Will eBooks create an elite reading class?

[ApK]

This thread brought to mind a Nickel Creek lyric:

Hey those books you gave us look good on the shelves at home
And they'll burn warm in the fireplace
Teacher, when in Rome

[chookie2]

Where but with an e reader could one have a long TBR list and KNOW it would be available when needed. Libraries notoriously lend out the the one we want to read now. To bring the elitist argument down to personal experience.....ebooks make reading possible for many who have no access to print books. I worked in rural China and in Saudi Arabia and mobile phones (prolific in both countries) offered more than a call.....they opened up vistas for people who otherwise were confined, books, reading ....the world was suddenly available. A Sudanese friend tells the same of his village in North Africa. Yes there are still many that have no access, but more now than ever before, do. The written word is being read by more people in more places more often than ever before imho. Maybe not whole books in many cases.....but it's a start.

[crich70]

Originally Posted by chookie2

Where but with an e reader could one have a long TBR list and KNOW it would be available when needed. Libraries notoriously lend out the the one we want to read now. To bring the elitist argument down to personal experience.....ebooks make reading possible for many who have no access to print books. I worked in rural China and in Saudi Arabia and mobile phones (prolific in both countries) offered more than a call.....they opened up vistas for people who otherwise were confined, books, reading ....the world was suddenly available. A Sudanese friend tells the same of his village in North Africa. Yes there are still many that have no access, but more now than ever before, do. The written word is being read by more people in more places more often than ever before imho. Maybe not whole books in many cases.....but it's a start.

A good point, and it just continues the expansion of reading that started with Gutenberg. Prior to the printing press books were hand copied and only the wealthy could afford them. I wager there were many villages in the old days in Europe where there wasn't even one book. Not even a Bible for the local priest (assuming he could read). Now books are going through another change in media continuing the change from clay tablet, to scroll, to parchment, to paper. Prior to ebooks if I bought a book I had to wait a week or better (assuming I didn't find it on sale locally) for the book to arrive. Now it takes just a few seconds.

[covingtoncat73]

Originally Posted by crich70

A good point, and it just continues the expansion of reading that started with Gutenberg. Prior to the printing press books were hand copied and only the wealthy could afford them. I wager there were many villages in the old days in Europe where there wasn't even one book. Not even a Bible for the local priest (assuming he could read). Now books are going through another change in media continuing the change from clay tablet, to scroll, to parchment, to paper. Prior to ebooks if I bought a book I had to wait a week or better (assuming I didn't find it on sale locally) for the book to arrive. Now it takes just a few seconds.

Yeah and so many public domain classics are free in eBook.

[crich70]

Originally Posted by covingtoncat73

Yeah and so many public domain classics are free in eBook.

Yep, isn't it great! Many of them were only available to me when I was younger via the public library as I couldn't afford to buy a lot of books. Or if I did find a book it was via a garage sale or other book sale. Not anymore though. Just go to Gutenberg (or here) and find the book I want.

[tompe]

Originally Posted by chookie2

Where but with an e reader could one have a long TBR list and KNOW it would be available when needed.

Well, at home in the bookcases?

[chookie2]

Well, at home in the bookcases?

yes if you want to reread a book, but TBR is usually an unread book we plan on reading..my bookshelves(over 3000 books) contain old friends and references and some TBRA (again) but not unread books I want to read...don't yours?

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by chookie2

yes if you want to reread a book, but TBR is usually an unread book we plan on reading..my bookshelves(over 3000 books) contain old friends and references and some TBRA (again) but not unread books I want to read...don't yours?

Nope.
Mine are a mix.
Too many TBRs to keep in a separate location.
If I don't keep'em front and center I'll never get to them. Especially the non-fiction.

[ApK]

My physical shelves are probably almost half TBR at this point. The majority of the rest are reference of one sort or another, and less than a quarter are "old friends" as you say.
Though if I had to pare down farther, the first to go would be from the TBRs.

[chookie2]

E books have , for me, reduced my TBR pile to three print books beside my bed and a series of five beside my chair....and i pick up the e reader instead of them each time. There are three library books on my kitchen table too...reference books. My shelves hold no TBR, only olf friends, reference and tbrAgain ...which really fits into old friens....i find myself reading less print nowadays except for referencing, but would never part with my print library.

[william z]

Originally Posted by tsantsa

"Will eBooks create an elite reading class?"

I am of the opinion that simply READING has become an elitist class.

EDIT: Not that I'm saying readers are elitist in general, but some people see you as a snob if you read heavily. I don't know about you, but I have a dead-end job filled with knuckle-draggers (elitist? me? no! ;> ) and we have conversations throughout the day. I like to talk about my hobbies and likes. My co-workers are much the same, except for the reading part... Sometimes, I do sense a certain degree of "I bet he thinks he's better than us" responses or looks. Although, I bet when some of them are talking about whatever it is they do, I probably have the same attitude sometimes...

But my point is, they seem to view reading itself as elitist. I wonder what they teach their children.

You make a good point, but I think readers have always been a minority and things haven't changed all that much.

[Katsunami]

Originally Posted by tsantsa

But my point is, they seem to view reading itself as elitist. I wonder what they teach their children.

"I'm going to... <<enter some activity>>. What are you going to do this week... oh. Yeah. Enjoy your book. *giggle*"

That's how quite a lot of people I know react to reading as a hobby (or any other hobby requiring mental effort or practice, for that matter).

[QuantumIguana]

Originally Posted by Katsunami

"I'm going to... <<enter some activity>>. What are you going to do this week... oh. Yeah. Enjoy your book. *giggle*"

That's how quite a lot of people I know react to reading as a hobby (or any other hobby requiring mental effort or practice, for that matter).

It appears there are two kinds of elitism. One is that which is available only to wealthy, connected powerful elites, and another which is available to anyone, but is perceived as being "uppity". Terry Pratchett writes about the "crab bucket". He observes that with a bucket full of crabs, the crabs will not escape because other crabs will pull them back down. Mocking someone for reading is really just a way of attempting to establish dominance over them. If you don't give a crap what they think, they have no power over you. Such people are of no interest to me.