Magazine Article for "As You Like It" - Marist Clubs and ...

When many people first hear about the new
electronic readers, they don’t know what to
think. Is this a good thing, or will they soon
take over? What will happen to libraries and
paperbacks, and the smell of the fresh new book
you picked up at Barnes and Nobel? Well, have
no fear, readers; you are actually in for a technological
treat. These electronic books or “ebooks”
are sleek, sturdy, and hold hundreds of
books and newspapers all on one device. They
even have beneficial effects for the environment.
Electronic readers, such as the Amazon
Kindle, are a great alternative to carrying books
around because they are eco-friendly, convenient,
and eliminate the hassle of books.
So, what exactly is an e-book? Take the
Kindle for example; It’s eight inches long, white,
and can hold over 1,500 books. The battery
lasts for days, and users can download new
content anytime, anywhere with it’s built in
wireless. This is great for travelers who don’t
have room to lug several novels around with
them. Another notable feature is if someone is
trying to multitask, or is simply tired of reading,
the device will read aloud to them. There is
also little or no glare when reading outdoors
and it is said to be easier on the eyes than a
computer or even a paper book. The Kindle
specifically also has a built in dictionary, annotating
tool, access to Wikipedia.com, and an
automatic page marker. According to the New
York Times, they are becoming very popular
among men and women, especially between 55-
64 years of age. Electronic readers have many
very usable features and benefits.
Aside from having many great features, Ebooks
themselves are very convenient pieces
of technology. When I was in the British Virgin
Islands last year, I met a woman who spends
her three winter months down there every year.
Clearly not a light reader, she explained how
she usually ships down several boxes of books
to read while she’s there. For someone like this,
the Kindle would be extremely convenient and
all together more efficient than mailing as many
as 100 books internationally every year, only
to fill every shelf in her small 1 person apartment.
Even students living in dormitories could
benefit from this kind of space saver. When
residents don’t exactly have room to spare,
combining 10 or more books into one that’s
pencil thin is ideal. This would not only help
save space under their small dorm room cots,
but also in their backpacks. Carrying 3 or 4
around to class can be strenuous; students
often forget to bring some books, or purposefully
leave them behind because of the inconvenience
of toting them along. However, with
e-books, all they need is one item, and they will
be prepared for all their classes.
Another great aspect of electronic books
is that they are environmentally friendly and
greatly reduce the amount of deforestation going
on worldwide. The process required to create
paper out of trees is damaging and requires
an extensive chemical process that, like many
other industries, simply adds to our current global
state. According to Raintree Nutrition Inc,
production industries require over 200 million
tons of wood every year just to make paper. In
the spirit of going green, reducing the amount
of deforestation going on in the world is not
only important, it’s critical, and electronic books
can help by eliminating some of the need for
paper.
While some people fear that electronic
books may be threatening to libraries and the
By Heather
Munnelly
novelty of holding a book in their hands, they
are actually hugely convenient and reduce a
lot of the hassle associated with real books.
Paperback and hardcover books are costly,
environmentally unfiendly, heavy, and take up
a lot of storage space. However which the
founding of e-books in the past decade, change
has been made possible. Now, readers can
carry hundreds, even thousands of books all
in one pencil-thin gadget. Libraries will be
around for a long time, because no matter how
advanced the memory gets, gadgets like this
will never be able to hold every issue of every
book ever made. They aren’t meant to be portable
libraries, but more like personal libraries,
holding only the things one would generally
own in a paper version, like the New York
Times, or their favorite Steven King novel. Ebooks,
such as the Amazon Kindle, are quickly
taking over reading, like iPods did in the past
5-10 years with music. It’s one of those items
everyone has a use for, and because of that, is
taking off brilliantly.
The Amazon Kindle, left, is one of various new
electronic readers like the Sony eBook, right
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