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Sundari Josyula

Pixel legacies

The other day, I went to see my friend's new library.

They had set aside a room in their residence and taken some pains in furnishing it just so. There were thick drapes at the windows so that the right amount of sunlight filtered through. Large comfortable sofas with lots of cushions, a soft rug on the floor. And above all, the books lining the walls in tall bookcases. My friend had lovingly displayed limited editions, autographed volumes and books on literally every subject. The room exuded that relaxed, scholarly air peculiar to libraries and reading rooms. For the first time since my college days, I just wanted to curl up and while away the entire afternoon with those books.

I wonder if I'll feel the same way about electronic books.

Electronic or e-books are the latest craze in the publishing world, courtesy our good friend, the Internet. If this trend catches on, print editions of books may soon become unnecessary. Instead, readers will be able to log on at the publisher's Web site and download the novel to be read later on their electronic readers or PC. You get to pay for the privilege by credit card, of course.

One of the latest converts to electronic publishing is famous novelist Stephen King. His latest novel, Ride the Bullet, a 16,000-word offering of horror and suspense, was recently made available only on the Internet as an e-book. He said he wanted to gauge the scope of the market. And apparently the response the book received was stupendous. King and his publishers were very satisfied with the experience. For not only did the publishing process take a fraction of the time needed to print books but the costs incurred were much less, resulting in larger profits for both writer and publisher.

Supporters of electronic publishing are justifiably pointing to this case as another reason why the print market will not last long.

But while like the rest of us, I had initially welcomed this trend enthusiastically, spending that afternoon in my friend's library helped to crystallize my vague sense of unease. There in that room was the stuff of my childhood memories, the essence of why I loved to read.

It was also what was missing in the e-book equation. For haven't all the proponents of the e-book trend neglected to take one thing into account? The ubiquitous, scarcely dispensable, much celebrated 'gentle reader'. What about the quality of the reading experience? That this plays an important role in influencing the book-buying process is clearly evidenced by the elaborate lengths to which major bookstores go to attract and retain patrons by providing suitable music, hot coffee and comfortable seating. And it is this experience that has drawn us, the readers, back for more, which translates in turn into more books being sold.

And what are we doing to it?

By exchanging handy books bound in distinctive covers for a faceless electronic document reader (or a bunch of undistinguished printouts as backup for power cuts and discharged batteries) haven't we just downgraded the entire reading experience? By unnecessarily bringing technology to the interface between author and reader, aren't we muddying up what has endured for centuries since before the discovery of electric power and batteries? Good reading habits are laid down in childhood. Ask any parent today which program his kid would prefer to load onto his computer: video games like Quake and Doom or the complete works of Shakespeare?

Is converting books to electronic format really necessary? It's not like the printed words require any type of animation or fancy gimmickry to compel the reader's attention. Isn't the power of the written word sufficient anymore?

Don't get me wrong. I always feel very happy when I read about this person or the other getting a fabulous, unheard-of amount of money as advance for their book. More power to them. May the tribe of authors prosper! But at the end of the day, who made what is academic to me. One million or two, who cares? All I care about is a good read or a book that makes me think. But I don't see why I have to give up my reading pleasure up for the author and publisher to be able to make more money.

And then what about the memories?

I remember as a young teen feeling a little thrill when I discovered an old bound edition in my parents' house, the pages yellowed and crumbly to the touch. Just inside the bound cover on the first page was my great-grandfather's name in his distinctive scrawl and the date he had acquired the book, 1905. I recall the feelings that rushed through me as I realized that this book had once been his property, that his hand had rested here, just so, as he wrote his name, that his eyes had moved over this very page just as decades later his descendant's, mine, did. I never knew my great-grandfather in life, but for a few hours on that day I felt a tenuous link with him as I held his book.

Will our children and their children be able to say the same about us? What kind of a legacy does electronic publishing augur? Will our thoughts and sentiments be even accessible to our future generations? Or will their versions of software be so advanced that most of the documents we produce today prove unreadable to their reading devices?

Well, maybe not. The words per se may remain, preserved in softly glowing liquid crystal, but what of the character? The clues to the owners' personality, the quirks that come through most strongly in the notes in the margins, the handwriting, the old-style fonts, the choice of ink, the faintly lingering smell of perfume...

What of that?

There's a lot of change the Internet is bringing about in our world today. A lot of it is positive. A lot of it is overdue. But in my opinion, books don't need fixing. And to borrow a phrase: If it ain't broken, don't fix it. Why even try?

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