Quote:
Originally Posted by HarryT
Not hard at all. For me it would be the reader; I read far, far more than I watch TV. I could happily live without TV; I wouldn't want to live without reading.
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I'd go with the TV, both because I watch a lot of TV (especially sports) and I wouldn't have to give up reading as I could always make use of the library for free.
That's the main thing I see this as a non-issue. Even if someone is so badly off that they can't afford an e-reader nor a PC or other devices that can access e-books, they can make use of the library. If their in a small, rural area the selection may not be great--but they'll probably have most of the old, public domain stuff that they could get in free on e-readers, as well as PCs they could read e-books online on etc.
So I just don't see how it will create any elite reading class. By the time paper books start to diminish (if they ever do) and many books are only available as e-books, e-readers will be very cheap. Public schools will be giving them to students as it's cheaper for them to do that and give them e-textbooks than to give every student all the paper textbooks they need to use each year etc. down the road.
So currently, there's not much of anything only in e-book format, so it's a non issue. And down the road, if anything e-readers will improve access to books among the lower class when e-readers are dirt cheap, given out by schools to students etc.