The print vs. digital divide

[annathepiper]

Y’all want to know the fastest way to get an epubbed author’s blood pressure spiking? Refer to printed books as “real” books.

This got shoved into the front of my brain yesterday when one of my favorite local bookstores linked off to an opinion article written by a twenty-something who was stridently against electronic readers–to the point that they’d confessed to having irrational hatred for seeing other people reading them. One of their primary objections to them appeared to be that they could no longer sneak peeks at what those other people are reading, if they’re reading electronically! They proceeded to wax eloquent for several following paragraphs about why they would never stoop so low as to acquire an e-reader, because they loved “real” books too much. Snarky commentary was made about how e-reader enthusiasts got on this person’s case about “what are you, a Mennonite?” And even the bookstore in question, in their linking to this article, dropped a cute little remark about how they “don’t have anything against e-readers, no wait, maybe a little”.

This makes me sad.

Part of it is of course that as an epubbed author, I’m really tired of hearing the print books getting referred to as the “real” books. This carries the automatic implication that digital books are “not real”. Imaginary. Lesser in value than books that were fortunate enough to get put into print. Which is an awfully cruel thing to say to somebody who labored just as hard to get her epubbed book written as the authors who are in print. I guarantee you, people, that to us epubbed authors, our stories are every bit as real to us as the ones that are put down on paper.

Part of it though is the bigger question of the print vs. digital argument. It’s yet another variation of the “this thing vs. that thing” debate that crops up in every single aspect of our daily lives: Coke vs. Pepsi. PC vs. Mac vs. Linux. Emacs vs. vi. Etc., etc., on and on, with each side espousing the virtues of whatever they’ve committed to and often sneering at the other side, who are clearly not clever enough or intelligent enough to realize the virtues of the Right Choice.

Don’t get me wrong. I get that the digital book is a threat to traditional bookstores, and that indie bookstores in particular, who have been struggling for ages against the bigger chains, are going to hunker down and cling to their print books for as long as possible. But I’m really tired of the print side sneering at the digital side, and vice versa. For me as both a writer and a reader, this loses sight of the most important thing: the story.

You tell me a good enough story, I’ll read it in whatever format is available–print, digital, on the back of a cereal box, in fortune cookies, in tweets, in skywriting, whatever. Seriously, I do not care about the format. I care about the story. Print has its virtues for me, such as the art of a beautifully designed book–Tolkien’s The Children of Hurin comes immediately to mind. It’s also lovely for reading if the power is out, or if you’ve left your Nook or iPhone at home and/or uncharged. And although this makes me sad too with my writer hat on, truth be told, writers still are compensated better for print than they are for digital. I’d love to see that change, but I’m not expecting it to do so quickly.

In the meantime, though, digital also has its virtues. Many folks like how a well-used book will have crinkled corners and bent pages and such, and this to them is a sign of how much the book is loved. For me, though, that’s an irritant. Because I love my books, I don’t want to damage them. And if I carry them around in my backpack on a daily basis, they will get damaged. Therefore, for me as a reading choice, a reader makes more sense because in its protective case, it’ll take a lot more abuse than a paperback or trade will. Never mind a hardback, which is often going to be too bulky to carry around easily anyway.

You tell me a good enough story, though? I will buy you in print and digital. Print to keep the archive copy around, and digital for day to day reading. I am living proof that you don’t have to choose one or the other. I long for the day that publishers will start offering sales of both print and digital for one nice premium price, because I will totally put down money for that.

In the meantime, though, print enthusiasts, I beg you, please don’t look down your noses at the digital fans. Digital fans, same goes for you in reverse. Let’s just all just agree that yeah, each of us will have our personal preferences as to how we like to read, and get back to the important thing that we all have in common: i.e., reading. Thank you!

Mirrored from angelakorrati.com.

Comments

[mamishka.livejournal.com]

The impression I have, as a published author as well, as that a lot of people perceive e-books as being "books that weren't good enough to get published in print, so the author had to go to a small independent e-publisher instead". I think that is where the snarky comes from. Lord knows I've gotten similar snark (being from a small independent press) and have even been accused of paying someone to publish my book.

But as you say, just because a book is not in traditional print does not mean it isn't a good book. And Lord knows an awful lot of books that do get printed are God Awful! O.O

So yeah, it seems awfully silly to discriminate. Assuming one venue versus another is 'better' is just dumb. It's all about the author and what one personally likes in the end. I can understand that some people prefer holding a book and I know a lot of people who really appreciate not having a million books cluttering up their home when they can have them happily downloaded and readable on their device of choice.

It's all good in my book, so to speak. ;)

[lisa-marli.livejournal.com]

First off , it is looking more and more like the e-Reader (and other machines that allow book reading (several phones and the iPad) and the books to go in them, are going to be a popular Christmas choice this year. The Tide is Turning.
I got a copy of The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings for my e-reader, my Palm TX. Why? Because it is impossible to carry around my favorite books in any reasonable purse. And if you get the Onion Skin 1 volume edition, it Will fall apart.
So my PDA e-reader holds some e-books I can only get that way (including yours) and several books including the Tolkien that I love to re-read. Now I always have Books with Me! I am overjoyed.
AND I have a huge pile of paper books beside my bed. Because you know books still come that way too.
Now I just need time to read them.
That is another problem. :)

[annathepiper]

The tide is indeed turning; I keep hearing numbers quoted that say electronic copies of books keep spiking significantly. But that said, they're still an overall pretty small percentage of books sold.

I personally suspect that electronic books will eventually become the new mass market paperback. Which is to say, they won't replace printed books entirely--hardbacks are still the money makers for the big publishers, and beautiful hardbacks are still a huge reason to keep printing books. (C.f. my previous commentary re: the hardback of The Children of Hurin.)

And indeed, one of the big reasons I've bought several authors both in digital AND in print is that their print copies are things I just could not bear to damage by carrying around. My hardback of Malinda Lo's Ash is one of these, as is the aforementioned Tolkien and my Carrie Ryan books.

When I read that article that got me off on this topic to begin with, one of the points I saw the writer making was "who wants to carry around 1,500 books anyway?!" The answer to this is of course "ME". I love having multiple books with me, just because when I finish one on the bus that means I can dive right into the next one. I don't have to wait till I get home. <3

And oh god yes I'm with you on the time to read them all. :)

[janne.livejournal.com]

I love print books, particularly the lovely hardcovers with carefully chosen fonts and high-quality paper and gorgeous bindings. I also don't own a mansion big enough to put all those gorgeous books (even if I were able to afford them all), so I'm very happy ebook readers have now attained a price I can afford. I can finally start buying guilt-free books again, without worrying about which ones will have to yield shelf space! And at the rate I'm buying books, I'll be saving money on the device before the year is up :D

[annathepiper]

Exactly. All of this.

The nook gets to hold a bunch of books I wouldn't otherwise even normally have. So if anything, the nook's dramatically increased the amount of spending I do on my books, just by comparing the number of titles I've picked up this year vs. in previous years alone.