Will eBooks create an elite reading class? - Page 4

guyanonymous · 02-28-2010, 08:59 PM

You make GA sound like a desolate post-apocalyptic wasteland, where you, Spoon Man, have been fighting zombies while searching for another survivor to discuss books with.

Xanthe · 02-28-2010, 09:59 PM

Sounds like Karin really had her tin hat on when she wrote that article.

Digital books make censorship easier? I would say that it would make it harder, given the current P2P networks, usenet, etc.

As for ebook readers being pricey, the price has been coming down since they were first offered, and as more and more manufacturers enter the field, the prices will go even lower, just as has happened with MP3 players.

Sorry, Karin, but the $179 that I paid for my ebook reader doesn't even come close to what some kids pay for sneakers or the latest cell phone. Do you consider people who wear fancy sneakers or who have the latest cell phone to be an elite class?

Although ebooks finally seem to be finally breaking into the mainstream, there are always going to be people who don't like them, don't want them, and will never use them. Also, using them doesn't have to be an either/or proposition. I can use a ebook reader and still read paper books.

I would suggest that ebooks might encourage MORE reading because the technology is going to intrigue some, the convenience will draw others, and the ability to adjust font size is going to allow older readers to be able to read despite visual problems.

Logseman · 03-01-2010, 02:20 AM

Erm... A device which costs, in its highest tiers, the same as an iPhone does, and in its lowest tiers it's practically an iPod touch, and could be serviced exclusively with free content forever... unlike an iPsomething, which would require (legally, of course) songs and apps to be bought.

Is that supposed to be the "so expensive than only a few can afford it" device? The woman has honoured her family name with that text.

What could be interesting is, if the relatively high pricing for new ebooks continues, the question of people returning to the classics they can get for free. Could Pickwick become again a meme creator as it was in its time?

Crowl · 03-01-2010, 10:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dmaul1114

Yeah, this is really bad in the US. There's just a huge wave against intellectualism period lately.

With the bitter partisan divide between liberals and conservatives, and the rise of people like Palin, Limbaugh, Beck, O'Reilly etc. and this Tea Party movement there's a lot of anti-intellectualism going on.

Especially in rural, conservative states. I grew up in one, and I'm still big fan of my state universities sports teams. But man if you mention reading, or I mention I'm a professor etc. on the off topic boards on such sites, you get shouted down as an elitist snob, and out of touch intellectual, have gay slurs thrown at you and everything else.

It's really disconcerting that it's becoming a bad thing to read, to be an intellectual, to do intellectual work in many segments of society in the US. And you're right, it doesn't give much hope for the future if people have these attitudes and pass them onto their children.

While a very disappointing situation, it isn't a new thing, Bill Hicks has been dead since 1994 and even in one of his routines he had the following joke:

"I was in Nashville, Tennesee last year. After the show, I went to a Waffle House. I'm not proud of it, I was hungry. And I'm eating, I'm alone and I'm reading a book, right? Waitress walks over to me: 'Hey, what you readin' for?' Is that like the weirdest fucking question you've ever heard? Not what am I reading, but what am I reading ... for. 'Well, God damn it, you stumped me. Why do I read? Hmm ... I guess I read for a lot of reasons, and the main one is ... so I don't end up being a fucking waffle waitress.'

But then, this trucker in the next booth gets up, stands over me and goes: 'Well, looks like we got ourselves a reader.' What the fuck's going on here? It's not like I walked into a Klan rally in a Boy George outfit, God damn it. It's a book!"

emonti8384 · 03-01-2010, 11:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fugazied

The Internet on the other hand was a more realistic 'elite class creator'. When a lot of people lived in homes without a computer and access to the Internet that was a significant disadvantage to those people.

It's funny, because I was in middle school when the internet started moving on up the evolutionary ladder. My dad wouldn't get the internet for anything, I had a Gateway1000 (or was it a 2000?) to do my homework on and I had the Encarta encyclopedia to look up things-it was definitely limited! I didn't have a car and public transportation was not available to me, so I couldn't go to the library on any kind of regular basis. I didn't have access to the internet until 2 years after I graduated high school b/c I couldn't afford a computer until then.

