E-BOOKS VS TRADITIONAL PAPERBACKS

E-BOOKS VS TRADITIONAL PAPERBACKS : THE DEBATE RAGES ON ( EMPOWERED! )

Fancy reading Charles Dickens online ? For the Gen. Past, the feel of a copy of Arabian

Nights or Great Expectations is as savory as reading it, but for those who has grown up

on Pokemon and Power-puff Girls and cannot fathom life without an iPod or laptop,

reading a book online is the way of life. So an article in one of the leading English

dailies that electronic books are likely to make traditional; paperbacks as obsolete as

cassettes or LP’s in the near future set us thinking.

Even the news that Harper Collins is leading the digital revolution with the launch of a

service that allows people to download the first 10 pages of the first two chapters of

forthcoming books onto the Apple iPhone also fell in the line of expectation. But it gave

giving impetus to the argument-whether e-books has divided the publishing world, with

some predicting ‘the death of the book’ and others arguing that the traditional printed

version will remain the favored format.

No, digitalization is not going to be the death knell for the publishing houses, for the

reason that putting a book online will help generating awareness about the book. You

mayt not be a potential buyer, but you become a brand ambassador for it.

The pleasure of reading a book in its physical form will remain unparalleled. But

technology can help generating greater awareness and hence work hand-in-hand for

the betterment.

Even city booksellers do not feel threatened by this trend. Browser, library and

bookstore, which has made a lead in having their website that gives total info about the

latest books available, is not thinking about adding e-books to their website. Except for

few younger ones, nobody is interested in reading the books online. Firstly because

most of us have had enough of sitting in front of a monitor during the office hours and

secondly nothing beats the pleasure of holding a book in hands and reading it at one’s

convenience.

Electronic versions can be only an alternative, not the real thing. E-books have been

around for sometime but it has not so far made a dent in the printed materials sales

figures. Far from causing the book industry’s downfall, free access to electronic versions

of novels has the potential to be its savior. Well, if technology shakes hands with

tradition in the right spirit, the outcome is always positive.

-DR. NAVRAJ SINGH SANDHU

 

 

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