History of Reading - an essay in three parts

tubemonkey · 07-12-2011, 04:29 PM

From the Boston Globe:

Quote:

This essay is the first in a three-part series about the past, present, and future of reading. Part two will focus on readers in transition between the page and the screen. Part three will look at the future of reading. Even on the subway, amid the jostles, conversations, and stares, a well of quiet seems to surround readers of books or newspapers or tablets. It may be a defensive quiet, but a quiet all the same, and not so unlike the habitual silences of readers in libraries or those curled in chairs at home. Their absorption distances voices, engines, and birds alike - the same sounds that can feel amplified and distinct before sleep or just after waking.

astrangerhere · 07-13-2011, 08:57 AM

Interesting bit. I was a little taken by the author's apparent love of the refuge of reading that creates a blanket of perceived silence but clear dislike of e-readers. I understand that the author is coming from a place of writing about light (re: most recent published work being about the evolution of artificial lighthing), but i was discomfitted a bit by the comments about books that light themselves as opposed to the feel, smell, texture and parent industries that create paper books.

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07-13-2011, 08:57 AM	#2
astrangerhere Professor of Law Posts: 3,751 Karma: 68428716 Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Chapel Hill, NC Device: Kobo Elipsa, Kobo Libra H20, Kobo Aura One, KoboMini	Interesting bit. I was a little taken by the author's apparent love of the refuge of reading that creates a blanket of perceived silence but clear dislike of e-readers. I understand that the author is coming from a place of writing about light (re: most recent published work being about the evolution of artificial lighthing), but i was discomfitted a bit by the comments about books that light themselves as opposed to the feel, smell, texture and parent industries that create paper books.

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