I have important memories vested in certain objects, my favourite books for instance. I own old editions of The Hobbit, Anne of Green Gables, some works by Roald Dahl, Alice in Wonderland, Wuthering Heights, Pride and Prejudice, and Jane Eyre, which I treasure, not just for the practical purpose of reading them over and over, but because these stories resonate with something deep inside me. The books are souvenirs of my journey through each story; tangible mementos that I can see and touch and smell. Just a glance at their spine or a whiff of their aging pages is enough to flood my memory with the entire story. A kindle can’t do that.
Which is greener?
On the other hand, I care about the environment. I know that paper books contribute to deforestation and that inks pollute waterways.
According to the Sustainable Electronics Initiative Blog, "Books use a total 15.2 MJ of energy and 4.47 kg of CO2. Kindles use a total 2615.5 MJ of energy and 512.2 kg CO2 emissions. This means that approximately 172 books would use the same amount of energy as one Amazon Kindle, and 115 books would produce the same amount of CO2 as one Amazon Kindle." If you'd like to halve your CO2 emissions as a reader, be sure to read at least 230 books on your kindle before upgrading.
The End of the Book Store?
I love book stores. I love wandering through the shelves and perusing books I would never normally search for online. I like hanging out in book stores on a cold or rainy day. But some fellow book worms are concerned about the book store's demise.
It is true that as the proportion of ebook sales continues to grow exponentially - 3.2% in 2009, 8.3% in 2010, and a projected 16% for 2011 - the demand for print books will decline. In fact, Amazon’s kindle ebook sales surpassed print book sales back in April, 2011, just four years after the first Kindle was released. So perhaps we do have cause concern.
It is true that as the proportion of ebook sales continues to grow exponentially - 3.2% in 2009, 8.3% in 2010, and a projected 16% for 2011 - the demand for print books will decline. In fact, Amazon’s kindle ebook sales surpassed print book sales back in April, 2011, just four years after the first Kindle was released. So perhaps we do have cause concern.
Do I feel sad? Yes. But in an ever changing world one must ‘adapt or die’ - even book stores. Amazon is, afterall, a book store. Not the kind you walk into and spend a rainy day, but it has its advantages, and as a busy person who spends all day in front of my computer, I find myself spending more time on Amazon and less time in book stores these days.
What I like about Amazon
- If I am looking for a book and I know its title or author, I can find it in seconds.
- Amazon recommends books to me based on what I have viewed and read in the past.
- I can look inside the book and read the table of contents or first chapter before deciding if I will buy it, which is almost like holding it in your hand and flicking through the pages.
- Often I am faced with a decision - ‘this book, or that one?’ Reading what other readers have said about each book helps the decision process.
I love books and I love book stores but I don't see the digital revolution as being an end to both, it's an evolution, from physical book stores to online book stores, from pre-printed books (many of which end up being pulped) to e-books and print-on-demand. The books still exist but in a new form and with less waste.
When I travel, half my luggage used to be taken up with books. When I pack my kindle, I am effectively traveling with my whole library, which is a comforting feeling for a book lover.
I hope you can come to embrace the good that comes with the changing world of books. Like Lao Tse once said, "What the caterpillar calls the end the rest of the world calls a butterfly." It is not the end of books and book stores, it is merely a metamorphosis.
