Over the next few years, we collected what records we could afford and owned enough to provide a decent variety. Hubby liked Southern Gospel. Me? Not so much! Being the more “worldly” one, I preferred Pat Boone and a little bit of Elvis. I can still hear Pat crooning, “With the Wind and the Rain in Your Hair.” Then the 8-Track debuted. Although the 8-Track craze was short-lived, we had sufficient time to get on board and, in doing so, stir up the Southern Gospel/Other Music controversy.
Not long after moving into the land of 8-Trackdom, we discovered that a new development was entering the electronic world of sound. What we needed now was a cassette player to play music stored on little tapes. This was a format I liked, and one I stubbornly hung onto even after the introduction of the next big innovation, CD’s. But then I traded cars and, much to my dismay, discovered that there was no cassette player in my new model. So, once again, I had to pitch my favs - even the Judds!
I have come to accept changes in our tech savvy world, but have been surprised at how quickly readers are moving toward choosing eBooks over print books. In an article published last week by public relations firm, EMSI, the author discusses changes in publishing: (See: “Do You Need a Major Publisher to Get Media Attention?”) If this writer’s assessment is close to accurate, much about the way authors publish and the way readers purchase books will change very quickly.
Even though originally one of the “hold-out people,” admiring the book; savoring the smoothness of the paper as I turned each page, I find myself more and more caving to the convenience of the lightweight reader and, okay, I’ll admit it, feeling a little guilty about that, especially since I have a book in print. But where else can I purchase a classic for ninety-nine cents or even download one free?
How do you feel about eBooks versus holding that hard copy in hand?
I guess I fueled the Gospel/Other Music controversy. I had Andre Crouch and Barbara Streisand on 8 track.
ReplyDeleteColeen, I think Carole King was yours also, but The Carpenters were mine.
DeleteOkay. How to answer your question. I have my own library of books and should books cease being printed (and should the local library disappear) I shall resort to rereading what I read in my younger day. And that will probably be about the same as reading something new, given the state of my memory these days.
ReplyDeleteBriefly, books: Yes. electronic "books": No.
Vanilla, I'm not surprised that the world's most avid reader (unproven assertion) would vote "No" on eBooks.
DeleteI love my printed books, and I will probably never really enjoy moving away from that format for most of my reading. However I have to admit that having an electronic version of one of the textbooks I teach from saves me from lugging several pounds back and forth from home to the office, and when I travel, I love to have ebooks to read instead of finding space for paperbacks. But, even though the library now has ebooks to download, I prefer to go in and get the books off the shelf. I love technology, but there is something enjoyable about holding a real book. :)
ReplyDeleteCrazyCampCooks, electronic books are convenient. I would have liked electronic versions of my texts when I was teaching.
DeleteI've read three books during the past week and all have been either hard cover or paperback. I convert slowly!
I think I will be headed to the ebook world as well, although I admit.....I am dragging my heals a bit. I fear that one day my kindergarteners will not touch a book with paper pages and run their fingers over the smooth illustrated pages to search for wonderful details in the illustrations. The world of education is changing.....but thinking about a world with no books does make me cringe. Change.....
ReplyDeletetgue, an ebook would take away a lot of the enjoyment of reading for children. I hope they will always have books to hold in their hands.
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