You all probably know by now that I am fascinated by the print versus digital book debate. I don’t know why. Most of the time I would really like to stop reading yet one more article about how ebooks and the internet are ruining our ability to read. But I can’t help myself. It’s like when someone tells you “don’t look” and you immediately turn around to look. So when I saw an email news update from The Chronicle of Higher Education today with a headline: How E-Reading Threatens the Humanities, I absolutely had to click through.
The piece, written by a professor of linguistics who has a book coming out later this year on reading in a digital world, is gloomy and bemoans the loss of concentration that ebooks have inflicted upon us, particularly college students. There is nothing new to glean from her essay or, from the sound of it, the large survey she did of U.S., German and Japanese university students.
Students are distracted and reading on a screen encourages distraction. Students themselves said they prefer reading print books because they concentrate better. The author worries about ereading and the humanities because the humanities is built around sustained, deep reading of often lengthy work. But with professors and libraries foisting digital texts on students and students themselves spending so much time in front of a screen anyway, their ability to read deeply is eroding fast.
Imagine wrestling with Finnegan’s Wake while simultaneously juggling Facebook and booking a vacation flight.
Now I had to laugh at that. Considering the reputation Finnegan’s Wake has for being a nearly impossible book to read, I thought, well hey, maybe trying to read it while multitasking could actually work. A distracted brain might be able to make more sense of it than one directing all its focused attention at it. It would be like those posters where in order to see the picture you have to unfocus your eyes, turn around in circles, clap you hands three times and stand on one foot. I’ve never been able to see the picture, in fact I am almost convinced there is no picture to see and those who claim to see one are only saying they do because they don’t want to be that person. Kind of like the Emperor’s New Clothes Syndrome.
But what really made me laugh in a “it’s not supposed to be funny but it is” kind of way is the response from one of the students surveyed to the questions “What is the one thing you like least about reading in print?” Of course it had to be an American student who wrote:
It takes me longer because I read more carefully.
Towards the beginning of the essay the author mentions that a 2011 study of college freshmen found that 86% say their top reason for attending college is so they can get a better job.
Now, couldn’t it be true that the student who doesn’t like to read print because it takes longer is frustrated because s/he does not see how reading Paradise Lost will help with getting a good job? Perhaps that student thinks it is more important to spend time concentrating on the reading for a class in business or working on the coding assignment for a computer science class? Isn’t it possible that fewer students are pursuing degrees in the humanities not because ereading has ruined their ability for deep reading but because those who work in the humanities aren’t very good at making a case for how a degree in English literature will get you a good paying job?
I’m not saying that the internet and ebooks has had no effect on how we read. What I’m suggesting is that there is probably more going on; that the threat to the humanities is not ebooks but a bunch of things with ebooks being at the bottom of the list of what to worry about. What do you think?
I think it’s a losing battle arguing against ebooks. It’s like
changing a “dog” person into a “cat” person. Go out and
look at your garden and leave the debate to others. It will
only last three or four more years and then something else
will come along. ♫
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Booksandbuttons, I agree, it is a losing battle. I will valiantly attempt to take your advice 🙂
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I DON’T KNOW,,BUT THERE MAY BE OTHERS WHO FEEL THAT THERE IS NO SUBSTITUTE FOR THE LOOK, FEEL, SMELL,AND OVERALL EXPERIENCE OF READING A BOOK. NOW I AM SURE THAT HAVING EBOOKS IS CONVIENIENT, BUT ARE WE SO ENGULFED IN THE ‘PROGRESSIVE’ LIFESTYLE, AS TO UTILIZE EBOOKS AS AN ADJUNCT TO HIGHER EDUCATION? I SAY,”VIVE’ LE DIFFERENCE”
.
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waddlesbluhealer, I think many avid readers prefer print, but for the author of the article in question to say the humanities as a whole are under threat because of ebooks, well, that’s a bit much. In some ways I think ebooks help the humanities because it makes important texts in the public domain more widely available.
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If our ability to deep read is endangered it is because it has already been undermined by TV/mass media in general. Ebooks add to this but probably not a root cause. I actually agree that tackling Finnegan’s wake in this distracted and multitask wake might just work! The trouble with bewailling this probable trend is that you can end up being an echo of a Leavis or Bloom and that hardly seems to provide many realistic answers.
