In the Defense of Literature

In our contemporary society, using technology as a means of entertainment has become the socially accepted standard. We criticize our parents and other elders who need to “get with the times” as it is said. Writing letters? Who does that anymore?  I mean, that is so last century! And books?

         

Now, I may be mislabled as a nerd (according to http://www.dictionary.com/), but I strongly believe that books are not mere objects to be pulled up on a screen. Books are our companions and friends. They cheer you up when you’re sad by sucking you into a magical world where we relate to well-developed characters and enjoy the savory sensation of a happy ending. We can curl up with one and escape the world, if only for a little while. And how do we repay our story-telling friends? By sticking them on the Internet available for a $2.99 download.

           

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We’re meant to hear the rustle of turning pages and see the flickering letters dance across the pages. Instead, we perfer to bind them to the cold restrictions of the online phenomena. We’re meant to take them off the shelf and lovingly stroke their spines. Instead, we slide a finger across a screen.  How impersonal does it get?

Ebooks are easier to carry, people say. They are more portable. While this is true—come on, try and prevent fifty someodd books from rolling around in the trunk—I believe that it hardly excuses the betrayal of one of our best friends. Would you stick your dog or cat on the Internet and maybe lead it around with a finger? Books may not be alive, but both pets and books comfort you, never question you, and cheer you up. ebooks can do none of these, bound as they are behind a multi-character password and a sliding touch screen.

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Technology is ever-growing in today’s society. Facebook, Twitter, cell phones competing to see who can be the smallest—I’d be hypocritical if I said that all technology should be banned. After all, I do have a Facebook which I use quite frequently! And where would I be on all those school essays if it wasn’t for Wiki—I mean, Google? Seriously, though, technology really is a marvelous thing. I just do not believe that books should be vacuumed up into its consuming mouth. Books have been around for centuries. They have served as a source of entertainment, information, and even inspiration for countless masses! They do not deserve to end at a fad that robs them of their significance and makes a circus exhibit out of them. The ebook bonanza may seem harmless enough now, but it really is only a small step from ebooks to simply downloading the stories into our brains. What would this result in? The end of books!

The End of Books (1984 reference)

 

Think about that the next time you pass a library or a bookstore. Who knows? By the twenty-second century, they might say “Apple” or the name of some other big ebook company. So buy the book, not the ebook!
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