Writing in the New York Times, Verlyn Klinkenborg sings the praises both of electronic and traditionally produced ink-on-paper books. Of printed books, he appreciates that “[t]hey do nothing. . .what I really love is their inertness. . .The book is the book, whereas, in electronic formats, the book often seems to be merely the text.”
Regarding e-books, Klinkenborg confesses, “The truth is that I need. . .help to keep reading, especially as much as I always have. The question isn’t what will books become in a world of electronic reading. The question is what will become of the readers we’ve been—quiet, thoughtful, patient, abstracted—in a world where interactive can be too tempting to ignore.”
Are there so many bells-and-whistles distractions inherent in electronic books that our abilities as readers are diminished?