Wednesday, October 07, 2009

The Magic of Books

Even though I am fairly technical in nature, I have a passion for books as they are anonymous, tactile and intensely personal, qualities one can never assign to a computer or smart phone. I know, as many others do, that this entity, as physical object, is about to depart this earth just as the Dodo and Passenger Pigeon did as books cost too much to produce and distribute in this age of the internet where content can be delivered instantly to anyone equipped with a digital device connected to the web. I morn their passing but recognize this transition of paper and ink to bits and photons as inevitable (provided there's power) as we are a species wedded to speed and efficiency when it comes to communications and information, something that, in many ways, comes at a cost we are now only starting to comprehend.

"Christopher Columbus, as everyone knows, is honored by posterity because he was the last to discover America." - James Joyce

No comments: