Ebooks Vs. Books

          I have to admit it—I dislike the idea of the popular ebook, and the effects its popularity may have on those who still enjoy actual books.  I can still remember the excitement of visiting the library as a child or the memory of my mother reading me books.  The colorful book covers, the smell—even the texture of a book had me hooked. 

          So, why is it that the ebook experience is so different?  I read an article where it explores the difference one gets from the digital screen and the actual page. http://scienceblogs.com/cortex/2009/10/reading_e-books_and_the_brain.php  Jonah Lehrer writes, “new reading formats (such as computer screens on ebooks) might initially require a bit more dorsal processing.”  Lehrer discusses that there are two processes that one has when they read letters.  One of the processes allows someone to read quickly, while the second occurs when we read something unfamiliar.  With this second pathway process reading was slower, and more difficult to understand.  It is believed that one uses their first pathway process naturally when reading things that are familiar to them.  You may ask, what is the point?  Well, for the many people that are unfamiliar with the ebook, reading on the digital screen would take more time than reading the traditional book.  In another article, ebooks and printed books are compared.  http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/gaming.gadgets/07/05/kindle.ipad.reading.mashable/index.html The Nielsen Group conducted a study where it was found that “ebooks take longer to read than print.”  This corroborates Lehrer’s findings that because the ebook is new to us, it requires more dorsal processing. 

         At any rate, let’s get back to the idea of an actual book—its color, its smell, and its texture.  What draws us to the traditional book may be nostalgia.   Since I learned to read from an actual paper page, I am more comfortable with it.  I can still remember what it felt like to touch the glossy page, and smell the paper.  To this day, I am still conscious of the smell of a book.  After all, “smell is the strongest and most vivid [of] long-term memories.”  http://www.agewiseliving.com/remember-more.htm On the other hand, sight is the strongest of short term memory.  So, it makes sense (no pun intended) that many avid book readers are still infatuated with the experience of an actual book.  Our senses make a virtual memory book in our brains.  For some, the pleasant memories of reading an actual book are difficult to erase.

         So, what is this “feeling” of reading an actual book?  It is our memory that attaches us to it. We still associate the book with the pleasantries and innocence of our childhood.  Thus, the book is a symbol of simpler times; or an escape from the complexities of the real world.  Depending on how the newer generations of parents teach their children how to read, determines if the actual book can be preserved.  Exposing children to an actual book first will make reading the book possible with less dorsal processing.  However, if children are exposed to the ebook first, the newer generations will start to process letters on the digital screen faster than the letters on a paper page.  Hopefully, we can find a happy medium (pun intended).