There is a brilliantly fascinating and extensive interview with best-selling author Ray Bradbury in the Spring 2010 issue of The Paris Review. Among many things he is asked his view of eBooks in general and Amazon's Kindle in particular:
INTERVIEWER: What do you think of e-books and Amazon’s Kindle?
BRADBURY: Those aren’t books. You can’t hold a computer in your hand like you can a book. A computer does not smell. There are two perfumes to a book. If a book is new, it smells great. If a book is old, it smells even better. It smells like ancient Egypt. A book has got to smell. You have to hold it in your hands and pray to it. You put it in your pocket and you walk with it. And it stays with you forever. But the computer doesn’t do that for you. I’m sorry.
Much more at the link.
I love Bradbury, but I couldn't disagree more! The most important part of reading isn't the feel and smell of the book, it's engaging with the written word.
ReplyDeleteAnd today Farenheit 451 is released for the Kindle, including the "Kindle Fire." Oh the irony.
ReplyDelete