Question of the Day | 02/08/2009 11:00 pm

The late John Updike railed against digitization of books. Does the Kindle et al threaten the intimacy, sacredness of reading?

Books vs. Kindle/Flickr

Liz Smith | 02/08/2009 11:00 pm

Liz Smith's Great Escape

The Kindle probably does threaten the changes you cite about reading books, but at the same time every new invention changes the status quo. If you want intimacy, privacy and the sacredness of reading – you usually have to work for it. And for that matter, my mother, always threatened by my "sacredness of reading" — because she felt reading was a drug and I should go outdoors and play – used to drive me crazy.

I once had a birthday party where I received a new book about the the Wizard of Oz. I climbed a tree and started reading and forgot about my own party. But of course I was interrupted and had to come back down to earth.

So nothing changes; something is always "at" you when you try to read and concentrate. It’s just different things for different eras.

Click here on this text to read my New York Post column.

2 Comments

Joan Ganz Cooney | 02/08/2009 11:00 pm

Joan Ganz Cooney: 'Oldsters' Relish 'Print'

All of us oldsters tend to romanticize print and paper books and I am shamelessly one of them. But any means that brings books to people, I think, is to be applauded. I’m grateful for the digitization.

2 Comments

Mary Wells | 02/08/2009 11:00 pm

Mary Wells Prefers Paper With Coffee

I like the Kindle for books — it is the morning newspaper I can’t give up with my coffee. But the Kindle and the Sony book will win until something even more amazing comes along.

2 Comments

Marlo Thomas | 02/08/2009 11:00 pm

Why Marlo Thomas Calls Herself 'Old-Fashioned'

I’m an old-fashioned girl. I like to curl up with a book, feel the texture of the pages, sense the weight of it in my hands. Kindles can’t hold a candle to books. It’s like the difference between spending time with a lover or an accountant.

3 Comments

Joan Juliet Buck | 02/08/2009 11:00 pm

Joan Juliet Buck: Why the Kindle Can't Replace Books

You can make a book your own. A Kindle looks like something you find in an I.C.U. You can’t spill coffee on it, scribble on it or stick colored flags on the bits you like. And — if you only need one, how in hell do you furnish a room?

8 Comments

Judith Martin | 02/08/2009 11:00 pm

Judith Martin: Kindle vs. Paper

And not only the sacredness, but the royalties.

1 Comment

Jane Wagner | 02/08/2009 11:00 pm

Jane Wagner on the Kindle: All New Gizmos Are Criticized

I have a Kindle, and I love it. It’s not the same experience as curling up with a good book by the fire, but these days most old fireplaces are not what they used to be — they’ve evolved, too — but you can still curl up in front of them and feel warm. New technological gizmos are often greeted with too much pessimism or optimism — remember when they predicted computers would help end office clutter?

2 Comments

Cynthia McFadden | 02/08/2009 11:00 pm

Cynthia McFadden Disagrees With John Updike

I think Updike is wrong. The magic of reading — the sacredness, if you will — doesn’t happen in your fingertips but in your mind’s eye. I will always love holding a newspaper or a book. I still experience the pleasure of the page but don’t feel in the least "guilty" about flying around the world with a fully loaded Kindle. It doesn’t seem to me new technology is the enemy of books, quite the opposite.

3 Comments

Sheila Nevins | 02/08/2009 11:00 pm

Sheila Nevins: Imagination Rules

Words go into your mind and fly away. The delivery system is immaterial. Imagination and interpretation rule, not technology.

1 Comment

Candice Bergen | 02/08/2009 11:00 pm

Candice Bergen: The Kindle's a Reading Savior

The Kindle may save reading from becoming extinct. My husband uses the Kindle and it took him a little to get used to it, but now he uses nothing else. I have a Kindle that I circle suspiciously, but for traveling — how can you beat it?

