It is the Story that Counts
It was once said that elevators would replace stairs.
Why would they not? After all, elevators provide faster access than do
stairs, are more efficient than are stairs, and cause less stress to the human
body than do stairs. Why would one choose to tromp up a long flight of stairs
instead of stepping into an elevator and being whisked away to another floor?
Of course, it didn’t happen. We have elevators, we have stairs, and we have
escalators –moving stairs. They co-exist, each serving the same purpose, that
of moving people and things from one floor, one level, to another.
We have all read the speculation that Ereaders – Kindles, and Nooks, and
iPads – will ultimately replace books. Indeed, sales of Ereaders have soared
while bookstores have closed.
The writer who reported the early speculation about elevators, however,
asserted that the demise of the printed book is as unlikely as the demise of
stairs.
Now, argument by analogy is a tricky business. No analogy is perfect, and
it may well be that the suggested link between the future of books and the future
of stairs will not hold. Modern inventions have, in fact, replaced many of the
things we formerly used.
We write on paper, not papyrus. We pull plows with tractors, not horses. We
fly across the Atlantic rather than sail. Cars have replaced carriages, digital
has all but replaced film, clocks have replaced sun dials, and my wife
maintains that cell phones are replacing wrist watches.
Nevertheless, I tend to agree that Ereaders will not completely replace
books.
I take this position as one whose wife gave him a Kindle Fire last August
as an anniversary present. Amazon identifies it as “David’s Fifth Kindle,” (although
two of the five actually have belonged to my wife). I have used a Kindle since
shortly after I first read about them in the New York Times. I love my
Kindle and the ability it gives me to take a single volume on vacation, rather
than having to choose between three or four thick, heavy books and the second
pair of shoes that I really need for river rafting.
Ereaders are terrific for straight reading, when you start on page one and
read directly to the end. I review books for The Kindle Book Review. Last fall,
I sped through each volume on my Kindle. It was great!
Yet, there are situations in which I prefer a book, a printed book.
Some texts are complicated. Financial Intelligence, a book I’m
currently reading, describes how to understand and use various financial
documents. For the chapter on how to read a balance sheet, there is a sample
balance sheet – in the appendix. When the text discusses “cash on hand,” for
example, I turn to the appendix to see how “cash on hand” actually appears in a
balance sheet.
With a book, I’d stick a piece of paper – or my right index finger – at the
appendix and flip back and forth as needed. With my Kindle, I bookmark the page
in the appendix. To consult it, I tap the top of my screen to access a menu. I
choose “Bookmarks,” locate the correct bookmark, and touch it. To return to the
text, I touch the arrow at the bottom. In the next paragraph, the text
discusses “depreciation,” and I repeat the process. It is as complicated in
practice as it is in my description. Thumbs and sheets of paper work much
better!
Have you ever looked at images, charts, or tables in an Ereader? My Kindle
Fire produces beautiful color images. But they are small. Have you ever tried
to follow the flow of a line graph across a screen? When I do find the balance
sheet in the appendix, can I even read the entries? I have to touch the screen
to enlarge the image and touch it again when I have finished with it. Give me a
book any day!
When I read Mariah Jovan’s book, Dunham,
I read it straight through. On one occasion, though, I had forgotten the
significance of a particular character and had to page back to find who he was.
It was not fun – flipping backwards, having to remember my location in the book
rather than marking it, locating the reference, then selecting “go to” in the
menu and typing in the location when I was ready to read again. I can imagine
reading a technical work, something difficult to understand – Steven Hawkins’s
book, A Brief History of Time comes to mind – and having to frequently
page back to find a previous reference. Lost is an understatement. Ereaders
are not optimized for this activity.
Finally, if the book is something that I want to keep, I want it printed on
paper. I have the Book of Common Prayer on my Kindle, and I pretty much
read in it six days a week (I hear it read on Sunday). My prayer book,
though, is on a table beside my chair in the den; the copy on my Kindle is
simply for convenience.
I have published two books, both of which are available on Ereaders (The
Reunion and, recently, The Handfasting) and in print. I have copies
of them both on my Kindle, but I assure you, printed copies can be found on the
desk in my office. I love Greek icons, and I have books with reproductions of
numerous images. I want these on paper where I can page through them slowly,
enjoying their beauty, finding meaning in the details, something that would
likely be impossible on my Kindle.
We know that technological innovations can be fleeting. In a decade, will
.mobi files be readable on any device? Have you heard an eight-track tape
recently? How about TRS-DOS, the operating system once used by Radio Shack’s
computers? Paper survives. Today’s digital files? Maybe.
It is true. Ereaders may replace books. I’m thinking that they won’t, but
in the end, does it really matter?
Children’s author
Eric Carle once told a reporter, "I like to hold books and touch them. But
in the future, who knows? When
they invented papyrus, someone probably said, ‘Storytelling was so good. Why
did we have to go and put it on papyrus?’ But one thing doesn't change: It's
the story that counts. The medium doesn't matter."*
“It’s the story
that counts.” Well said.
*USA Today, November 14, 2013
The
Handfasting
By: David Burnett
Blurb
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Ten years had
passed since they had joined hands in the ruins of the old abbey church.
Kneeling before the high altar, they were handfasted in the Celtic custom,
engaged to be married.
A rose bush had
bloomed beside the ruined altar. Steven had reached out to caress one of the
flowers. “I’ll find you,” he had said. “In ten years, when we have finished
school, when we are able to marry, I’ll find you. Until then, whenever you see
a yellow rose, remember me. Remember I love you.”
In those ten years,
Katherine had finished college, completed med school, and become a doctor. For
a decade, she had been waiting, hoping, praying, and, today ─ her birthday─ she
finds a vase of yellow roses when she reaches home.
Steven, though, is
not Katherine’s only suitor. Bill Wilson has known her since they were in high
school, and he has long planned to wed her. While Steven and Katherine are
falling in love again, he finally decides to stake his claim. His methods leave
a lot to be desired, the conflict turns violent, and Katherine must choose the
future that she wants.
Buy Links
Book Trailer: http://youtu.be/7l4YRz-CDdM
Author Info
David Burnett lives
in Columbia South Carolina, with his wife and their blue-eyed cat, Bonnie. The
Reunion, his first novel, is set in nearby Charleston.
David enjoys traveling, photography, baking bread, and the Carolina beaches.
He has photographed subjects as varied as prehistoric ruins on the islands of Scotland, star trails, sea gulls, and a Native American powwow. David and his wife have traveled widely in the United States and the United Kingdom. During one trip to Scotland, they visited Crathes Castle, the ancestral home of the Burnett family near Aberdeen. In The Reunion, Michael's journey through England and Scotland allows him to sketch many places they have visited.
David has graduate degrees in psychology and education and previously was Director of Research for the South Carolina Department of Education. He and his wife have two daughters.
Author Links
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