Tuesday, December 17, 2013

The Passion Without the Paper

Posted by: Regan Summers

I have turned a corner that I didn’t know existed. I’m not sure when this happened, whether it was gradual or all of a sudden, but I am now more likely to pick up my e-reader rather than a paper book when I’m in the mood to read. In part, it has to do with the selection available on my kindle – new authors, old favorites and samples in a neat list that doesn’t require much thought. A simple click, and I’m submerged.

This is a milestone for me. I’ve always been a reader. Entire walls in my parents’ home are paved in books. They fill the room under the stairs, stand sentinel on beside tables and, when those get full, are lowered to a post beneath the beds (guarding from monsters and whatnot). I’ve moved over a dozen times since I left my parents’ home. Each time I moved, whether it was across town or across the country, my first concern was how I would transport my books. The weight of books, the solidity of them, is a comfort. But that’s separate from the story.

It felt like a betrayal at first, when I pride myself on loyalty. I can identify individual books by color scheme, by the sound of each spine as it’s opened. But I primarily read from electronics. Some books, of course, have to be had in paper. The covers are too beautiful, the stories too complex, to ever be turned off and set aside. But adventure and love, pain and triumph, are bigger than a handful of plastic and wire.

Some people need the paper, the tactile association being a part of the reading experience for them. For me it’s the depth of character, the joy of discovery, the turn of a phrase that clicks with my brain that matters. Some stories could be written in smoke in the sky and I’d stop my life for a week to read every last word.


What do you require in your reading experience? Can you have the passion without the paper?


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About the Author

Regan Summers lives in Anchorage, Alaska with her husband and alien-monkey hybrid of a child. She loves reading, traveling, small plate dining and terrible action movies.

Her Night Runner series from Carina Press is available wherever e-books are sold.



10 comments:

  1. I haven't quite reached the tipping point yet, but I'm close. I love paper books, but ebooks are just too convenient, and my paper book collection is threatening to take over my San Francisco-sized apartment.

    Lovely post. :)

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    1. That's what started me, AJ. I used to fly a lot for work and would buy a book a day on the road, then couldn't fit them in my house - or my suitcase!

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  2. I haven't reached the tipping point either. If it's available, I still prefer paperback (mass market that is, I LOATHE trade paperback and publishers seem to be leaning away from mass market toward trade unfortunately). While I love the convenience of buying with one click, I'm still a bit frustrated by the current technology. Paperbacks don't freeze up, run down their batteries and it's easier to flip back when there's something in chapter one you want to check. Nor do they break when you drop them.

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    1. Mass market paperbacks are my drug of choice as well. Trade tend to get damaged rather easily, I find, unless they're substantial. And hardcovers come in so many sizes that they don't fit prettily into my book cases (Is that a legitimate complaint? I feel like it is)

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  3. John Scalzi used an excellent description for his opinion, which I'll relay here: i.e., asking him if he prefers digital or print is like asking him if he prefers his favorite soda in a bottle or a can. No matter what form it's delivered in, _it's still his favorite soda_.

    I'm with Scalzi on that. At the end of the day I don't give a shit whether the book is digital or printed; what I give a shit about is the story and whether it engages me, or doesn't.

    Digital is my preferred reading medium right now because it's easiest for me to handle on my daily bus commute, but I ALSO love print for various reasons as well. In no small part because there are several authors whose books I'd be sad to be unable to read if the power grid goes out.

    Plus, I still have a strong appreciation for a beautifully produced book as a work of art.

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    1. Exactly. The story's the thing!

      A few of my favorite books aren't available in e-book format. Some aren't even in print now and I shudder to think of my life if I'd never discovered them.

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  4. I read almost exclusively in digital now because I like to read at night and my ereader glows. I donated boxes of books when we moved a few years ago and just never really went back. That said, I do have a bookshelf stuffed with old favorites that I'm not ever going to give up.

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    1. I like to purchase sequels at 2 A.M., even if I'm then too exhausted to read them. It's -5 degrees F here. There's no way I'd run out in the middle of the night to buy a book, even if a bookstore was open! :D

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  5. I love reading on either. I didn't think I'd ever feel that way but since I got my Kindle FireHD, I love reading on it. As an author, I know I make more money on ebook sales so I hope everyone feels the same way.

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    1. Whatever method gets readers to the most stories is good for everyone, I say. :)

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