What Santa Didn't Bring...

by Augusta Scattergood

I was relatively good this year. There was no lump of coal in my Christmas stocking. But there was no eBook reader in there either. And I’m OK with that. For now.

Full disclosure here. I co-own an IPad, but sharing is not always easy when it comes to reading books all day long. When I read my first eBook, the experience was mostly positive so I’m sure my own private reader is not too far in my future. While I’m waiting, I’ll just keep stumbling over piles of books all over my house and dreaming up reasons I don’t really need the device.

Truly, I don’t think the world is ever going to go completely paperless. At least not in my lifetime. And I certainly hope not. There are things I would miss about books if they all become electronic:

1. Book Spying. (Come on, people, you know you do it.) I do it and I’m not the only one. A recent blogpost about checking out your fellow NYC subway riders proves it’s a popular way to snoop. I do most of my spying on airplanes and in airports, where I’ve spent more time than the average reader. Will I be able to Book Spy closely enough to figure out what the guy on his way to Prague has planned for the trip? What’s that professorial gentleman in seat 16C across the aisle reading? Can I cast my eyes over to the woman at the doctor’s office and decipher the title of the large print plain text eBook? I think not. At least for now, I submit that my fellow Book Spies and I need paper. We need covers. We need author photos on the backs of our books. We cannot properly spy on eBook people.

2. I'd miss going back and forth in a story, thumbing the pages, reminding myself what I’ve forgotten. I tried that with my eBook. Scott Turow’s Innocent, written in multiple voices and rolling time periods, took a tad longer than the average new hardback should have taken to get going. I fault my IPad for this.

3. And what about reading on takeoff and landing? I cannot give this up. When I first heard a flight attendant announce, “Turn off your books for takeoff,” I knew I’d never be able to travel without a trusty, non-E, detective novel. I read from takeoff to landing, and until they allow me to keep my book turned on, I’ll stick with my paperbacks. I suspect this day isn’t far in the future. And it sure will be easier to carry an eReader in my carry-on than to lug 2 or 3 books along.

3. As far as my own favorite genre, kids’ books go? I used to think I’d never go over to the electronic side to read kids’ picture books. Not so sure this is still a concern since Steve Jobs announced all the color pictures available in his IBook store. Ditto the new color Nook. I may have to rethink this concern. And older kids, for sure, have embraced eReaders. A recent quote from an industry professionals at Random House -- "[Kids] are going to want to move from platform to platform. The most important platform is going to remain the book."
The book, in whatever form.

To tell the truth, there are more reasons to buy one of these cute little babies than not to buy. My sister just told me how she couldn’t get into her novel, late in the evening, and voila! She bought a new one, past midnight, with the click of a button. My daughter has canceled her print newspaper subscription. My friend tells me how she loves her eReader, especially for those heavy non-fiction books she craves.

 EBook prices are down, the inventory is up. And it’s tempting to imagine losing those hardback book towers that seem to grow while I sleep. Having a clean desktop, void of books with titles like Plot and Structure, Between the Lines, and Creating Character Emotions, would be nice. Very nice.

So I don’t envision a paperless world. I'd miss my special autographed books.
And I love my cookbooks, even though when I need a recipe, I'm all over Epicurious. I just like to look at the cookbooks and remember when I actually used them, when I cooked for recreation.

I think, for now,  it might be hard to review a book I’ve read only electronically. I’m not completely convinced I could properly critique a book without my stickie notes, beloved bookmarks, and yes-- even the horrible turned-down dog-ears.

But reading for fun? Hauling books through airports? I’m in.

I just hope the rest of the world doesn’t give up their bodice-ripping paperbacks. My Book Spying would be severely limited.


Augusta Scattergood blogs about reading, writing, and book reviewing over at http://www.ascattergood.blogspot.com/.


She'd love to know how many of you out there read eBooks, Book Spy, or think poorly of either activity. Do leave a comment here or on her Facebook page.