2 Comments

Read more about: Arts, Books, Culture, Entertainment, Intimacy, John Updike, Kindle, Reading, Society, Technology

76 Reader Comments (so far…) Sign In or Register to comment

I love books. I have never used a Kindle but I have a feeling I would not like it. I already have trouble reading books on my computer. I am so with Joan Juliet Buck on this one. How are you suppose to furnish a room? However, the new generation might really enjoy it.

By siasp surate on 02/09/2009 12:34 am

e-mail alert

*News Flash* …I just got an e-mail from Amazon and the Kindle will be for sale tomorrow (Feb 10th)…but previous owners get a one day “jump” on buying one…LOL …Instead of 200 books stored, it can now store/hold 1,500 books!! wow! but. until my Kindle “dies” I’ll stick w/the first version.

By Debbie Learman on 02/09/2009 11:32 am

e-mail alert

I personally don’t have or really know what exactly a Kindle is.. But as long as it does not take the place of books, then fine ..whatever you want. But I love to walk into a room filled with books, even the smell of books. And to be able to curl up on a rainy day with a good book and a cup of coffee…Mmmm just makes the world go away for a while.

By Beverley Maddox on 02/09/2009 12:42 am

e-mail alert

I agree with you. I had to google Kindle.

By siasp surate on 02/09/2009 12:56 am

e-mail alert

oh Beverley, I forgot about the smell, you are so right….delish!

By Tee Zee on 02/09/2009 8:38 am

e-mail alert

Time marches on. Our lives change over time, and if we remember: twenty years ago we wouldn’t give up our typewriters for anything. Rental books are just about a thing of the past as new books are now plentiful and free at most libraries. And so are Kindle books. You and I probably will shun this latest effort - well, for a little while. Frankly, I want to say “forever” but know better. All around us in our homes are the latest signs that we ARE keeping up with the times. . and for most new inventions, we grow to love them (well, at least LIKE them!) We like to hold the books, turn the pages at our leisure, feeling that feel of the good paper and sometimes putting a bookmark in there to go back to a certain quotation or poem at another time. I have a feeling that the majority of us who have grown up with REAL books are going to be holdouts on Kindle for some time. There is something wonderful about seeing a pile of delectable books just waiting for us to begin them. But to be fair, we want the younger generation to read, don’t we? And I certainly feel that whatever turns them on - and plastic covered products seem to do the trick! - I’d say that if this is the future of books, so be it. I don’t think most of us will be around to see the last of REAL books … so we will continue to have “choices”. I envision heaven as a kind of library — it is such a conforting thought - and so I pray that they still have room after room of the “real thing”. I don’t think they will have plastic in heaven, do you? It would be like paper plates, wouldn’t it?

By joan larsen on 02/09/2009 12:44 am

e-mail alert

Bookmarks! Yes, I have an extensive collection as well, what would happen to them, they’ve served me so well.

By Tee Zee on 02/09/2009 8:39 am

e-mail alert

I love love love my Kindle…and yes, there are bookmarks and there are note-taking capabilities when using a Kindle….for me, less allergies to: a)checked out Library books make me sneeze and wheeze and end up at the hospital, *as whomever checked the book out b4 me had cats or/and smoked….b)downsizing…less clutter. less dusting…and lastly …c)200 books in the size of a paperback…amaZing wonderful Kindle.

By Debbie Learman on 02/09/2009 10:12 am

e-mail alert

Tee Zee . . you can imagine that someone who is made a portion of life writing book reviews and reading 5 books a week until lately would have bookmarks - though normally I may sit all night - when I read if the book is good. IF it is that good, I write about it — but often people give me bookmarks as you have — and even seeing them in a drawer reminds me that the person who gave each one to me knows me very very well — and somehow I am touched. Joan

By joan larsen on 02/09/2009 11:35 am

e-mail alert

There’s that bit of old fashioned in you, Joan, as it is with Marlo and I add my name to the list. Just because something is out there doesn’t mean I’d like it or need it or replace it with what I have. I do not own a blackberry, have never owned a microwave, hate cell phones, brew tea,(no tea bags) am doing dishes by hand, etc. The experience of reading encompasses so much more than the material itself–––for me. The feel of a book, the smell, my special cozy places for reading, the underlining––always the underlining. Since heaven for me is down here on terra firma isn’t it lucky for us loonies that still love libraries? ;

