In Defense of the E-Book

Introduction

A Brief History of Print

The End of Books

Hypertext

What Is The Book?

The Novel Is Dead

This Is Not Science Fiction

Monkeys & Typewriters

In Defense of The E-Book

Conclusion

References

The end of books?

While critics and writers debated about whether or not hypertext fiction would revolutionize both the form and content of the book, another technology slowly gained momentum and threatened to take both the book and hypertext fiction out of the running. The electronic book, or e-book, offered readers the chance to access previously published works by their favourite authors in digital format. Like the phonograph, hypertext, and a myriad of other technological innovations, the e-book was vested by critics with the potential to "transform society by revolutionizing reading, making libraries and teachers redundant, and, finally, ushering in a paperless society."

Despite these lofty pronouncements, the e-book failed to accomplish much in the way of a revolution to depose the book. Literary luddites attacked the e-book for similar reasons that made William Gass shun hypertext. Hypertext critic, Jay David Bolter, objected to the e-book on the grounds that you can not take an e-book to bed with you, or read it in the bathtub, nor could you annotate texts and, by marking them, make them your own. In response, Eastgate writer Mark Bernstein argues that these arguments are both silly and outmoded given that the advent of PDA's (Personal Digital Assistant) such as the Palm Pilot, has made reading e-books both convenient and pleasurable: "We can easily adapt computers to new sizes, shapes and textures; if readers truly want the smell of leather bindings, leather-bound laptops can be made."

Undeniably, the adaptability of electronic readers and low publishing costs have made e-books an increasingly desirable alternative to print. To invest the e-book, or hypertext fiction, with the power to end the book, however, seems shortsighted when there are greater forces at work.

Tara Stephens
School of Library and Information Sciences