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Ian, you’re right, it started long ago, didn’t it? I also appreciate your comment about Leavis and Bloom 🙂 I have not yet attempted Finnegan’s Wake. Ulysses, while I liked it very much, is still too close. But, should I ever try Finnegan’s Wake, I really might see if a distracted sort of reading works!
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Yes, I’m with you and with Ian. I don’t believe we can lay the blame at e-reading’s feet. There’s no reason why you can’t read an e-book just as carefully as you read a print book. I certainly do. It may be that it’s easier to be distracted (though that’s no so the case surely with a dedicated e-reader like it may be with reading on phones and tablets) but in the end it’s about choice – and our choices are moving towards more distracted, piece-meal reading for a whole pile of reasons that I suspect have little to do with form. (Form, as Ian says, may contribute but as you say to blame only that sounds simplistic).
BTW Like you I regularly read such articles — keep looking, perhaps, for the thoughtful, reasoned one!
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I suspect the device one reads on does play a role on how distracted one is. I have no desire to try and surf the web on old-fashioned my e-ink Kindle. I’ve tried and it was a painful experience. You are right that in the end it is about choice and whether a person makes it consciously or unconsciously there is a choice. Also, I am so glad I am not the only one who regularly reads these kinds of articles!
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You can always rely on retired librarian me to be interested Stefanie!
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Someone who wants to read books will find a way to read them. Students who don’t want to read will complain about the format, no matter what it is. One of the most successful techniques for teaching Othello I ever found was asking my students to go to a local art theatre and see a limited-release film called Stage Beauty. Many of them had never done anything like that before, and we talked about what happens in the last scene of Othello more intelligently after seeing two different interpretations of it.
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Jeanne, you make a good point and I completely agree with you. When I was in high school and computers were still black screens with green text, my classmates would read the Cliff’s Notes instead of the actual novel for English class. And this was in the gifted/honors program. So students not wanting to read long things has probably been a mainstay of education since formal education became a thing. Students have just become more vocal in their opinions. Brilliant idea for teaching Othello by the way!
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I agree that there is more to debate.The humanities are not the most lucrative of fields. But young people just don’t read anymore. The way reading is taught in schools turns many students off to reading.
I am an avid reader who swore up and down that I would never buy a Kindle. I finally gave in and bought a Kindle in January. I love it. I actually read more now, and because I mostly read classics in the public domain, the Kindle pays for itself. I can’t see how ereaders are essentially different than books. The story is the same. Does it matter what form it’s in?
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Fariba, no the humanities aren’t know for leading to lucrative careers!
I never thought I’d like my Kindle as much as I do. Like you I find I read more because if it – I take with me on public transportation and it makes reading easier. I too mostly read public domain classics on it. It’s an all around win in most ways.
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I always love e-reader vs. printed book discussions. I read a very interesting article (somewhere) recently about how much worse for the environment ereaders are than the printed book. (I should remember where I read that but I don’t because I read it in an electronic format…so what does that tell you?) Anyhoo, I have a Kindle. I don’t read from it as much as from printed material, nor do I enjoy it as much, but I’m glad to have it. It has its place in my library. We had a wonderful Humanities class Junior and Senior year of high school in the foggy distant past. The class included films of movies and plays, appearances and lectures from writers, actors, authors, I remember most seeing Othello on stage for the first time. But the truth is, unless you plan on getting an advanced degree, the Humanities do not present a great opportunity for job prospects right out of the college gate. That’s a little depressing, However, studying Humanities is more about personal growth and satisfaction than it is about money earning capacity. A little like studying Latin. Who speaks it and why did I have to take 4 years of it? Sometimes we do not have the answers to those questions until years later and then…aha! And I’m not so sure I agree that young people don’t read anymore. Who could have guessed that kids were pleading with parents to line up in front of bookstores to get a book of 750+ pages? (I love you, Harry Potter.)
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Grad, I didn’t see your article but I have seen articles before on that topic back when digital folks were in ecstasies over ebooks and how much better they were than print could ever be. A comparison of the total resources to make an ereader to those that go into books swam up in there somewhere. In the very long term I think ebooks are more environmentally friendly but that’s only if you keep the same ereader for something like 12-13 years and the way devices break or our constant need to upgrade makes that very unlikely!
Very lucky that you has such good classes in high school. I got lucky too for all four years. I was in the gifted program and we always saw movies and went to plays especially when we did Shakespeare. None of the regular English classes ever got to go to plays. So with 25 kids in a class and one gifted English class for each grade, we were the luckiest 100 kids in the school of 2,000.
