part 2

Books, their size, covers, typeface have a character to me, convey something of their content.  I am sure someone several millenia ago, someone "old" when told about this new way to communicate, by scratching on wet clay.  Complained that the immediacy, the intensity, of listening to a recitation by a speaker was going to be lost, and that was a big loss.  I imagine there was another complaint that the craftsmanship and artistry of the individual scribe which made each hand coped book a work of individual art was being lost when books could be printed on a press.  And now here I am looking at the library I have accumulated over a lifetime and realizing the information it holds is available to be stored in any number of hand held devices.  Some can speak the words to me. Some will allow me to scan and skip anywhere in the text I choose.  It is wonderful for all of us.  The cheaper and broader the dsissemination of information the greater the opportunity we have to interact positivly with each other and the world we live in. The greater the opportunity we have to learn how alike we are as human beings.  Yup I will keep my books, I think there is nothing wrong with nostalgia. But I am downloading works from my local library to read on my laptop and play on my iPod.  I cancled my NY Times daily delivery and read the paper online.  I even blog.