[catsittingstill]

Alan--I have responded to your previous posts. You have *never* responded to me. Nor do I expect you to change that pattern now, of course...

Originally Posted by Alan Kaufman

Why is it so impossible for you to grasp that what you are engaging in, doing, is destroying the world of books....

Because we're not.

I mean, seriously, how is reading e-books the same as destroying books? Even assuming that by "books" you mean "paper books" this is just wrong.

I own thousands of paper books. I just asked for, and got, two more paper books for my birthday. I have a dozen more paper books on my wishlist for the holidays. I have *never* harmed a paper book, even a really, really bad one. It's a fetish of mine, I know--burning one copy of a book doesn't make a difference in its general availability-- but my mother lived through the Nazi occupation of Holland, and I'm never, ever going to burn a book.

E-books and paper books are like word processors and pencils. They each have strengths and weaknesses (who would want a pencil that needed batteries and wouldn't fit in a pocket? Who would want to write a whole book with a pencil, now that word processors are available?). These differences mean the two technologies will persist side by side and neither is a significant threat to the other.

And in the meantime, my "world of books" has been vastly expanded by the e-book. It is because of e-books that I even *contemplated* reading classics again after a couple of horrible gradeschool experiences with them. I posted about it here: http://catsittingstill.livejournal.c...33.html#cutid1

Originally Posted by Alan Kaufman

... wharever (sic) benefit you believe accrues for you from these machines is rubbish compared to the cultural traditions and human freedoms that you are blithely trampling on.

Blink. What human freedom am I trampling on, Alan?

The freedom to read? I have not reduced the availability of one single book. As a matter of fact, I'm a member of Friends of the Library and frequently donate paper books to literacy programs and libraries.

The freedom to write? Go right ahead and write, I neither can, nor want to, interfere with that. Nor does the possibility of publishing those works in more than one format interfere with that.

Your particular "freedom" to give me irrational orders and have me actually obey? Well, okay you got me; I *am* trampling on that human freedom. Now explain to me why it matters.

Originally Posted by Alan Kaufman

...I accuse you all of gross cultural irresponsability (sic) that has lead (sic) to the imminent downfall of the book iindustry (sic) and the desruction (sic) of book culture (comma needed here) and I regard it as little less than an economic and cultural war crime of sorts, no less than any Nazi who burned a book. (You are comparing an act to a person here--unless you're comparing yourself to the Nazi? I thought not. So you want a parallel construction; something like "I regard it as a war crime of sorts, no less than the burning of a book by a Nazi")

You obviously feel very strongly about this.

Now if you can calm down a little and explain 1) how being able to read electronic files is grossly culturally irresponsible, 2) how book culture is different from culture in general and 3) how e-books will destroy book culture.

I advise you avoid metaphor in these explanations--it is like strong drink for you. You obviously enjoy it, the bite, and the heat, but after two or three hits of metaphor, your prose starts to stagger and quits making sense.
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In a later post you say:

I have been called every name in the book. I have been threatened with axphixiation (sic) by plastic bag. I have been the butt of every sort of vileness imaginable. Why? Because i (sic) express opinions that do not concur with the veneration of hi-tech that is the premise of this and other like websites.
In other words: get with us or face vilification and abuse. Which is my point.

The way I remember it you began the conversation by calling us Nazis, book-burners, and genocidal murderers. If I understand correctly, you did this because we express opinions that do not concur with your vilification of technology. In other words, we were to get with you or face vilification and abuse. You were not content to leave us to our joys, as we would have been happy to leave you to yours, no, you were livid that you could not convince us we were wrong--no, not just wrong: Nazis!--to like e-books.

To then turn around and complain because you get some of the same treatment you dish out--there's a word for that. It's right on the tip of my tongue but I can't quite remember--hippopotamus? hypnosis? hypocrates? Something like that...

May I point out that among the Nazis were amazingly cultured and well-read individuals, who listened to music by Bruckner and Wagner, attended ballets and theater, read books by Goethe,

I think it's great that you point that out. It's remarkably forthright of you to bring up a major weak point of your argument so openly.

Given that Nazis read great literature and enjoyed inspired works of art and culture, that would imply that 1) Nazis don't necessarily stamp out literature, art and culture and 2) lack of interest in same doesn't make someone a Nazi. Making your attempt to liken what you wrongly perceive as our lack of interest in paper books to Naziism, well, a non-sequitur even by your own lights.

It is not only what one reads but cultural respect for the medium of its transmission that produces civilization, decency, tradition.

Please explain how cultural respect for the medium of transmission produces civilization and decency.

The ancient Chinese, for example, had great cultural respect for ideograms, and the calligraphy used to produce them, but treated each other very cruelly. I would not consider that decent.

What I don't understand is why the need for the new technology in the first place? What is wrong with books? Libraries? The argument (sic)

My husband and I have literally thousands of pounds of books. We moved three times in two years. I have a bad back.

When I go to visit my Dad or my in-laws the books I want to take are heavy, and packing them in the luggage so they don't chew on each other is difficult.

My bookcases are full, and new ones are expensive. Extra wall to put them against is even more expensive. 200 e-books will fit on a ten dollar SD chip the size of a postage stamp.