Any bookworm has a fair share of concerns. By nature, they are introverts. Introverts are generally considered antisocial among extroverts. Not that the extroverts are unaware of the benefits they can gain from their introverted counterparts. Though it cannot be generalised at any count, the extroverts are usually all dressed up with nowhere to go. On the contrary, introverts can reach any corner of the world without worrying about getting dressed up.
That being said, digitality introduced something that bookworms could embrace with open arms: the ebook. Reading has survived to kindle its audience despite its advanced contemporaries – that is audio and visual. This may be precisely why Amazon named its unique innovation Kindle, a device as well as an app that makes reading simpler than it used to be. Reading, so to say, has been a habit of the wise and otherwise alike. But for any fan of reading 500 pages or more, it means travelling heavily too. Now that will be history, thanks to e-reading platforms on smartphones, tabs and that Amazon gadget.
The readers no longer have to worry about carrying voluminous books on the public commute. Most avid readers fell in love with ebooks immediately. The in-between readers would buy the hard copy so that they can secure a signature from the author in addition to the digital version they could read anywhere. They now have access to an entire library at their fingertips. No more bookmarks or flipped pages to worry about, they can immediately turn it on and immediately resume reading where they left off earlier.
The size and weight of the ebook turned out to be more convenient in comparison to thick and voluminous books which were tough to carry around throughout the day. Another plus factor was the easy access to the dictionary. Those who read every chance they get, now have a few minutes to spare for their cherished hobby. The e-reader has made that possible.
No real downside
Long story short, an ebook has no real downside. But then again, not all avid readers could find comfort and solace in the screen. The old-school readers are still more comfortable with the feel of the physical page.
They love being able to shop and buy books physically. So to say, some avid readers would still be reluctant to have a kindle or a proper ebook for that matter.
Sri Lanka’s readership is slowly evolving with a balance struck between these two categories of bookaholics.
In a conversation with this writer, Sarasavi Bookshop Managing Director Chandu Haputhanthri said that they have a plan to launch the ebooks for the Sinhala readership. This disclosure is important on several grounds. Sarasavi Book Shop has a network of 25 branches. That means a considerable share of the country’s book market. Besides, Sarasavi also has its own Amazon-like book purchasing system.
Sri Lanka’s online bookshop or any other online store still has an analogue feature. Even if the bookshops have gone online, the books are purchased for physical use. It is not a 100 percent online phenomenon. Interestingly, however, certain Sinhala contemporary and classical novels and other types of non-fiction are available as PDFs for free download.
Digital intervention
The laity visiting the temples now have their phone platform to access the paritta to chant. That scene of yore where the devotees had massive books on their laps is gradually shifting into a sight of the same crowd albeit with swanky gadgets with well-lit displays. The train commuters would often take out their smartphones more to read Sinhala fiction than scroll up and down social media. Platforms change, but habits die hard. Reading is a case in point.
The morning the Booker prize winner was announced, the e-version of the Sri Lankan recipient’s book was circulated across social messaging networks. It was to an extent that the author himself had to issue an announcement to refrain from circulating. In the past, the pirate copies involved some income for some party. But this digital intervention means that no one has a monetary benefit, let alone the author himself. The book is there freely available on the cloud, and it is simply a matter of clicking ‘download’ and the rest is good news to voracious e-readers. The result of incidents such as these is clear: some publishers have already taken steps to make sure no PDF is available for their published works. Even the available PDFs are password-protected. And similar measures are being taken to curb this novel piracy.
The growth of social media
Digital reading made waves during the pandemic. The readers could no longer walk to the little shops to buy the newspaper of their choice. Audio and visual media dished out news as they happened all right.
But the readers are a strange species. They prefer immersion. So they choose to get lost in the descriptions to form their own opinions. This explains the growth of social media ‘share’ and ‘comment’. The sound and the visual can neither challenge nor replace the role of the letters and words. You still need them to find something and get found on Google or any other search engine.
So the essential problem rests before the readers: is ebook reading as enjoyable as physical books?
As we evolve in this information age, it is more of a choice than any other aspect. More magazines, than books, are now opting for the digital version shying away from the print. Palm-held devices have made the readership lethargic as going to the market to buy a newspaper or a magazine has become a dying habit now.
Since the emergence of the Internet, information is becoming too heavy, dense and abundant for the print industry to handle. More journals, articles, magazines and books are being published in the digital sphere than in past years. Information has a steep cost. The number of users consuming digital content is exponentially increasing without an end in sight. It will continue getting heavier and denser as we move forward into 2023. The print industry is struggling to keep up with the demands of our modern, connected world.
Contemporary ebooks
Contemporary ebooks are much more improved than it was a decade back. The ebooks of yesteryear were mostly OCRed (scanned under Optical Character Recognition technology) leading to inconsistent spelling, missing accent marks, or missing punctuation. These errors were rarely fixed or went unnoticed more often. Thankfully it is no longer the case with ebooks now.
For more than a decade, the world has been moving into digital-only formats for publications. More and more people are consuming information on a daily basis solely through digital mediums such as websites, apps and social media channels. With more content being created every day it seems that there is no stopping the influx of information. As our attention spans decrease, more pressure is put on the industry to come up with new ways of capturing the reader’s attention.
Top benefits of ebook
One Device, Many Books
eBooks are portable and lightweight, making it easy to carry around. Instead of carrying multiple bulky books, one eBook reader can hold thousands of eBooks. It saves a lot of space- in your home and in your bag. One doesn’t have to worry about the storage limit.
Accessible Everywhere
eBooks can be downloaded and stored for later use. One can carry the eBook around and read them whenever they want. Students and employees can go through the learning material while at home and even while travelling. It is convenient for people on the go. Some eReaders come with the option of offline accessibility, allowing people to use it even in the absence of an internet connection.
Easily Updates
The contents on the eBooks are mostly cloud-based, meaning it can be updated any time. Authors and publishers can always add the up-to-date information, providing users with the latest digital content. This saves reprinting costs and the time involved in the process.
Shareable Content
You can share the eBook contents with multiple users. The social feature on the ebook allows sharing and liking of content, which is not possible with printed books.
Augmented Reality Experience
Augmented reality has taken the eBook experience to a whole new level. Texts and images can now be embedded with an augmented three-dimensional visual which pops up on the user’s screen. Readers can view a computer-generated 3D model of the image, which makes reading and learning a much more immersive experience.
Easy on the Eyes
eReaders these days come with features where you can adjust the brightness of the screen according to the time of the day and depending upon your preferences.
Read Aloud Feature
eBooks have been designed with text to speech or read aloud features. This allows people to listen to the eBooks if they are too busy to read it, for example, while driving, or while doing some chores.
Interactive Elements
Including interactive features in an eBook makes the reading experience a more engaging one. eBooks can be embedded with audio and videos. External links can be included to offer additional information.
Environment Friendly Option
eBooks are environment-friendly. It totally eliminates the paper printing process, saving printing cost for the publishers. Approximately 2.2 million books are published each year, using around 3 million trees.
Affordable in the Long Run
Some people might feel that since its a new technology and new device, the cost obviously would be higher than that of printed books. But, its quite the opposite. eBooks cost much less than printed books. Because there’s not much of pre-production involved like that in printed books.
- Kitaboo.com