Two landscaping books I ordered arrived yesterday. Yet again, I was disappointed by my purchase. Why? Because while the books themselves were well done, all that information is free on the internet already.
What happened? What killed the excitement of getting a new, printed book?
In my youth, information was harder to collect. If you wanted a serious treatment of a topic, a text to take you all the way from A to Z, you needed a book. The best you could hope for in newspapers and magazines was a short piece on a subtopic.
Not today. Today, when I want to explore a topic, it's the internet I go to. In a few short searches, I get the full treatment from multiple sources and points of view. As questions come up, I search, following my interest sideways.
Of course, this is informational, mainly nonfiction reading. Longform fiction and nonfiction essay are something different. Even then, e-readers and apps can take the book's place. That's how I read for pleasure now.
Sure, sometimes the printed book is more useful. Like many, I prefer a physical book for close reading and research writing. But as I'm no longer in graduate school nor engaged in serious research, it hardly comes up.
Some people prefer the printed book to reading on any screen. Some also like to collect books they've read or want to read. I have no argument there. That's a personal choice of medium. The book has become one choice among many.
That breaks my heart. First love is lost.
Once, the book was highest mountain, final word, journey's end, my heart's desire. Once, the library and bookstore were ecstasy embodied. Now I find the book a slow, expensive option, and the library and bookstore too far to bother.
