Antonio Gallo's Blog: MEDIUM - Posts Tagged "paper-books"
Reading paper books and e-books
What do you like most about reading paper books and e-books?
Once upon a time bones, bronze ware, stones, bamboo, silk and paper were used to be the ingredients for pages of traditional books. Nowadays, papers have become the common ingredient for reading around the world. With the fast development of Information Technology, traditional print-on-paper books are being challenged by the growing popularity of online reading.
What is more enjoyable, reading a traditional book or scanning pages on the Internet? Experts and readers have different opinions. I believe that online reading, or e-reading, will become a major trend but it will not destroy the old book. Digital reading includes online reading of news, blogs, Twitter messages, e-books and e-zines. In addition to words and pictures, digital reading also enriches content with audio and video features, making reading more entertaining.
What’s more, digital devices can be quicker to obtain and use. To find a traditional book involves spending time and money buying it in a bookstore, or ordering it online and waiting for its arrival by traditional delivery services. For digital reading material, just type in the search engine words for the title, author or other related information about the book to find it in minutes on the Internet. Sometimes one can even read the full content of an e-book free of charge and instantly discuss the book in an online forum.
Nowadays, people spend more time sitting in front of computers, but less time reading books. Also, since the price of traditional books is increasing, digital reading often is the cheapest alternative for readers. Reading on the Internet, one can rapidly scan or carefully read the contents, and a lot of information such as explanations of terms, book reviews, and audios and videos can be easily obtained on the Internet to help you read thoroughly.
I believe people will still benefit from the vast array of traditional reading choices. Many of the latest published books and academic books usually can’t be found on the Internet because of the protection of intellectual property right. Thus, the books you really need might not be available in digital formats. But the Internet also has some limitations for users. For example, older people have difficulty learning about and using computers and children sometimes are restricted from using the Internet to stop them from accessing adult content. In remote and impoverished regions, computers and the Internet are less popular, making online reading less available.
Another drawback of online reading is that people reading on the Internet might not have the patience to immerse themselves if they easily distracted by videos, audios and pictures. When so much information floods the eyes and ears, a reader might lose focus on the text and just scan pages, instead. There are always two sides to what people like and don’t like. As a quick, convenient reference tool, online reading is considered useful. To deeply appreciate a poem or a novel, the traditional reading of printed books might be the better choice.
When you read a beautifully designed and bound traditional book, you can feel the softness of the paper and smell the fragrance of the printing ink, which is a pleasurable experience not possible with digital reading. I don’t think reading traditional books will be replaced by online reading. I believe the paper book and the “bits & bytes” book will proceed side by side towards a new way of thinking and living.
I am a 76 year-old-son of an old post Gutenberg printer. My father did not just print books. He “composed” them letter by letter, printed the sheet, inked and pressed it, folded and sewed the pages, glued them and sold them. But he was also a book collector. This is called “evolution” …
Once upon a time bones, bronze ware, stones, bamboo, silk and paper were used to be the ingredients for pages of traditional books. Nowadays, papers have become the common ingredient for reading around the world. With the fast development of Information Technology, traditional print-on-paper books are being challenged by the growing popularity of online reading.
What is more enjoyable, reading a traditional book or scanning pages on the Internet? Experts and readers have different opinions. I believe that online reading, or e-reading, will become a major trend but it will not destroy the old book. Digital reading includes online reading of news, blogs, Twitter messages, e-books and e-zines. In addition to words and pictures, digital reading also enriches content with audio and video features, making reading more entertaining.
What’s more, digital devices can be quicker to obtain and use. To find a traditional book involves spending time and money buying it in a bookstore, or ordering it online and waiting for its arrival by traditional delivery services. For digital reading material, just type in the search engine words for the title, author or other related information about the book to find it in minutes on the Internet. Sometimes one can even read the full content of an e-book free of charge and instantly discuss the book in an online forum.
Nowadays, people spend more time sitting in front of computers, but less time reading books. Also, since the price of traditional books is increasing, digital reading often is the cheapest alternative for readers. Reading on the Internet, one can rapidly scan or carefully read the contents, and a lot of information such as explanations of terms, book reviews, and audios and videos can be easily obtained on the Internet to help you read thoroughly.
I believe people will still benefit from the vast array of traditional reading choices. Many of the latest published books and academic books usually can’t be found on the Internet because of the protection of intellectual property right. Thus, the books you really need might not be available in digital formats. But the Internet also has some limitations for users. For example, older people have difficulty learning about and using computers and children sometimes are restricted from using the Internet to stop them from accessing adult content. In remote and impoverished regions, computers and the Internet are less popular, making online reading less available.
Another drawback of online reading is that people reading on the Internet might not have the patience to immerse themselves if they easily distracted by videos, audios and pictures. When so much information floods the eyes and ears, a reader might lose focus on the text and just scan pages, instead. There are always two sides to what people like and don’t like. As a quick, convenient reference tool, online reading is considered useful. To deeply appreciate a poem or a novel, the traditional reading of printed books might be the better choice.
When you read a beautifully designed and bound traditional book, you can feel the softness of the paper and smell the fragrance of the printing ink, which is a pleasurable experience not possible with digital reading. I don’t think reading traditional books will be replaced by online reading. I believe the paper book and the “bits & bytes” book will proceed side by side towards a new way of thinking and living.
I am a 76 year-old-son of an old post Gutenberg printer. My father did not just print books. He “composed” them letter by letter, printed the sheet, inked and pressed it, folded and sewed the pages, glued them and sold them. But he was also a book collector. This is called “evolution” …
MEDIUM
Nessuno è stato mai me. Può darsi che io sia il primo. Nobody has been me before. Maybe I’m the first one.
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