Vooks, Shmooks - Group A

In the sixth chapter of the book, there were a few things that really stand out as Carr talks about the "Very Image of a Book". In one particular part, Carr speaks of books changing and how excited people are for the future of books. He also speaks of these "vooks" that embed videos within texts of books for a more visual and clear reading. I hope I am not being old school but I am not sold for a second that all these shenanigans is going to work.

Carr says that the book is changing and everyone is finding ways to improve reading. I read this and say to myself, "yeah i will stick to the ink". There is also the notion that old books just aren't cutting it anymore and this is where I strongly contest. I strongly believe books will never die. I also believe these "technology" books of all kinds won't last. I agree that kindles and such add a new dynamic but I do not see them surviving long term.

My support for this is simple and is actually mentioned in this chapter. People struggle to read and pixels are only making things worse. When you grab a book, you only have more pages to look at and if you want something else you need to literally separate yourself from the book. On a kindle, for example, your finger needs just a little strain to stray your reading to anything on the web. The argument against this is that there is no more "boring" reading and there are so many creative possibilities. Books are simple, books tell a story, and books were not meant to be changed. We know that innovations can dish aside a long lasting phenomenon similar to a book in the snap of the finger but I am not buying it.

In an article written on medium.com, there is a laundry list of reason the book will never die. I find two of these points to stand among the rest and were actually things I did not originally think of. First, books are autonomous. This is simply saying, you can be is Eastern Upper North Asia (obviously not a real place but somewhere in the middle of nowhere) and a book can be read. It is a luxury and comes as a whole. You can pick it up and put it down as you please no matter where you are. And second, the book is cheaper and has no hidden costs. In a world where price is everything, the "possibilities" of a kindle will not outweigh a price. You can live without a Kindle, because books don't have monthly fees. It may be a nice Christmas present, but realistically there is only a small group of extremely frequent readers that will really "save" from an e-book.

I don't know if I just don't like them or I really like books, but I don't see it happening. I wonder if any of you feel the same or have anything to support or contest my argument. I know, as far as reading goes, I don't want anyone messing with my ink no matter how creative or fun a book can become.