What will the future holds for our beloved books? Do you think that we will still be reading books in 2050 the way we do today? To put things in perspective, I have researched the evolution of books:
12th century: The first book was produced by monks somewhere in Europe
1450: Gutenberg invents movable type in Europe, 400 years after Pi Sheng did in China, increasing supply to meet the increasing needs of university students
20th century: Lithography becomes widely used in book printing, allowing for an explosion in volume of books produced
My sense is that we are ready for another breakthrough. Surprisingly, e-books have been around for more than 30 years. Today, a few e-books reader start to get some air time in the news (the Amazon Kindle & the Sony Reader are the leading models). I just read that by 2018, more e-books could be sold than traditional books!
What do you think? Will e-books overtake traditional books the way digital songs are slowly winning the war over CDs? Are we missing something here?
Note: To access to more than 25,000 free e-books, check out the Project Gutenberg website. The project was launched in 1971 to digitize, archive and distribute cultural works. They don't spend time on the format of the pdf, which is a shame, but you can access most classics for free.
October 15, 2008
September 25, 2008
Cast your vote!
The most exciting meeting of the year is already over! Check out the Road to Glory that lays ahead of us (on the side bar). Based on the loud random conversations we've had, this will be an exciting year!
Now, it became obvious that this blog will become the cornerstone of our book club experience. As your devoted blogger, I am grateful to the many people have already contributed to this forum. Special thanks go to Jonathan and Andrea, in no particular order.
As agreed, you need to cast your vote for Jonathan's recommendations, to break that suspense as soon as possible. So don't wait any longer, everyone is eager to start reading!
September 06, 2008
2 weeks to go!
Welcome on our book club blog!
Let me first say how excited I was when Natalie picked me to not only be part of her couples-only book club, but also to create and maintain this blog. It truly is an honor. As your devoted blogger, I promise you random posts and sarcastic comments throughout the year while putting you, my devoted readers, at the forefront of the blog.
Indeed, each month, you will take over this space. Among other things, I will ask one of you to provide me with your top 5 books of all time, which should serve as a great source of literary recommendations. Random polls will also take place, and more contents and functions will be added.
For the virgin book club-ers, you need to know that every respected book club maintains its own blog. It is an inherent part of the book club sphere. This blog will be an essential part of our social interactions, adding texture to the magical evenings to come. I encourage you to start e-mingling (i.e. posting comments) right away!
Let me first say how excited I was when Natalie picked me to not only be part of her couples-only book club, but also to create and maintain this blog. It truly is an honor. As your devoted blogger, I promise you random posts and sarcastic comments throughout the year while putting you, my devoted readers, at the forefront of the blog.
Indeed, each month, you will take over this space. Among other things, I will ask one of you to provide me with your top 5 books of all time, which should serve as a great source of literary recommendations. Random polls will also take place, and more contents and functions will be added.
For the virgin book club-ers, you need to know that every respected book club maintains its own blog. It is an inherent part of the book club sphere. This blog will be an essential part of our social interactions, adding texture to the magical evenings to come. I encourage you to start e-mingling (i.e. posting comments) right away!
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