Oh yes, and kids definitely still read. Harry Potter, as you point out. And so many other books too.
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The professor of linguistics failed to see one benefit of eBooks: the prevention of communicable diseases in our humanity. No need to handle dirty and germ-covered library books.
Seriously, there are pros and cons on both sides. After I got my iPad a year ago, I’ve been reading in bed more often reading the eBooks I download from our public library. I’m one cleanliness obsessed reader, I clean all the books I bought from used book sales and from the library with alcohol. So, eReading is very clean. But it is just that, reading, I can’t flip back and forth and see the whole thing in one sighting, admire the book art, cover design, the paper, or jot down notes, highlights, draw lines, doodle, or what have me for self expressions, interacting with the book while reading. (I know one can still do that e. using an eReader, but still it’s a very different eye-hand skills and experience)
As for young people multi-tasking? As you said, that could be the way they learn, the way they experience and interact with a book. In teaching they say teach to the student’s learning style. That might not be the linguistic professor’s learning/reading style, but it is for a whole new generation of humanity.
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This made me laugh Arti because my daughter was “ew” about second hand books too, and is even more neurotic than I am about keeping her own new books pristine.
I agree with you re e-reading. I don’t like reading on the iPad at all – not nice to hold, glary, but I do read a little on the Kindle. However I totally agree that “I can’t flip back and forth and see the whole thing in one sighting, admire the book art, cover design, the paper, or jot down notes, highlights, draw lines, doodle, or what have me for self expressions, interacting with the book while reading.” And I find this incredibly frustrating. I do highlight and take notes but it’s not as flexible as writing in a book – making notes at the back etc. And I hate that sense of not being able to quickly flip back and forwards. I mean you can, but it’s not as fast and easy to find THAT page you want. I’ve decided that I like e-Readers mostly for short pieces – short stories, essays, etc.
(Apologies for cutting in here Stefanie – hope you don’t mind but Arti’s comment SO resonated.)
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WG, mine is the iPad Mini, just slightly larger than the Kindle, perfect size for reading. I put a matte film on the screen for protection and cut down the glare so it works wonderfully. Sorry Stefanie. 😉
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Uh-oh, Arti. I hadn’t thought about the germ angle. That’s bad since I am a big fan of The Big Book Sale. Now what am I to do? But when you think about it, was the book being read in…like…the bathroom? What is that dried thing on the page? I’ll never look at a used book the same way ever again. How can you clean the pages with alcohol? Won’t they get all wet and stick together? Is there a way to disinfect paper? I’m totally serious about those questions.
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O Grad, I just do the best I can with a paper towel soaked with alcohol, going over all the covers and inside them, the sides of the pages and just randomly open the pages and wipe through. You know, at our annual giant book sale, I spend hours going through books to select the ones in mint condition to start with. Any creases in the spine I’d eliminate. So that’s the first screening. Sorry Stefanie. 😉
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Ah, that might make it a bit better! I haven’t gone the matte screen use but perhaps if I didn’t have the Kindle I’d feel differently. I’m on my second iPad and adore it … But only use it for reference reading. I put all my travel guides on it, not the Kindle for example.
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No sorry needed from you or Arti! Yay for conversations! 😀
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Thanks Stefanie … I feel the same … Just wanted to make sure.
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Arti, you have a point there about cleanliness! I never thought about that much until I started seeing posts on librarian email lists about bedbugs in library books and all sorts of other little nasties. I agree with you on the experience of reading ebooks, in spite of a few notetaking improvements, ebooks fail as an interactive medium for careful reading.
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Only last week I was asked to help one of our HR managers who was going to a campus recruitment event and speaking to humanities students. He asked me for some points he could use to demo why humanities prepared people for the world of work. I think part of my answer was around the fact that literature studies teach people to think for themselves and to consider multiple points of view
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BookerTalk, it’s nice to hear that people are thinking about these things! I agree with what you say about the humanities. I think it is hard though to translate that into something concrete like doctor, lawyer, software developer which is part of the problem.
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Ha ha ha! I’m pretty sure that e-books have next to nothing to do with why more people aren’t reading Finnegan’s Wake. Have there ever been many people reading it? Or Milton or Wittengenstein. My guess is no, even when it was assigned.
