Quote:
Originally Posted by rkomar
I can both acknowledge that the usage of the word "book" has changed while protesting that change itself. I don't like that the word has less meaning now than it used to; it seems to be a step backwards. Again, I'll bring up the example of a bound volume with four novels in it. Is it one book or four? It's hard to say with the new usage, but crystal clear with the old. Something has been lost.
I've also been trying hard to explain why saying that something isn't a "real book" isn't an insult, but it's falling on deaf ears. So be it, be insulted then. I'm giving up trying to keep you from that.
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You must admit, that it becomes somewhat confusing if a person were to say "Have you read the new book by their_fav_author?" and the blind man (as does the busy commuter) says "No. I listened to the verbal perfomance of the work of their_fav_author." and the person who prefers electronic books (you appear to prefer that term to ebooks) would say "No, I read an electronic version of the contents of that publication by their_fav_author."
It is so much easier for all involved to say yes, I read that book. We never used to question our blind friends using "read" when they listened to a book.
Then again, when they first came out with paperbacks the "purists" felt they were not real books either.