in order to spot changes in the same neighborhood. Not all essential sources of knowledge are text-based.
Betty, excellent points!
@ Betty Barcode
A concerted effort by local libraries to digitize local images & tie a database of said images to G.P.S. or similar geo coding systems could be a great stride toward addressing this issue. We’ve made small stabs in FLICKR (http://www.flickr.com/photos/yorklib/sets/72157618804531713/ ) and using waymarking.com (http://www.waymarking.com/wm/search.aspx?f=1&lat=40.8315698&lon=-97.5680595&t=3&id=68467&st=2 )
Fascinating. Thanks, Stan.
Stan — love your rephotography project on Flickr — a visual record of both continuity and change. Visual history, if you will. Fascinating.
Having multiple windows open on a glorious, 27-inch iMac cinema display approximates your experience, Will. And large-format electronic displays will only improve with time. We’re also only in the infancy of applications that can exploit such displays. Imagine a map tied to underlying geographic and cultural databases. I could view a locale at any level of granularity I wished, zooming in to a street view or out to a city or province view. At any point I could summon data and images associated with the locale, play video clips, perhaps talk to someone there… think Google Earth on steroids, with a friendlier interface. We’ve only begun to tap the possibilities.
I’ll try not to drool!
I only have a 21.5″ iMac and I love it but…Ooo — 27 inches — that is cool! Macs a great machines and if I had the money I’d give them out to people for free — because ideally, everyone should have one.
There’s a place for both. I like my Sony e-reader for fiction, but for non-fiction or research or any time I might want to flip back and forth in the pages, a paper & glue book is the only way to go. Change can be hard to accept, but why can’t we enjoy the best of both??
Rural librarian…I sincerely hope we continue to have choices in format. As you say…each has its strengths.
I have a house full of over 2,000 paper & glue books (actually, 2,121 + a couple dozen library books. Wifey and I both read romances and faux Jane Austen wannabes) and would never want to part with them. I expect them to follow me into the next life and will be REALLY pissed if they do not. I have faith there will be ethereal versions “in print.”
However, I’m not sure it’s going to be our choice. I like those coffee table books as much as anyone, what with their glossy clay pages of beautiful photographs. But what about when they cost $200 apiece? It’s not just you who will be making the decision; it’s you and your wallet. And your wallet is going to eventually balk. Right now there’s not enough of a difference, but just wait a few years.
You talk about “being green” and leaving a “small carbon footprint,” but you’re not walking the walk. How much pollution is spewed into the air by books? I lived in Tacoma for awhile. Let me tell you about paper mills, the Aroma of Tacoma! The ink is toxic; so is the glue. And it all gets transported thousands of miles by diesel truck.
The real point is that we will have no choice. Economic pressures will be brought to bear over which we have no control. I’m not happy about this part of the future. I can only hope that ebook technology will continue to improve so that we can all enjoy pristine photographs of coffee table iPads, er, I mean, books.
And tabbed browsers are a good thing, Will. It’s all the rage.
mIck, I agree. The future of glue and paper rests with the bean counters.
In another conversation today, Matt Williams ( who lives just up the road from me – he’s at I-80 exit 272 while I’m at exit 353 ) noted a NY Times article about Barnes & Noble ( http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/29/business/barnes-noble-taking-on-amazon-in-the-fight-of-its-life.html ) The third page of that article has bookseller’s insights about physical vs. virtual books too extensive to copy here but the article is well worth reading & pondering in the context of this discussion.
Stan…great link. This should be required reading for every librarian.
You know Will, no, they can’t do that right now.
However, what everyone in their glee for new Tech toys seems to forget is that we do actually have chunks of the USA which are NOT connected, at all.
I know a whole community of people within a 2 hour drive north of the SF Bay who do NOT have Electricity, or land line Telephone services. It’s not because they don’t want it, it’s because it is to expensive to put the lines in. They are not the only ones in California.
Scoffers who don’t believe in a digital divide, are to privilaged to speak to it, and to ignorant to actually know about it.
Libraries live and books will not die.
John, a fascinating comment. If the high tech infrastructure is to expensive to install in rural areas, what will happen to those areas?
What I find annoying is the number of stories I’ve seen on the news lately about the “future” of learning, like everything, including school, pre-k through 12, will be online. For whom?! Besides an aging power grid, there are large parts of the country, mostly rural and urban, that do not have the wireless, high speed Internet (and won’t for a long time to come). I’d also like to laugh in the faces of all of those techies who have been rather “liberal” with their snide remarks about me having dial-up Internet, long after most were able to go to cable or DSL. They don’t seem to know their profession like they claim. What passes for high speed Internet in the US is woefully inadequate (the US is a laughing stock in relation to many countries in the world when it comes to Internet speed). For what’s considered high speed Internet here, it might as well be dial-up.
Heck, I live in a small urban area, and my Internet connection isn’t reliable, which is why I haven’t yet succumbed to regular online bill paying.
And I hate these e-things that only come with a computer cable for charging not a wall charger. Heck, if I wanted to carry a laptop around with me on vacation, maybe i wouldn’t even use an iPod touch or a Nook. (Discovered that the newly repackaged Nook Simple Touch does not include wall charger when I went to purchase it for my parents this Christmas. So even though the price is reduced, it doesn’t include as much.)
Just one more angle: Shell Oil and others predict a low-energy future. We may not have ample or reliable sources of energy for all of our i-thingies.
http://www-static.shell.com/static/aboutshell/downloads/aboutshell/signals_signposts.pdf
This indicates the necessity of retaining the analog should the virtual prove to be unsustainable.
The power consumption of a laptop, tablet, or e-reader is generally low relative to, say, a dishwasher. A solar-panel/battery setup can easily power most electronic devices.
