July 7, 2009
Anyone wondering how e-books will really bring progress to the act of reading need wonder no further. Just read the quote below from today's Shelf Awareness."Amazon.com is applying for several patents on ads in e-books, according to Slashdot, which has links to the Patent & Trademark Office (oldfashioned) paperwork. One example: "For instance, if a restaurant is described on page 12, [then the advertising page], either on page 11 or page 13, may include advertisements about restaurants, wine, food, etc., which are related to restaurants and dining." What a fabulous idea, but why stop there when digital texts can do so much more? Thirty second video ads when readers access a new chapter are a sure thing, of course, but what about hyperlinking the text itself? Who wants to read this by Virginia Woolf... "The wheelbarrow, the lawnmower, the sound of poplar trees, leaves whitening before rain, rooks cawing, brooms knocking, dresses rustling--"  When you could be reading this...The wheelbarrow, the lawnmower, the sound of poplar trees, leaves whitening before rain, rooks cawing, brooms knocking, dresses rustling-- What an improvement! I mean to say what well turned phrase isn't made more sublime by turning a profit at the same time. For example E.R. Eddison's lovely prose can easily be embellished thus...  With such fancies, melancholy like a great bird settled upon his soul. The lights flickered in their sockets, and for very weariness Gro's eyelids closed at length over his large liquid eyes; and, too tired to stir from his seat to seek his couch, he sank forward on the table, his head on his arms.Fabulous. One thing I'm sure of is that if Richmond Lattimore had been asked what his one regret concerning his magnificent translation of Homer's Iliad was, Lattimore would have opined the lack of advertisments linked to the text. How sad it is that he didn't live to experience the following...  Then looking darkly at him spoke resourceful Odysseus:
'Son of Atreus, what sort of word escaped your teeth's barrier?Setting a book down to absorb a compelling passage will be a thing of the past. Who can pause to reflect while he's pausing to watch commercials on his e-reader and making purchases between sentences. We'll all be too busy interacting to be reflecting. The term reading itself will probably have become passe at that point. Hmmmmn. Greading? Here they are! Our weekly picks for the two best: two hardcover, two paperback, and two children's books. The very best new arrivals to leap out of the box and onto our shelves this week. Call or email us if you want more information on any of these titles, or to have us hold you a copy. Or stop in and check them out in person. We'd love to see you. Thanks as always for sharing your reading with us!
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