Thanks, and let's keep going...

Re: Thanks, and let's keep going...

by Emma Duke-Williams -
Number of replies: 1

I'm afraid I'm coming rather late to the party - several weeks of marking etc., have meant that I've only skimmed the odd post! 

What I haven't seen, though it's entirely possible it was in posts I skimmed way too fast - is a distinction between the different types of experience you look for in a book

To me; I look in novels for escapism; to draw my own pictures of what the characters look like ... essentially, I guess, I want the book to control me. So, for that, my Kindle is fab. It won't play me scary music if it thinks the plot merits it; it doesn't encourage me to annotate (I can if I'm really desperate); the battery life is awesome - I can read it in the sun (though not under the covers without a torch!) etc. 

On the other hand, non-fiction; I like additional media to help me understand, etc; I want to control it. So, from that point of view; iPads/phones/laptops / even my OLPC is great; I can have the interaction with it that I want, I can read it under the covers (not sure I'd want to for a non-fiction book mind!) - even if not as well in the sun (unless it's the OLPC with its backlit or e-ink screen) - though the battery life isn't as good. 

I did see on thread discussing what to call 'ebooks' (the software) - and presumably the hardware - does eReader apply to them all, (or is that predominantly what I see as my first option)  - and, should there be a different name for the two different types. 

Hope that makes sense; now off to read the posts from the new seminar, so as not to get too far behind!

In reply to Emma Duke-Williams

Re: Thanks, and let's keep going...

by Richard Schwier -
It's never too late, Emma! Thanks for this wonderful contribution. I also have both kinds of devices and I use them both in just the ways you described. I particularly love your description of what you're looking for in a book -- something that captures you and refuses to turn you loose from beginning to end. I think that's a critically important point. A good book is a good book, and it is the story that makes it good. Even in non-fiction and many of the best academic books I've read, it is still about the story. There is a narrative thread that we can follow from beginning to end, and the quality of the writing stands out. In e-writing, I think we need to remember this and keep it at the forefront of our work. We have so many new affordances, and particularly varieties of media available to us, that there may be a tendency to write a book that is choppy. We can add diversions, examples, asides, and take the reader in a bunch of directions. But we may also lose the narrative thread. This probably means we need to pay extra attention to staying inside our own story as we write. Obviously, you've got me thinking, Emma. Thanks for coming to the party!