I don't believe ereaders create any kind of group other than the I-like-to-read-and-I'm deciding-to-read-like-this group

dmaul1114 · 03-01-2010, 12:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by guyanonymous

You make GA sound like a desolate post-apocalyptic wasteland, where you, Spoon Man, have been fighting zombies while searching for another survivor to discuss books with.

Well, outside of Atlanta.....

While not a post-apocalyptic wasteland, it is the south! Atlanta is probably the only place in the south I'd live. Maybe New Orleans.

TGS · 03-01-2010, 03:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Madam Broshkina

Bestselling author Karin Slaughter asks "Will eBooks create an elite reading class?"

Oooh, I do hope so! But there's not much evidence of it.

Logseman · 03-01-2010, 06:01 PM

Shall I start building the "Gentlemen's Distinguished Club for Fine Literature in State-of-the-art Electronic Means"? Each member would have a secret name and would declare adherence to the principles of Theosophy.

nomesque · 03-01-2010, 06:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Logseman

Shall I start building the "Gentlemen's Distinguished Club for Fine Literature in State-of-the-art Electronic Means"? Each member would have a secret name and would declare adherence to the principles of Theosophy.

TSK! We said elitist, not sexist scumbags!!!

karenr_nz · 03-01-2010, 07:05 PM

I would like to suggest an alternative view point. Instead of e-readers and e-books creating an elite reading class, what if they actually make reading 'cool', enticing kids to start reading?

Why I suggest this is that many of the kids in school and university today have grown up surrounded by electronic devices. And then we expect them to read these really primitive things called books, in a format that is essentially unchanged over the last 200 years. With ebooks and e-readers, and the chance to read either via or over the internet, it may be slightly more attractive for the tech-savvy.

scottjl · 03-01-2010, 07:22 PM

I'd say we're more in danger of masses simply being illiterate than eReaders creating a reading class.

Logseman · 03-01-2010, 08:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nomesque

TSK! We said elitist, not sexist scumbags!!!

Come on, women ought not to be touching books, be they on paper or electronic. Their bodily functions would dry up and they'd become infertile! That is a great discovery of the 19th century English scientifics. Look at the Augusta Golf Club, those are an example to follow. They won't allow women to enter the club! They know how disruptive it can be!

nomesque · 03-01-2010, 08:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Logseman

Come on, women ought not to be touching books, be they on paper or electronic. Their bodily functions would dry up and they'd become infertile! That is a great discovery of the 19th century English scientifics. Look at the Augusta Golf Club, those are an example to follow. They won't allow women to enter the club! They know how disruptive it can be!

Huh, reading as birth control? Why didn't I think of that sooner??

Scott Nicholson · 03-02-2010, 12:18 AM

Wealthy author lecturing the masses on elitism...and I'll bet she loves $15 ebooks, just like her publisher told her to.

Scott Nicholson
http://hauntedcomputerbooks.blogspot.com

Xanthe · 03-02-2010, 10:20 PM

Isn't it amazing how so out-of-touch some authors are with their reading audience? I've noticed this with some other authors - there's this reverse snobbism that they evince, and their attempts to appear one-of-the-people and decry elitist pretentions - while in their blogs they talk about their housekeepers and all the assorted minions they have to handle the daily aspects of their lives, aspects that their readers handle by themselves 24/7.

03-02-2010, 12:18 AM	#59
Scott Nicholson Scott Nicholson, author Posts: 363 Karma: 2029337 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Boone NC Device: Kindle	riiight Wealthy author lecturing the masses on elitism...and I'll bet she loves $15 ebooks, just like her publisher told her to. Scott Nicholson http://hauntedcomputerbooks.blogspot.com

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02-28-2010, 08:59 PM	#46
guyanonymous Guru Posts: 692 Karma: 27532 Join Date: Dec 2007 Device: Ebookwise 1150 / 1200	You make GA sound like a desolate post-apocalyptic wasteland, where you, Spoon Man, have been fighting zombies while searching for another survivor to discuss books with.

