Karleen Weitzel
English 105
Journal Entry 20
I would say that Birkerts’
assessment of the written word is fairly accurate. There is something special about a book with words on a physical
sheet of paper, much like there is something special about a real letter that
someone has taken the time to write out instead of type up and click
“send.” I believe that there is most
definitely a fundamental difference between books and a computer screen. I agree that books seem more personal in
some way. They feel more exclusive
because you had to actually go out, find the book, and purchase it or check it
out from the library. I find it hard to
imagine that books will eventually be completely eliminated in place of
technology and “online books.” We still
see new bookstores springing up all over the country and millions of books are
published and purchased each year.
Books are more convenient. You
can take them just about anywhere for about $5, where if you want to take a
computerized book wherever you’re going, you have to spend hundreds of dollars
on a Palm Pilot. It may happen sometime
in the future that books are eliminated, but I highly doubt that it will happen
in my lifetime and know that it won’t happen in my house.