I find it so interesting, that while the entire world is springing forward, there are some people who are holding onto their old ways – and are getting away with it. Case in point is J.K. Rowling. The best selling author of the Harry Potter books prefers to write by hand on a piece of actual paper. She is also causing some problems for the - small - camp of e-book readers. She refuses to publish any of her books through this medium, as she believes, that to experience her stories fully, one must hold a (paper) book. Does she have the right to stall progress like this? I believe so.
And this is what really struck a cord with me. In today’s world of immediate information sharing, there are a few books, real, old fashioned paper books that still cause a stir, which people still get excited about. What is this “different” experience a book can provide? It is the atmosphere. It is the feeling one gets while sitting in a comfortable chair, sipping tea and focusing on only one thing at a time. It is difficult to multitask while submerging in an excellent book. Some may argue that this can be achieved with an e-book or a laptop also, but I disagree. This is not a cognitive decision, it is an emotional one, and paper books still win the battle here.
However, there is definitely a place for the modern e-books also: textbooks first come to mind. How much easier it would be to find a reference in an e-book on a Tablet PC just by typing in a search word? Much better than trying to manually search through hundreds of pages for that one sentence, but will it make us study more? Hm, I guess I am just scratching the surface now.
For better or for worst, I do believe that paper and e-books should co-exist and both should be available for their best possible use. Maybe one for recreation and the other for work…
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2007-02-05-potter-no-ebook_x.htm
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Here are some new advancements in the world of the Tablet PC:
http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,2090274,00.asp
Livia,
I so appreciate your writing style! You have an incredible talent of drawing the reader in! I just love it! May not agree all the time, but good reading nonetheless.
I've never read a J.K Rowling’s book, or even seen the movies, but the woman does fascinate me the more I hear about her. And, for her to actually sit down and write a book with the “old fashioned” way (pencil and paper), is simply amazing. Who does that anymore? I can appreciate her stand against e-books. After spending countless hours sitting and writing, I can't say I blame her for fearing the potential of plagiarism. She certainly deserves every penny earned!
I do have one question if someone can answer it for me - why is it she's only writing seven (?) books. She seems to have such a large following, and her sales are over-the-top. Why does she want to stop???
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