02-28-2010, 09:59 PM	#47
Xanthe Plan B Is Now In Force Posts: 1,894 Karma: 8086979 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Surebleak Device: Aluratek,Sony 350/T1,Pandigital,eBM 911,Nook HD/HD+,Fire HDX 7/8.9,PW2	Sounds like Karin really had her tin hat on when she wrote that article. Digital books make censorship easier? I would say that it would make it harder, given the current P2P networks, usenet, etc. As for ebook readers being pricey, the price has been coming down since they were first offered, and as more and more manufacturers enter the field, the prices will go even lower, just as has happened with MP3 players. Sorry, Karin, but the $179 that I paid for my ebook reader doesn't even come close to what some kids pay for sneakers or the latest cell phone. Do you consider people who wear fancy sneakers or who have the latest cell phone to be an elite class? Although ebooks finally seem to be finally breaking into the mainstream, there are always going to be people who don't like them, don't want them, and will never use them. Also, using them doesn't have to be an either/or proposition. I can use a ebook reader and still read paper books. I would suggest that ebooks might encourage MORE reading because the technology is going to intrigue some, the convenience will draw others, and the ability to adjust font size is going to allow older readers to be able to read despite visual problems.

03-01-2010, 02:20 AM	#48
Logseman Orisa Posts: 1,999 Karma: 1035571 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Ireland Device: Onyx Poke 5	Erm... A device which costs, in its highest tiers, the same as an iPhone does, and in its lowest tiers it's practically an iPod touch, and could be serviced exclusively with free content forever... unlike an iPsomething, which would require (legally, of course) songs and apps to be bought. Is that supposed to be the "so expensive than only a few can afford it" device? The woman has honoured her family name with that text. What could be interesting is, if the relatively high pricing for new ebooks continues, the question of people returning to the classics they can get for free. Could Pickwick become again a meme creator as it was in its time?

03-01-2010, 06:01 PM	#53
Logseman Orisa Posts: 1,999 Karma: 1035571 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Ireland Device: Onyx Poke 5	Shall I start building the "Gentlemen's Distinguished Club for Fine Literature in State-of-the-art Electronic Means"? Each member would have a secret name and would declare adherence to the principles of Theosophy.

03-01-2010, 07:05 PM	#55
karenr_nz Connoisseur Posts: 69 Karma: 820 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: New Zealand Device: PB360	I would like to suggest an alternative view point. Instead of e-readers and e-books creating an elite reading class, what if they actually make reading 'cool', enticing kids to start reading? Why I suggest this is that many of the kids in school and university today have grown up surrounded by electronic devices. And then we expect them to read these really primitive things called books, in a format that is essentially unchanged over the last 200 years. With ebooks and e-readers, and the chance to read either via or over the internet, it may be slightly more attractive for the tech-savvy.

03-01-2010, 07:22 PM	#56
scottjl Reader of Books Posts: 1,632 Karma: 2697 Join Date: Oct 2009 Device: none	I'd say we're more in danger of masses simply being illiterate than eReaders creating a reading class.

03-02-2010, 10:20 PM	#60
Xanthe Plan B Is Now In Force Posts: 1,894 Karma: 8086979 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Surebleak Device: Aluratek,Sony 350/T1,Pandigital,eBM 911,Nook HD/HD+,Fire HDX 7/8.9,PW2	Isn't it amazing how so out-of-touch some authors are with their reading audience? I've noticed this with some other authors - there's this reverse snobbism that they evince, and their attempts to appear one-of-the-people and decry elitist pretentions - while in their blogs they talk about their housekeepers and all the assorted minions they have to handle the daily aspects of their lives, aspects that their readers handle by themselves 24/7.

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