I do find certain kinds of books difficult to read on the e-reader. if it’s something I need to read deeply, flip around in, and take notes on, I want it in print. But I don’t have a strong inclination to read those kinds of books for fun. And there are some books that I’m happy to read on an e-reader, like classic novels in the public domain, but I’d rather have print if I’m going to use those same books for a class or discussion.
So the author’s findings in the survey make sense to me. But it sounds like the students also know this and will use print if they can. It seems like e-reading is only a threat if texts are only available in that form, and despite all the hype about digital textbooks, I don’t get the impression that their use is all that widespread or being required. If so, her findings would be useful for urging the digital evangelist types to pull back on that.
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Teresa, no, I suspect there are very few people who actually read Finnegan’s Wake, even die-hard readers. I agree, I find certain books hard to read on an ereader as well. And I too prefer public domain classics. Dickens is great to read on on my Kindle and even Austen and Laurence Sterne. I’m with you that ebooks aren’t really a threat and it does seem that students prefer print textbooks over digital though if they only have to read a chapter or two or it is a journal article, they much prefer digital and I have to concur on that!
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I used to find myself distracted while reading e-books on the Kindle app on my ipad, until I made one simple change. I put my ipad into “Airplane” mode when I read so I don’t have Internet access or any notifications popping up. It’s made a huge difference in my concentration
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I agree; turing your e-device onto airplane mode helps greatly. I was reading Les Miserable on my tablet and every time a place or a name popped up, I could highlight said place or name and get a link to the Wikipedia article. Guess what I read more of?
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Amanda, what a brilliant idea!
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The moment I read the Finnegan’s Wake quote, i knew this was a cookie piece of essay and then I read your similar comments…I mean Finnegan’s Wake is the most difficult and onerous piece of read and Facebooking will help one with breaking the tediousness of reading that book!!! Also in all these debates, I think these sanctimonious people who bemoan the loss of reading books forget or choose to overlook is how e-texts and e-library is enabling students and learners in far flung corners of the world access information and books which would otherwise be out of their geographical and economical capabilities. This whole crying of demise of “book reading” culture to me smacks of imperialism and a determination on part of a small wealthy minority to keep knowledge limited. Very Feudal!!
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Sometimes I think that the people who bemoan e-reading are individuals who have a stick up their a** and really don’t get that e-reading can probably help save the book industry. And yes, I agree with your comment.
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cirtnecce, oh what a good point you make! And I love it got your ire up! 🙂
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My guess is that people are using tablets or their phones for their e-reading rather than a specific device for e-reading. I notice that when I use my Kobo Touch I spend way less time online than I do if I am using my Kobo Vox (a tablet that also doubles as an e-reading device). So there might be some mitigating factors in regards to how these students are reading.
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Jaynesbooks, I think you are right about ereading on multipurpose devices being more distracting. I have a harder time reading on my computer or iPad than I do on my plain Kindle. On my Kindle there are no distractions. Surveys like these should start taking into consideration the various devices people are using and how reading might be different on each one.
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I love ebooks! I read all my novels on iBooks and it’s a great experience to carry it all around. On the other hand, you can’t put 20 books in your pocket can you?
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douglas, heh, no you certainly can’t put 20 books in your pocket! That is one reason I like my Kindle especially when I am out and about and finish a book, there are always several new choices right there waiting for me.
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Heh, I have such a good book for you. It’s called Mind Change by Susan Greenfield, who is a professor of neuroscience, and it looks at three aspects of the digital landscape – social networking and how it affects interpersonal skills, gaming and how it impacts on attention spans and the use of search engines and their effects upon learning and memory. She is one big academic hitter, with a powerful reputation so she ought to write something that is deeply researched. Anyway, made me think of you!
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Litlove, oh, adding to my TBR pile are you? It is not due to be published here until next year so I have put it on my list and will now forget about for awhile 🙂
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Someone posted this article in the forum of one of the MOOCs I’m taking, on SF, which is all about close reading. You can imagine the buzz it’s created, especially since we’d been given links to etexts of all the course books.
I think it’s a major oversight that this article doesn’t seem to make the distinction between reading on a dedicated device and digital reading general — I think there’s a hhhuuuge difference.
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Isabella, how interesting the article got posted in your MOOC forum. One of the advantages of ebooks is on full view with MOOCs isn’t it? I mean, how else are you going to be able to have thousands of people from around the world take a class and be able to access the same text?
I agree that it is an oversight that there is not distinction made regarding reading devices. It does make a difference but most articles like this one don’t take that into consideration and find blanket statements much easier to deal with.
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