Tuesday, February 16, 2016

THE NEVER-ENDING DEBATE by Tom Rizzo


Most people realize the value and joy of reading—to explore, to learn, or to just kick-back and relax and be whisked away to a crime scene in the Far East, a shootout on the high plains, or standing on the deck of a luxury ocean liner struggling to keep afloat. 




I learned the importance of reading early in life. Both my parents were readers, but my father harbored an enormous appetite for reading. He read everything he could get his hands on. Novels, biographies, daily newspapers, how-to books, and so much more. 

He was a stickler, however, for not reading during meals, so he banned newspapers and books and other materials. But I did manage to fool him by reading the marketing copy on the back of cereal boxes and other food products containers. 

He always kept a dictionary close-at-hand and a pencil for scribbling various remarks in the margins. When he was in his later-80s, before his eyes began deteriorating, I handed him an Ebook and explained how it worked. He looked up, glasses perched on his nose. “Exactly how would I take notes and underline or circle things?”

I mentioned it was possible to highlight certain passages in the text and access a dictionary—all electronically. He rolled his eyes and shook his head. “No thanks,” he said with a short, quiet laugh. “I’ll stick to paper.”  The memory of that brief conversation still amuses me. But, in reality, the debate continues over Ebook vs Paper. 

For the record, I love libraries and bookstores—even second-hand book shops. Visits to these places always bring to mind the character of Lt Col. Bill Kilgore in Apocalypse Now, who proclaimed “I love the smell of napalm in the morning.” 

It's the same with bookstores. The musty smell of old books or the scent of new paper and ink is intoxicating. 


Roaming the aisles represents a journey of discovery—untold stories, mysteries, and long-held secrets. One the other hand, I enjoy the portability feature of an Ebook—and the ability to store a broad range of books or documents inside a tablet less than a half-inch thick. 



But the convenience factor of an Ebook, I’ve learned, doesn’t appeal to everyone. 


Naomi Baron, a linguistics professor at American University, reported that in a survey of over 300 university students from Japan, Germany, Slovakia, and the U.S.,  92 percent preferred reading paper books when it came to serious reading. 

In an interview with the New RepublicMs. Baron said students “care about the smell of a book,” adding, “…There really is a physical, tactile, kinesthetic component to reading.”



In her book, Words Onscreen: The Fate of Reading in a Digital World, she points out students find Ebooks fine for casual reading but not for serious reading. 

At the same time, Professor Baron suggested there were a couple of physical issues involved.  

Students “say they get distracted, pulled away to other things. The second had to do with eye strain and headaches and physical discomfort.”

The reaction, on an informal basis, is all over the board. One person described Ebooks as a “minor blip on history’s radar,” insisting that paper books will always dominate. 

Someone else suggested that denying the relevance of digital reading products strike her as a head-in-the-sand mentality, almost like saying “the Internet is a fad.”


Author Michael S. Hyatt, blogger, speaker, and former chairman of CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishers, recently published a post declaring he’s focusing on physical books for 2016 and putting Ebooks on the shelf. And he cited for eight specific reasons. Among them:

  • Ebooks Engage Fewer Senses: 
  • Ebooks Result in Less Retention and Comprehension
  • Ebooks are More Difficult to Navigate
  • Ebooks Provide Less Satisfaction in Finishing
You can read all eight of Mr. Hyatt’s reasons here



So what’s your take on this?  Do you prefer Ebooks or physical books? Are arguments against Ebooks legitimate? Is it time to shelve this debate?
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18 comments:

  1. I read both and plan to continue doing so. In recent years it's been about 60/40 with more e-books than print. I don't see it as an either-or proposition and am glad we have both options.

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  2. Both do make sense, James. I see it as the best of both worlds. Any option that gets people reading is a win. Thanks.

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  3. I do both about the same ratio that James indicated. One of my favorite pastimes is to haunt used book stores looking for a treasure. It is surprising what can be unearthed. On the electronic side, there are some new treasures that surface and many of them are free or very inexpensive.

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    1. The challenge is finding those old used-book stores to haunt, Jerry.

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  4. I agree with the above. Another "treasure" I have found is the availability of many out-of-print books electronically.

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    1. That is a big advantage of digital, which makes available some terrific treasures.

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  5. Yes, the debate goes on. I still love a paper book, and make an occasional trip to the library when I tire of the electronic gadget that holds so many books...even those I have written. But I become excited when I find a lovely hardback on the New Books Shelf written by one of my favorite authors. Then I find the book becomes heavy to hold, especially at night when I'm becoming weary. As a result, I don't read as long with a hardback. Back to my Kindle. I sell prints of my novels here in town to a very nice "fan base". Bless them, they'll read anything I write..because I write what they like. I bless them, because only one of the 30 or so reads more on a Kindle..and she's the elderly one--86 years old! Good post, Tom. I enjoyed it.

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    1. Thanks, Celia. The argument cuts both ways but there is a vicarious thrill to lifting a new book from the shelf of a bookstore, feelings its heft, sliding your fingers along the front cover, and slowly perusing the pages.

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  6. Tom,

    Old friend, this is a GREAT article!

    There is NOTHING like a good print book in the hands of a dedicated reader, and I certainly was one of those.

    There is NOTHING like the smell of an old town library, or one of those used books stores. A kindle can NEVER match those things. EVER.

    James Reasoner reads a lot. Wonder what he uses. Giving away free or cheap books on those digital readers, does make the competition tough for print books.

    Thanks for the article!

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    1. Agreed, Charlie. I used to download a lot of free books but then it became unmanageable and found I didn't pay much attention to them.

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  7. Tom,

    Somebody shoot me! James already answered the question. Still, for me its a print book every time.

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    1. I remember the first time I used an Ebook, I actually caught myself trying to turn a page physically!

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  8. I use both. Although I prefer the physical book, it isn't always practical for my use. I will point out, a gentleman in my writing group, who had his rather large collection of books destroyed in the Black Forest Fire, now only has ebooks. I can understand his feelings. I lost about 1200 books in a flood. It does make one hesitant. Doris McCraw/Angela Rains

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    1. A devastating experience, I'm sure, Doris. The thought of losing 1200 books in a flood or by any other means makes me shiver--especially the ones we tend to carry with us throughout our lifetime and cannot be replaced.

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  9. I have an old, plain Kindle, and also a Kindle Paperwhite. I've discovered recently that with all the time I spend on the computer, reading on the Paperwhite was hurting my eyes. So I turned the back-lighting down all the way to where it looks like an old Kindle. We'll see if that helps. I also use the Kindle for editing. When I'm publishing someone else's e-book, I'll format it first and then read it on the Kindle and make notes of everything I need to do on the manuscript. That cuts down on my computer time overall.

    All that said, however, the past few days I've been reading the July 1948 issue of DIME WESTERN and having a wonderful time doing so. The smell of those old pulp pages is downright intoxicating to me.

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  10. I ran into the same problem, James. The Paperwhite can be bright and a little distracting. I'm guessing it doesn't affect young eyes the same way though.

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  11. I read on a 10" Kindle Fire. Love it, but I do turn the brightness down, and sometimes change to sepia. As to whether I'd be ebook only if I had a choice, I couldn't say, but the navigation and search capabilities are amazing on a Kindle, and I do take notes and such. Comprehension is the same so I don't know where Mr. Hyatt gets that. And finishing a good book is satisfying (and sometimes frustrating because you don't want it to end) because of the power of the word, not the publishing method.

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    1. I agree the comment about comprehension threw me a bit. Personally, I've never noticed a difference at all.

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