Stephen Barker's Blog - Posts Tagged "print-books"
In praise of print
The Kindle, what a wonderful device – a library at the fingertips; an affordable, almost infinite bookstore just a few clicks away; and a breeze when it comes to the holidays – no excess baggage as the must-read paperbacks totter next to the suitcase - marvellous. Yet, something isn’t quite right… Despite all those advantages, many of us still like to hold a book in the hand. There’s no surprise when it comes to a beautiful clothbound volume. My daughter recently bought a very reasonably priced Penguin Classic edition of ‘Jane Eyre’. It’s a lovely thing to behold, though that’s not the thing I’m getting at…
In the last couple of weeks I’ve had the pleasure of reading the proof of my latest published novel in paperback. I know this book backwards – goodness knows how many times I’ve read it over; on computer screen, in chunky double-spaced ms, even on Kindle (admittedly briefly). Nevertheless, there is something different about seeing the flow of words condensed within the page of a real book. The pace and rhythm change subtly for the better, and disturbingly those little areas that need a tweak emerge mysteriously from the text. I’m not saying that the original work was strewn with errors, but a handful of changes polished things up nicely, and I even found a mistake that wretched Spell-check had not shown.
So it’s a bit sad that so much writing is forced direct into eBooks these days. A vital part of the creative process is missing, undoubtedly affecting the quality of what is being read. Surprising as it may seem in our digitised world, there is a hidden pleasure in the old-fashioned art of proof-reading!
Cheers, Stephen
P.S. Now, if you are a technophile and have already downloaded a copy of ‘The Riddle of The Stones’ , I recommend that you synchronise with the new, improved version right away. It’s there right now at Amazon. For those who love the real thing, the long-awaited paperback will be available in the next few days through many internet outlets. See www.stephenbarker.co.nz for more news.
In the last couple of weeks I’ve had the pleasure of reading the proof of my latest published novel in paperback. I know this book backwards – goodness knows how many times I’ve read it over; on computer screen, in chunky double-spaced ms, even on Kindle (admittedly briefly). Nevertheless, there is something different about seeing the flow of words condensed within the page of a real book. The pace and rhythm change subtly for the better, and disturbingly those little areas that need a tweak emerge mysteriously from the text. I’m not saying that the original work was strewn with errors, but a handful of changes polished things up nicely, and I even found a mistake that wretched Spell-check had not shown.
So it’s a bit sad that so much writing is forced direct into eBooks these days. A vital part of the creative process is missing, undoubtedly affecting the quality of what is being read. Surprising as it may seem in our digitised world, there is a hidden pleasure in the old-fashioned art of proof-reading!
Cheers, Stephen
P.S. Now, if you are a technophile and have already downloaded a copy of ‘The Riddle of The Stones’ , I recommend that you synchronise with the new, improved version right away. It’s there right now at Amazon. For those who love the real thing, the long-awaited paperback will be available in the next few days through many internet outlets. See www.stephenbarker.co.nz for more news.
