It is now often said that older people will not read anything else than books printed to paper. So I believed until I started on this trek.
A little while ago, just about when the first widely published news of the existence of e-ink surfaced, I started asking around my surroundings if anyone had heard about it. To my surprise, although not quite completely, no one did, not a snippet, blank stares, then...
-"Oh! That thing on Discovery! I did'nt quite... get the concept!"
And there start the long explanations about the little bicolored spheres changing orientation between charged grids and of the e-books we’ll soon be able to read...
-"E-books ?"
-"Yes e-books, "e" for electronic books that are in digital form, like before printing. You can read them on a computer a PDA or some other gadget."
After the instruction of several people I suddenly realized that I'd become an e-ink evangelist. I took to it quite quickly and I must admit, with a certain pleasure. In everyone I met I managed to instill a certain curiosity about the subject and got very passionate answers from those in total denial. Every teaching was different in its responses, mainly; people did not react as predicted. In the most striking answers, my father's came second as unexpected. A gentleman, classical musician and teacher, he is husband to a brilliant historian, my mother, writing her seventh book on a PC. He categorically refuses to accept the computer as a whole. Even music in portable MP3 format clashes with his sensitivity. But when informed about e-ink and e-books, he opened his mouth...and paused...a long time, and said...
-" That could be interesting!"
Of course I'll have to do the collecting and the formatting but it is with great anticipation that I look forward to the sharing of readings with such a fine educated gentleman.
My main surprise was all in the opposite direction. While at a family gathering, after a copious meal I found myself seated next to one of my nephews. As it is now a custom, following the traditional salutations I immediately came to my baby subject of e-ink.
First I must mention that this young man represented the Green Party in his district for the last two Canadian federal elections, and gathered a record 6% of votes. Quit a feat indeed, proving his worth and competence in the ecology field.
After starting my spiel and then extracting a 2 GB SD card out of the digital flash video camera I always carry, I told him...
-"This card can carry 5,000 e-books, the whole of what I can manage to read for the rest of my life. We'll soon be able to do that. Is'nt it great?"
-"What!" he says "I don't want to! I love the feel of paper between my fingers and its smell, and the heft of the book and to see them all in the library. I like to stand in front of them all and be able to browse through the pages without purpose and look at the pictures..."
-" You'll still be able to do that with PDF. You'll even be able to listen to MP3s while reading."
Being computer savvy he agrees and then again resists...
-"But I love books?"
-"You'll still have them around, and also in a new portable library that you can easily carry with you everywhere. Also, don't you realize the impact books have on nature, the woods are being cut faster than they can grow, the bleaching of paper pollutes rivers, you have to build libraries to house your books, many inks pollute and poison, only half the paper is adequately recycled..."
-"Yeah! I know I know, but I won't have it, I'll keep my books as they are."
I gave up as soon as I recognized in him the stubborn young man I once was.
This all brings me to this. Have you met these symtoms? Have you ruffled feathers around you? What do you think the impact will be on e-books?
I'll tell you what I found out later in this thread.
