An e-reader sitting next to a stack of books

Going Past the Analog

As someone born after the turn of the century, I cannot remember a time where computers did not integrate into every aspect of life. I sought entertainment from Youtube, played videogames on my family computer, and did research for school using Wikipedia. However, within this sea of digital entertainment, there was always one analog device I regularly turned to: books. As an avid reader, I was a regular at my local and school libraries. For Christmas every year, I consistently asked for fantasy books. One year, instead of a wrapped stack of books, I received a small, off-brand kindle reader, loaded with books like Ramona and Beezus and Dear Dumb Diaries. Thus began my experience with eBooks.

These digital novels opened many new doors for me. As a child, I couldn’t really buy many books, but eBooks were inexpensive and within the bounds of my allowance. I could also check out eBooks from my local library from the comfort of my couch, meaning that I didn’t need to pester my parents for another library trip.

Digital spaces also provided me avenues to discuss books. Places like Tumblr, where you could make posts about media such as books, flourished with varied discussions. In a similar way, direct comments written in the margins of digital books could now be shared. Stated best by Craig Mod in his essay “Post Artifact Books and publishing”, “Digital marginalia is a collective conversation, cumulative stratum”. With these new avenues for sharing thoughts about books, I could connect with many more people and exchange ideas that I never would have had the chance to share otherwise.

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