The Future of the Book?

[Dave Rosenthal]

With the introduction of Kindle2 and the availability of What Would Google Do? in a 23-minute video, we seem to have crossed a line in defining a "book". On Read Street, I noted that Bob Stein of the Institute for the Future of the Book recently said at a conference that our notion of a book as an object "used to move ideas around time and space" is no longer accurate. As readers gain more power to comment on a text -- as it is written -- the hierarchy between authors and readers is breaking down.
Stein proposed a new definition of a book: "a place where readers (and sometimes authors) congregate," according to Publishers Weekly. Nonfiction authors will "become leaders of communities of inquiry," and fiction writers will be "creating a world together with their readers."
Some non-fiction authors already use an online audience to vet their findings during the writing process; that’s how Chris Anderson wrote The Long Tail.
I wonder whether great fiction (or non-fiction) can be written by the "wisdom of the crowd," and how receptive readers will be. Is wiki lit our future?

[The Book Cave]

As much as I like Wiki, please, book angels I hope not.

[Book Calendar]

The content is what matters. A paperback, an ereader, a laptop, a hardcover are all different ways of looking at content. They all have different advantages and disadvantages. I like the physicality of a book. It is a device that is reliable doesn't need a battery, is portable, and doesn't cause as much eyestrain as a desktop computer. I can understand the use of an electronic device for reading books. I sometimes read books on computers. Remember this always, "It is the content that matters." Repeat this fifty times. Unless you have something worth reading it doesn't matter what device you use. Books are just another device for reading. Before there were books, there were scrolls. We still have scrolls for some things like diplomas.

Wiki lit will only be our future for some things. It does not produce high enough quality content most of the time.

[The Book Cave]

Whoo~Hoo, I will repeat like a zoombie, "It is the content that matters." I will now click two books together. lol.
I so want a Kindle 2 , but will always want books surrounding me. I can't imagine walls of Kindles surrounding me : (. Unless it is to honor Rod Sterling. lol.
As for the scrolls, I'd love to read a Mary Higgins Clark novel on a scroll. Thanks for the visual. Love it : ).

[john]

Perhaps over analysis of the written word by computer savy wordsmiths is in all our futures though I doubt it. The relationship between book and reader is as complex as life itself while electricity has its limitations.

[Alexis Lennert]

i think that reading a book on the internet or the kindle(which has the internet) kind of ruins the experience of picking up a book(as in the paper back or hard back)and curling up on a couch or bed or wherever and taking your time to enjoy what your reading. yeah its useful and it takes a lot less time to just get on the computer but people are rushing life to much they should take time to enjoy paper back or hard back book.

[Yvette Kelly]

The same thing happened when we started having our photos on our computers.It used to be so easy to hand an album over to a friend and then explain each photo.Now all my photos are on the computer and apart from having it on Facebook where you have no idea who has looked at it unless they comment.Because of that I am also reluctant to get Kindle or other gadget.I want my books close by where I can grab them and read over if I want.And I get to look really intelligent when people visit my home and see all my books on my bookshelf.
I need to hold my book in my hands,old fashioned but that's me!!!

[Shesten @ I Heart Monster]

All very good points so far... I prefer the paper. It's something about the comfort of holding it in my hands. I can't imagine holding a hard plastic something and relaxing - it's just me. I can see it for entertainment reasons though... like reading on a Kindle while you're in the doctors office or somewhere you're not going to be relaxed and get caught up in the story.

Of all the wiki that I've scoped out, I haven't found much that I've liked... if any.

[Dave Rosenthal]

I was at a cocktail party last night and a woman who reads my blog greeted me with, "I LOVE MY KINDLE!!!!!" (Yes, she actually used all those exclamation points.) She has the original version and is lusting after the 2. She seems like the perfect target for the Kindle: She has a demanding job and two infants, so she doesn't have much time for bookstores and libraries, and likes to always have her reading handy.

[pussreboots]

I have a demanding job and two kids and I'm completely turned off by the Kindle. There are other ways to get books... BookCrossing, BookMooch, and so forth.

[Brooks Sigler]

Someone I know said, "You can't sign a Kindle."

[Peter S.]

I think that since we already have this technology, we should just embrace it. Pride and Prejudice will always be the same wonderful Austen novel whether it's in electronic format or in the page.

Although I'm a book lover and I've always been partial to the printed matter, I'm open to having a Kindle 2. It's just too bad that it still isn't sold in Manila.