Stephen King's Outdated Take on Books

Tonight I read this quote from Stephen King: “Books are the perfect entertainment: no commercials, no batteries, hours of enjoyment for each dollar spent. What I wonder is why everybody doesn't carry a book around for those inevitable dead spots in life.” I am not sure when King made this statement, but in the world of e-readers and digital books, everything about it has changed.

With the growing availability and popularity of the e-reader, the reading experience is no longer limited to ink on paper. There may not be commercials within e-books (yet) but in digital texts, it is possible to provide links within the manuscript so readers can navigate away from the story in order to learn more about the subject or to purchase something related to the subject, for example. And with the internet browsing capabilities of the iPad, I believe links such as these this will only increase in e-books.

The requirements of an e-reader are also greater than that of a print book. In fact, reading a print book requires nothing at all. An e-reader, however, does require a battery…and a charger…and an internet connection. The e-reader screen may look like paper, and the devise may have the size and weight of a typical book, so when you sit down on the sofa with it, the reading experience is much the same as a print book. However, the process of preparing to read that book is very different.

Finally, the portability of the e-reader makes the idea of carrying a book (or an entire library) with you wherever you go much more feasible. Print books can be cumbersome and easily damaged. I think in the years to come, as more people adopt the e-reader as their primary method for reading, it will be hard to imagine leaving the house without it. Life no longer has to have those dead spots, for better or worse.

Even with all of these changes, however, one thing about King’s quote will always remain the same. Books are the perfect entertainment, and whether you pick up a paperback for $10, or purchase an e-reader for $400, books will always provide hours of enjoyment for each dollar spent.