MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - Will e-books spell the end of great writing?

Fat Abe · 03-31-2010, 02:30 PM

My apologies, in advance, for resurrecting this old thread and possibly repeating some earlier thoughts. If one types in the string, "100 greatest works of literature", into Google, you'll find many lists of the best 100 writings, including this one:

http://www.infoplease.com/ipea/A0934958.html

The list dates back to 2002, and one of the reasons that it may be more credible than others is that it includes the recommendation of famous writers, such as Salman Rushdie.

Peak oil refers to that period of time when the maximum rate of extraction is reached. Whether this is concomitant with a peak or near peak in proven reserves is arguable, since the former is dependent on the price of alternative forms of energy. Nevertheless, let me, for the sake of argument, define Peak Writing as that point in time where writing reaches its zenith. Some say this point was reached with Fyodor Dostoyevsky, others say it occurred earlier. A few years ago, I argued with some Gen-X and Y colleagues about when Peak Reading was reached. Naturally, this happened with the Baby Boomer generation, of which I am a part. Ahem. Later generations had lower SAT verbal scores, and were consumed by other forms of entertainment, including video games. But, this is a matter of prejudice. Are people really reading less? Good question:

http://www.boston.com/news/education...ng_a_lot_less/

Well, if they are, my solution is to buy young people an Ereader. Then download, or have them download, as many of the public domain versions of the books in the 100 greatest list, as are available. Fill your child's Amazon wish list with the greatest book titles. (Did you know that Amazon has a list of its own, and has a one click button to add all 100 books to your shopping cart?). Well, it doesn't matter what they fill their cart with, as long as they read. I will be doing my good deed for the day, and sneak a bunch of good books on my boy's Kindle, using Whispernet. Historically, the dawn of Ereaders will signal the rebirth of reading. By inference, these devices should improve writing, giving us new trailblazing authors. There shall always be new writers, in the league of Jack London, Herman Melville, and even Toni Morrison, who will do what previous writers had not done. That is the hope.

Yesterday, the Cern experiment made big news throughout the internet (Kenny posted a link elsewhere). There is a one-year old youtube video explaining the theory behind the Higgs boson and the purpose of the experiment:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFGpNMe5eEQ

Please slip this into your child's viewing queue. Heh, heh. I'll make sure my PhD thesis is pdf'ed and sideloaded to his device as well. Got any more bright ideas? (Please do not suggest that he google the Higgs bosom. That would be a real black hole).

03-31-2010, 02:30 PM	#65
Fat Abe Man Who Stares at Books Posts: 1,816 Karma: 10606722 Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: 50th State, USA. Also, PA, NY, CA, and elsewhere. Device: All of the Above	Peak Writing My apologies, in advance, for resurrecting this old thread and possibly repeating some earlier thoughts. If one types in the string, "100 greatest works of literature", into Google, you'll find many lists of the best 100 writings, including this one: http://www.infoplease.com/ipea/A0934958.html The list dates back to 2002, and one of the reasons that it may be more credible than others is that it includes the recommendation of famous writers, such as Salman Rushdie. Peak oil refers to that period of time when the maximum rate of extraction is reached. Whether this is concomitant with a peak or near peak in proven reserves is arguable, since the former is dependent on the price of alternative forms of energy. Nevertheless, let me, for the sake of argument, define Peak Writing as that point in time where writing reaches its zenith. Some say this point was reached with Fyodor Dostoyevsky, others say it occurred earlier. A few years ago, I argued with some Gen-X and Y colleagues about when Peak Reading was reached. Naturally, this happened with the Baby Boomer generation, of which I am a part. Ahem. Later generations had lower SAT verbal scores, and were consumed by other forms of entertainment, including video games. But, this is a matter of prejudice. Are people really reading less? Good question: http://www.boston.com/news/education...ng_a_lot_less/ Well, if they are, my solution is to buy young people an Ereader. Then download, or have them download, as many of the public domain versions of the books in the 100 greatest list, as are available. Fill your child's Amazon wish list with the greatest book titles. (Did you know that Amazon has a list of its own, and has a one click button to add all 100 books to your shopping cart?). Well, it doesn't matter what they fill their cart with, as long as they read. I will be doing my good deed for the day, and sneak a bunch of good books on my boy's Kindle, using Whispernet. Historically, the dawn of Ereaders will signal the rebirth of reading. By inference, these devices should improve writing, giving us new trailblazing authors. There shall always be new writers, in the league of Jack London, Herman Melville, and even Toni Morrison, who will do what previous writers had not done. That is the hope. Yesterday, the Cern experiment made big news throughout the internet (Kenny posted a link elsewhere). There is a one-year old youtube video explaining the theory behind the Higgs boson and the purpose of the experiment: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFGpNMe5eEQ Please slip this into your child's viewing queue. Heh, heh. I'll make sure my PhD thesis is pdf'ed and sideloaded to his device as well. Got any more bright ideas? (Please do not suggest that he google the Higgs bosom. That would be a real black hole).