What Are We Losing with eBooks? by Ron Vitale

Shh, don't tell anyone, but I like to spy. I like to sneak a peek at what people are reading on the train headed to work. Yes, that makes me a bit nosy, but over the years I've liked to see the trends in reading habits of people in my area. I remember men and women holding the thick and bulky Harry Potter novels, desperately trying to hold them in their hands while standing on the train, practicing their surfer moves as the El  buffeted to the right and left. Or, years later people joining Team Edward or Jacob, reading the Twilight series. And last year, Stief Larson's The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo took the top spot.

And then something happened.

Many of the books went away, being replaced by Kindles, iPhones, BlackBerrys, Droids and even a few iPads. Before my very eyes, I began seeing people's reading habits change. But maybe, that's not exactly right. Let me rephrase that: I began seeing a change in the tools that people use to read. Books were going by the wayside and more electronic devices were popping up on my commute to work.

All my life I have been a book lover. I love the feel of books, the smell of them and have lost myself in staring at many art covers over the years. Yet now here we are at the crossroads between the past and the future. The Star Trek: The Next Generation tablet that Captain Picard always used on the TV show back in the '90s has become a reality. I look at the new technology in awe, but also am a bit sad. Of course, seeing what people are reading has become harder to do for when a Kindle is turning on, there is not clear indication of what book is being read for a nosy person like me. I'm saddened by this as I do like to my unofficial market research to see what various groups of people are reading, but there is also the loss of cover art. I wonder if future devices will display in color or if we'll see the decline of art as we have seen mp3 sales knocking albums and CDs to the wayside. Granted, when we visit the online stores we see pictures of the covers and ID3 tags do contain the .jpgs to the album arts for the songs we play on our iPhones and iPods, but with books it's different.

I know this is a minor thing as the Kindle does come with some amazing screensaver art. When the Kindle is off, the device displays pictures of famous authors. What would be more useful is a feature that would allow the owner to make the book that he/she is currently reading the default screensaver image. Again, a minor point, but as a consumer and book lover I do become emotionally attached to my books. Having the text on the Kindle is nice, but being able to easily see the cover would be a nice added feature.

But beyond the loss of cover art, what will all these ebooks mean for readers and authors? When I was reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, I happened to be using a bookmark of a postcard from the movie Stardust (based off of Neil Gaiman's wonderful novel). The passenger next to me, a young man, excused himself and pointed to the postcard: "Have you read that?"

"No, I haven't, but I'd really like to see the movie."

"The book is amazing. I loved it...."

We chatted for a few more moments and, yes, I purchased the book later that night and read it, also loving it. Not only am I a writer, but I'm a reader. I will buy a book, read it and then give it to my wife to read or a friend from work will lend a book of hers to me--books are the social currency that are tiny priceless treasures. When you give someone a book, you're saying to them: "I think I know you'll enjoy this and that the plot, characters and emotional payoff will be fun for you to read. Here."

Yet with ebooks (in their current format) the social aspect of book reading is impeded (to be kind): If I were reading Harry Potter on my Kindle (yes, I know I won't be able to do this until the Fall of 2011), that young man sitting next to me on the train wouldn't be able to see what book I held nor would I have that Neil Gaiman bookmark. There's a loss of social interaction there. And as a writer, I want people to talk about my book to others. I want someone to take my novel and say to a friend, "Here, you have to read this!"

Amazon's current policy is to allow a customer to lend a book out for 14 days and during that time the owner of the book cannot read it. What's the problem with this policy? Fourteen days, are you kidding me? I work 40 plus hours a week, have two kids and am a writer: How am I supposed to read George R. R. Martin's A Dance with Dragons in 14 days? It's just not going to happen. I have books from friends that have been sitting on my shelf for six months and I'm still working my way through the pile!

Look, I'm a writer. Yes, I want to make money off of my work, but like I said, I'm also a reader. I believe that word of mouth has helped sell more books in the history of publishing than any print ad or commercial. I am hoping that in the near future there will be a relaxing of the lending rules associated with ebooks.

And the good news is that late in 2011 around 11,000 libraries across the country will participate in lending ebooks out to Kindle owners (you Nook owners must be laughing as you've already had this for years). Yes, change is coming as ebooks have only recently exploded into people's consciousness so we're not fully there yet and the possibilities are extremely interesting.

What I believe is a step in the right direction is the highlights feature on the Kindle. When enabled, a reader can highlight a section of text and then tweet that out to their followers. I see possibilities with this feature. If you're not able to see what your fellow passenger is reading on the train, she can tweet out great lines from the book to the masses. The social sharing of books with your friends is becoming virtualized. I don't mind that, but I still believe that readers need a lessening of restrictions for lending. Is there not room to compromise between the fear of piracy and all ebooks being given away for free and being able to share a book with a friend for more than 14 days? I think there is.

We're living in an exciting time as the publishing world is changing as are how people consume media. Book reading will not go away, but more people will read ebooks. If you're a writer, it might be wise to pick up a reader so you can see what your readers are experiencing today.

But I'm a writer and I like to imagine and think of the future. When I first owned a Kindle, I extrapolated out into the future and remember reading Arthur C. Clarke's 3001: The Final Odyssey back in 1997. In that book, Clarke wrote of the "BrainCap" that enables characters to have real-time interfaces with computers. In the novel, people can send email and read books "in their head." Might seem far-fetched now in 2011, but didn't we all laugh and scoff at Star Trek communicators and Star Trek: TNG tablets? Technology will keep advancing and people will adapt along with it.

As a writer, I believe in embracing change and learning how the technology can work best for all of us. eBooks may not be for everyone, but when tens of millions of devices will keep being sold each year, it makes sense that our content is on those devices and that we help use the tools to help share our books with readers.