By phyllis Doyle Pepe on 02/09/2009 9:12 am

e-mail alert

Reading - as well as writing - is an intregral part of my life … so much so that today I have spent a number of hours with the librarian of our rather large library working out some intricacies of plans for a thorough remodeling of the interior to go with a completed landscape plan that will promote a welcoming and warm exterior to draw people in. All this are things I know well, do well, and exalt in doing as if I have my hand in I feel the finished product will be a smash. In libraries, we have to move with the times, and offer what the taxpayers desire and - to be honest - often need. No longer is there a library of old - though, of course, that is what WE were comfortable with. But to be current, we must move with change, get one step ahead of other libraries if possible while we have the monies to accomplish this. A good time, and the many job categories in this economic environment we will need to do all this will certainly help a small bit on the regional level. Hopefully, other libraries will use us as a model and also get themselves going. But I have to confess I couldn’t do without the microwave or dishwasher — I would go without clothes for those two things that give me the freedom to do things that frankly, I enjoy far more. I want to always stimulate my mind — and less housework does help. But the room of my own - my sunny yellow room - mine alone is where I read, and part of the enjoyment is to hold the book IN my hand. The print and the paper turn me on — and I think you know what I mean — they take me into another world and I love it. And I also love “Sam Mirando” who is smart, sharp, and only wish he were on more. VERY impressive…so thank you!

By joan larsen on 02/09/2009 11:48 am

e-mail alert

Joan: Sam is not a he, but a she. I believe you and she had a long conversation re: her connection with me among other things. Oh, and by the way, I didn’t have a chance to tell you how impressed I am with Amy K. She sounds feisty and promising.

By phyllis Doyle Pepe on 02/09/2009 12:23 pm

e-mail alert

Funny … with the credentials and all, as well as the level of writing and the “Sam” I must have gone back in my mind to “HE”. Tell HER I am sorry . . . but WOW, it must be great to have a woman friend who you can have REAL conversations with. Those friends of mine like that are now - as of a week ago - all dead, leaving the good friends-but-not-more- stimulating than that for the most part. And I really miss having a “Sam” in my life. I too watch Amy carefully - and she is all over the place — but as I look at the world right now, who in their right mind would WANT to be president. I love challenges — but there is a limit. But she has some years — and I have hope.

By joan larsen on 02/09/2009 12:39 pm

e-mail alert

Hey. There are times…especially when a deadline is pressing…when I’d give anything to have my old correcting selectric BACK! And at the same time, I really wish I had a laptop. So… It’s just hard for me to believe that a piece of plastic could ever win out over the splendor of a well-published book. I’ve splurged for my grandkids…since the beginning. So I hope on some level they’ll learn to appreciate the value of good publishing. Whatever happens to the auto industry, I hope they never stop the presses!

By Ms. Dee on 02/09/2009 2:00 pm

e-mail alert

I like my books. I don’t want to sit with an instrument that has a back light that will eventually bug my eyes and read a book. I love the smell of the paper, look of the cover art, I like being able to flip back and forth through pages or reference notes, etc. because when it is on a Kindle, or the computer I lose a sense of dimension of the book and can’t map where I am in it. I like taking it to bed to read and if I fall asleep I don’t have to worry if it is turned off or not. I might use a Kindle on a long air flight, or just download a book on to my laptop. One thing for sure, there is accessibility. I think that it will come to light that reading on the page is much better for the eyes and brain than the overstimulation of the light from the computer or Kindle. Doctors will come out and talk about the increasing numbers of people who need glasses and have developed other eye issues and after studies have been conducted, they will decide it is because of the overstimulation of the brain by the light generated by computer or digitized gadgets. Too much serotonin and not enough melatonin and we are all jumping off of cliffs.

By Frannie Em on 02/09/2009 12:58 am