The power consumption involved with manufacturing electronic devices is another matter. We’ve outsourced that power consumption to China, where a lot of electrical power is derived from burning coal and, now, from the immense hydroelectricity installation at the Three Gorges Dam, which has its own set of environmental costs.
Mick, in his excellent comment above, speaks about the economic factors which will drive the choice between ebooks and print-and-glue books. He also speaks about that choice within the context of environmental costs.
Which brings up the question: Which has the smaller carbon footprint once manufacturing is taken into account? The printed book consumes trees, petrochemicals (glue, ink), minerals (clay-based filling used to produce those high-gloss papers), and other resources, and has a cost in terms of stocking and distribution of physical objects. Ebooks have environmental costs related to the manufacture and distribution of the devices we read them on.
One commentator investigated the question, Which has a smaller environmental impact — reading your news in a print newspaper or reading your news online? His conclusions are interesting. Is there a clearcut answer? Not exactly. It’s complicated.
Forgot to mention this…. Be sure to read not only the article I link to above but its reader comments, which are (gasp!) both temperate and intelligent.
Interesting article. Thanks. “Solar cell production capacity is growing at 30 percent per year at the same time that price is falling at 6 percent per annum. At this rate, America is less than 20 years away from meeting 100 percent of its energy needs with solar.” –Abundance, by Peter Diamandis. I suspect eBooks to power themselves within a few years.
I’m certainly ready for a solar battery for my laptop. But in a low-energy future, how do you propose to maintain the colossal server farms used by Google, Amazon, and the rest of the providers you count on every time you fire up your laptop?
Good point, Betty B — we tend to think of the power needs of the stuff in front of us but not the power needs (and environmental costs) of the infrastructure that supports our stuff.
The future is going to be more about expensive energy than low energy. I’m confident that solar, wind, and geothermal will develop to the point of being competitive with fossil-fuel-based electrical generation, but as billions more worldwide come into the possession of electrical and electronics technology, they will bid up the price for energy no matter what its source.
How about the cost and carbon footprint required to provide libraries to store, heat, and cool glue and paper collections
We’d better develop a really good carbon footprint to stave off the next Ice Age, regardless.
I have stacks of books around at any given time about topics that interest me (e.g. European Union, foreign languages).
That’s how I live too, Jeannine.
I hear you. You love traditional books. That is great and I’m sure you’ll be able to find paper books at rummage sales and in specialty and collectors’ shops for years and years to come.
However, I have no doubt that E-Books will become the dominant reading format in the near future. Eventually the economics of the situation and the increasing public demand for the format will win out. And I’ll reiterate what I said last week you may love paper books but if the format switches to E-Books and paper books are no longer made, or only made as $200 special editions, are you going to stop reading or read that new book by your favorite author on an E-Reader?
The New York Times has an article today titled The Book Store’s Last Stand and it discusses Barnes & Noble’s struggle to stay in business and how they’re betting their future on their line of E-Readers and I think the article has a number of very valid points about how the E-Reading technology is changing reading.
Here’s the link:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/29/business/barnes-noble-taking-on-amazon-in-the-fight-of-its-life.html?_r=1&ref=technology
And on another related note, I can also see a day in coming in the very near future where we’ll be able to look at books on the huge, thin, wall hanging OLED TVs in our living rooms and you’ll be able to put 10 open books of photos of house trims up on the wall to peruse to your hearts content all from the comfort of your own living room.
Assuming, of course, that all the digital rights issues have been magically resolved.
Yes… I agree that is a big assuming…
Not only will someone like Will be able to view house trims on the living room wall that also happens to be an electronic display, but he’ll be able to use voice commands to manipulate what he’s doing there: “Show me trims and accents for California mission-style homes, along with photos of houses that have used them.” He’ll be able to point, too, to move things around on the display wall, zoom in, etc. Voice and gesture control will be commonplace and natural ways of interacting with data.
(And if he wants to simultaneously view the Golf Channel in an inset in the corner, he can tell the wall to do that too. Just say “Golf Channel” and point to the spot where he wants it.)
All of that sound cool to me! I am looking forward to those options.
Heck, at some point the exterior surfaces of houses will be giant electronic displays, and you’ll be able to order up whatever look you feel like.
Better hope you have good neighbors.
Or install high fences!
Jonathan Franzen makes an important point about the future of the human record in today’s online Guardian, see: http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2012/jan/30/jonathan-franzen-ebooks-values
And here’s a contrary view via Mashable Tech
http://mashable.com/2012/01/30/jonathan-franzen-ebooks/
Will, how many people do you think have your kind of money. Ebooks, like new mission style homes, are not for the average Joe. Sure you can buy them and even add a few books to them, but a library? Who are you kidding. 500 books at $10 per book would cost $5,000. Let’s see, eat or have a library I can carry around in my back pack. Hmm. Let me think about that. C’mon Man!
me too…there are thousands of free ebooks…all of the classics and everything on the Gutenberg Project. Free, man, free!!!
This is also the way I learn a language, craft a Christmas ornament, research a trend, even cook (follow the directions once, “fix” the recipe ever after). I can’t afford the technology to be able to do all at once all of this spreading out.
I like the idea of ebooks, but I won’t lend out an expensive reader the way I’ll lend out a paper book. If they lose my book, I’m not out much, but if they lose my reader…
I was at a meeting earlier this week. At lunch and the breaks everyone at my table was deeply engrossed in their i-thingies and no one was talking with anyone else except those collaborating on an i-whatever. So I pulled out my book. No one noticed. If someone had spilled coffee on my book I would have dried it out and kept going. If I’d spilled coffee on one of the ipads, people would have noticed me immediately. Hmmm…
Back to the computer and multiple screens that make my job possible…