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There are two ends of the spectrum as far as how people feel about the accessibility of online books. In 2006, “Wired” magazine’s Kevin Kelly was excited about the notion of an “infinite book.” He imagined a mega-Wikipedia where users tag favorite book quotes. Kelly was prophetic in imagining four years ago an “iTunes-esque” situation where we’re tagging favorite quotes such as “Call me Ishmael?” and “I prefer not to.” On the anti-online access end of the spectrum is legendary author John Updike who, in the 2006 New York Times Book Review article, “The End of Authorship,” bemoans the potential death of the entire writing profession. Updike argued that writers will stop writing if they cease being paid for their words.

Baron correctly points out that both Updike and Kelly miss the point. Computers, he says, allow for the massive consumption of text and therefore, there are more writers than ever; there are new genres of writing and there are new readers. (p. 75)

2 Responses to “Where Are You on the Online Book Spectrum?”

  1. Hilary Jacobs says:

    I am in the “gulp I’m scared” category. I have a new iPad on my desk–which will be used shortly. However having reached the mid-century mark, I am looking to control consumption–not try to consume everything that exists. I’m not sure I understand Baron’s point regarding the existence of new readers–certainly computers have fostered more text and more writers, but not sure about the creation of new readers–and I know there aren’t more hours in the day.

  2. Lisa Jacobs says:

    Thanks so much for reading Hilary! I think what Baron is saying is that the massive onslaught of content has spawned massive amounts of writing and therefore–more people are reading. I agree that the challenge is separating out the “wheat.” Have fun with the iPad. Can’t wait to hear what you think.

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