War of The Platforms

Look at the comments section on any literary website, peek at the writers' forums or listen in on radio discussion shows and you'll be splattered with sticky, dark debris from the diatribes on the rise (or not) of the e-book.

If you're reading this blog, chance is that you're interested in literature, fiction, poetry, reading, writing and all that artsy jazz. Chance is also, then, that you've heard a few rumbles in the blogosphere regarding the progression of e-books from clunky, difficult novelty products into a serious (or not) threat to the future of paper-print books. You may even have your opinions formulated already; I certainly hope so.

I hope so because it's a massive issue, not only for publishers but for writers and readers, too. The implications go way beyond the financial to the environmental and even further. The current debate rages mainly around the decreased enjoyability an impersonal object like the Kindle can offer the reader; many a man and more have complained that e-readers can never match up the the feel and smell of a fresh paper book. Furthermore, detractors of the new-age state, e-readers are no match for the durability of a good book, vulnerable to spillages, malfunctions, dropping, anything. Should a beverage seep its way toward your reader with all the malevolence of Lord Voldemort that is, seemingly, the end of it. Fork out on a new one. Start your collection again. The truth is most likely at variance with this but I'll leave that to you to discuss...

However, there are supporters to the contrary. E-readers offer greater portability than a stack of books, being smaller, lighter and more compact in general. They are just as easily readable as most regular books, with a slight advantage in the ability to zoom and re-size text or have the book read to you in a charmingly jerky, Stephen Hawking-type computerised fashion. They're also much more environmentally friendly and really make very little difference to the reading experience, whatever critics might say. This applies particularly to the Amazon Kindle, which I own and therefore have the most knowledge and experience of. I'm really not sure about other devices. The eBooks available on such devices are inevitably cheaper, too, given the absence of print-costs for publishers, making e-readers a little more enticing to the reader. The drawback comes, of course, with the price-tags for the readers, which at present are rather inflated.

This is far from an in-depth article and could have done with a lot more sourcing and individual interpretation but that, I feel, leaves the topic open for further debate. I invite you here to add your own views on the issue: which side are you on, if any? Do you own an e-reader? Can they ever really replace the good old paper book? Does any of this even matter (for all you Hegelians out there)?

Have fun!