Philip, I don’t necessarily see such a difference—at least not in terms of “quality”. There is, of course, a different physical experience between reading a book and reading on-screen. The most obvious being that you can feel the texture of a book in your hands while reading it. For some, this, in itself, is the sole reason why they buy books. As to the psychological experiences that the contents of a book induce in one while reading it and those induced while reading on-screen, I can’t say I’ve noticed a difference. But that might just be me.
Besides, now that devices for reading ebooks can replicate exactly the look of printed pages (even in sunlight), I think their “on-screen” display is no different than that of a printed page. With PCs the difference still pertains, but almost everyone now downloads ebooks to reading devices. Such devises also weigh less than a thick paperback book, and so are effortless to hold. I’ve read books, the enjoyment of which have been ruined because they are too thick and heavy. An example of which is ‘The Norton Anthology of Theory and Criticism’. It’s so thick and heavy, that reading it is unpleasant for me.
I think we have reached (or are fast approaching) a point when such devises will be the preferred choice for reading. Books will still exist, as there will still be a market for them, given that many people like the physicality and look of books. But whether books will sell as well as they do (or used to do) is another question.
Philip Rowland wrote:
Hi Jeffrey—(brief, belated response): You’re probably right that “any reluctant ebook readers will eventually become acclimatised to the technology”. But don’t you sometimes feel there’s a difference in the quality of the experience of reading on-screen and in (book-bound) print, the latter more conducive to “deep" reading, perhaps? Or perhaps my eyes/brain are not fully acclimatised… (as the grammatical slip in my last message could also indicate)!
Best,
Philip
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