Franzen on ebooks and the future of reading

“The Great Gatsby was last updated in 1924. You don’t need it to be refreshed, do you?

“Maybe nobody will care about printed books 50 years from now, but I do. When I read a book, I’m handling a specific object in a specific time and place. The fact that when I take the book off the shelf it still says the same thing - that’s reassuring.

“Someone worked really hard to make the language just right, just the way they wanted it. They were so sure of it that they printed it in ink, on paper. A screen always feels like we could delete that, change that, move it around. So for a literature-crazed person like me, it’s just not permanent enough.”

-Jonathan Franzen in his first-ever press conference.

  1. grandguffaw reblogged this from fsgbooks
  2. matchboxbaubles reblogged this from fsgbooks
  3. whydoublel reblogged this from fsgbooks
  4. ebookworm reblogged this from thelifeguardlibrarian
  5. meghanconrad reblogged this from inkdot and added:
    Because, you know, I needed one more reason to dislike Franzen, fucking wanker that he is. Franzen seems to feel that...
  6. everyhopeanycost reblogged this from inkdot and added:
    also you are not a “literature-crazed” person if you think enabling people to move language around is somehow a bad...
  7. widgette reblogged this from yellowdecorations and added:
    Conversations like this sort of kill me, because everyone wants to act like digital publishing is the end of ink and...
  8. inkdot reblogged this from librariansoul
  9. thudman reblogged this from fsgbooks and added:
    feel. Won’t do
  10. yellowdecorations reblogged this from libraryjournal and added:
    I’m currently trying to go paperless for grad school (no more printing out articles etcetc) and this was something i...
  11. bbchase reblogged this from ladyhazard and added:
    We all just need to give up on fighting ebooks. Yes they look nice and smell nice. Yes there are current...
  12. letgrillbegrill reblogged this from librariansoul
  13. carnetimaginaire reblogged this from fsgbooks
  14. styro reblogged this from smartgrrrl and added:
    I saw the headline and I was like, “Aw man I hate that guy, why does everybody always tug his pud?” and then… YESSSSSSS.