I think it is kind of absurd to argue against the utility of a computer attached to an eink screen. Sure I love physical books too. I don’t see the conflict.
The problem is Enshittification not the “digital” part…??
Consider that the vast majority of people who use digital devices and eink digital devices whether they be big corporate kindles or more interesting devices like supernotes, boox, or remarkable note taking/reading devices still enjoy reading a physical book on occasion too.
It isn’t that simple, the question is how do you relate to reading through physical and digital contexts and how heavily those contexts are controlled by ensnaring forces generally in the pursuit of resistance against freedom of speech and freedom of thought?
The promise of digital books wasn’t to allow corporations to further dissect what is beautiful about reading… the promise was to be able to make books that could magically be copied endlessly for anyone that wants it.**Most of the classics in english literature, Ulysses, Moby Dick, Dracula, Pride and Prejudice, Middlemarch, Wuthering Heights, The Great Gatsby, The Brothers Karamazov, The Complete Works Of Shakespeare… are available in open access ebook formats. Can you not see the deep beauty to that?
I love reading on digital screens, but also I love buying a physical version of my favorite book so I can carry it around and read it, which makes me more careful with buying books and more likely to try utilizing libraries for the books I don’t want to buy when I still want to read them physically.
I also love sometimes picking up a random book somewhere in life and reading it just because it is the kind of book I never would have encountered through another means other than happening to encounter it while pursuing some other goal.
There is no fundamental conflict here, just a bunch of bullshit brought in by late stage capitalism and shitty greedy behavior.
Putting books on computers is a great idea, so are audiobooks. Books are great too. End of story.
I think it is kind of absurd to argue against the utility of a computer attached to an eink screen. Sure I love physical books too. I don’t see the conflict.
The problem is Enshittification not the “digital” part…??
In short, I feel the “digital” part has enabled the “enshittification” part
I think that is a problematic simplification.
Consider that the vast majority of people who use digital devices and eink digital devices whether they be big corporate kindles or more interesting devices like supernotes, boox, or remarkable note taking/reading devices still enjoy reading a physical book on occasion too.
It isn’t that simple, the question is how do you relate to reading through physical and digital contexts and how heavily those contexts are controlled by ensnaring forces generally in the pursuit of resistance against freedom of speech and freedom of thought?
The promise of digital books wasn’t to allow corporations to further dissect what is beautiful about reading… the promise was to be able to make books that could magically be copied endlessly for anyone that wants it.**Most of the classics in english literature, Ulysses, Moby Dick, Dracula, Pride and Prejudice, Middlemarch, Wuthering Heights, The Great Gatsby, The Brothers Karamazov, The Complete Works Of Shakespeare… are available in open access ebook formats. Can you not see the deep beauty to that?
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/search/?sort_order=downloads
I love reading on digital screens, but also I love buying a physical version of my favorite book so I can carry it around and read it, which makes me more careful with buying books and more likely to try utilizing libraries for the books I don’t want to buy when I still want to read them physically.
I also love sometimes picking up a random book somewhere in life and reading it just because it is the kind of book I never would have encountered through another means other than happening to encounter it while pursuing some other goal.
There is no fundamental conflict here, just a bunch of bullshit brought in by late stage capitalism and shitty greedy behavior.
Putting books on computers is a great idea, so are audiobooks. Books are great too. End of story.