Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Yann Martel is my God
I have been keeping track of the website www.whatisstephenharperreading.ca for a while now. Yann Martel is truly brilliant and deserves all the acclaim he can get. The concept is simple: Yann Martel is justifiably angry at the piddly amount of funding Prime Minister Stephen Harper is doling out for the arts in Canada and so he is attempting to educate Mr. Harper. Every other Monday Yann Martel sends him a novel with a letter explaining it in the hope that Mr. Harper will learn and appreciate something outside of his busy and self-promoting life. Yann Martel has promised to continue Mr. Harper's education for as long as he is in office. Yann Martel's peaceful protest is truly remarkable and worth supporting!
Physical vs. Electronic Texts
Recently So Many Books wrote about The Library in the New Age by Robert Darnton. I clicked on the link to read it myself and was pleasantly intrigued. The article discusses the changes in information as well as its reliability throughout time and as we move towards a more electronic era. Will libraries eventually become obsolete due to advancements in technology such as Google?
I mused on this for a while. When I was in university I secretly grumbled at the antiquated professors that would not allow me to use internet references within my papers. I used to do the majority of my research online because of its convenience. I could Google a subject and within specific pages I could do a search for certain keywords. I didn't need to riffle through book after book trying to find the areas that were pertinent to my paper. I love being in libraries but I use them in a different manner. Libraries are for research that has no time limit and not for deadlines. I suppose that in this heavily caffeinated world using a library has a snail's pace in comparison to Google. We're too impatient to wait and search slowly.
I have tried to read electronic books because they are rampant on the internet but I just can't get the hang of it. It's uncomfortable to sit at my computer for that length of time and eventually I start to feel cross-eyed. I've even tried printing but it still isn't the same. Books are meant to be enjoyed from a comfy chair with the book in my hand (and yes, the smell of a book is integral!)
I mused on this for a while. When I was in university I secretly grumbled at the antiquated professors that would not allow me to use internet references within my papers. I used to do the majority of my research online because of its convenience. I could Google a subject and within specific pages I could do a search for certain keywords. I didn't need to riffle through book after book trying to find the areas that were pertinent to my paper. I love being in libraries but I use them in a different manner. Libraries are for research that has no time limit and not for deadlines. I suppose that in this heavily caffeinated world using a library has a snail's pace in comparison to Google. We're too impatient to wait and search slowly.
I have tried to read electronic books because they are rampant on the internet but I just can't get the hang of it. It's uncomfortable to sit at my computer for that length of time and eventually I start to feel cross-eyed. I've even tried printing but it still isn't the same. Books are meant to be enjoyed from a comfy chair with the book in my hand (and yes, the smell of a book is integral!)
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