From Page Space to e Space.

Thoughts in relation to Drucker (2003)'s reading:
What I find really interesting about this reading is the meticulous considerations the developers of e-books have in order to emulate and even improve the functions of traditional books. But nonetheless, I do not really see how e-books can ever replace traditional books in any way. The sensation of actually touching the texture of the paper whether it is coarse or smooth at our fingertips is definitely more gratifying to me. And like what was mentioned in yesterday's class, some of us actually prefer owning a traditional book and keep them as a collection. What would be of bookshelves if people starts to read entirely from e-books? What would be of libraries and bookstores? Would'nt that makes us unappreciative human beings as we tend to take our historical inventions for granted? And there is definitely the possibility that we will lose electronic data in case of a technological glitch and so on.

Moreover, every e-books are the same in their format electronically. For example, we read e-book texts from a bright flat screen whereas we can truly see and touch the design of an embossed title of a tangible book's cover page. Recently, I got an elaboratedly designed book with pop-ups and stickers for my niece. That reminded me how these features could not possibly be incorporated in e-books. Despite all these arguments, I do think that e-books are very helpful and beneficial in a number of ways especially for educational purposes. As students, we could have access to endless resources in a click of the mouse and all the reading materials are available online. As I prefer to read it in a hardcopy, I will print them out. Besides, reading online could be really distracting as I tend to check out other sites (Facebook or blogs). But then again, it traces back to the individual's own preference.

Therefore, I think both traditional and e-books should co-exist. As mentioned in the reading, traditional books are already virtual in its own way, telling our mind to visualize and imagine. E-books are truly a breakthrough in the world we are living in but so are traditional books centuries ago. Hence, we should not take them for granted as technolgy advances.