What If the eBook Had Come First?

Every once in a while, RF likes to drop its earnest demeanor and report something fun. Tom Challies' recent blog post "Imagine if eBooks Came First" makes a neat point while provoking a smile: "In this scenario, you sat on your mommy’s knee while she read Goodnight Moon from a tablet, you heard dad read Little House on the Prairie from his Kindle, and you spent your years of schooling learning from electronic textbooks. Gutenberg had worked tirelessly centuries before to perfect the Kindle but now Jeff Bezos is heralding the remarkable new technology of the printing press and the amazing books it churns out. Where would the new book pale in comparison to the old ebook? What are the reasons we would give to remain with the status quo?"

Read the post to find out.  Challies ends with a prediction prophesying war: "For the first time in 500 years the printed book has found a worthy rival in the ebook. One will eventually inevitably emerge the winner. For what it’s worth, I think it will be a protracted battle that will eventually see the ebook vanquish its predecessor." RF isn't sure we need to think of the print/eBooks shift in martial terms, though likely the day is eventually coming when books will be "read" by loading into a composite human/computer circuit brain, finally rendering print obsolete. Until then, enjoy your format of choice and just help boost reading as our product. 

Michael @ St Mary's Co Library