The Future

The Future of Publishing
October 2010

The “New Fashioned” eBook

Books vs. Electronics

Good writers – and in turn good editors/ proofreaders – are hard to find. And “print” authors even harder. I was in Barnes and Noble just last week and was pleased to see how many bound copies of books were available. What did bother me, though, was that they were selling eBooks and eReaders at the main entrance and at the customer service counter. So, will it one day be Barnes and Noble Electronics? Please, no!

This is probably nothing to truly worry about, but the future of a book where you can turn the pages, smell the smell of fresh ink, feel the dust from a well-read copy of an old favorite, could be in jeopardy.

Will our children really ever know the pleasure of opening a brand-new book for the first time and feeling the smoothness of the pages and the stiffness of the binding? Will they hold on to a book they’ve read before so they can read it “just one more time”?

For those of us who just don’t “get it”

There’s Still Work for Us

Will spell check replace the human editor and proofreader? I pray not! I decided to get into this “business” from reading one of those mass-produced excuses for newspapers that are thrown somewhere near our driveways by a women cruising by in her car trying to make a little money to support her young teenager who is still sound asleep in bed after being up until 4:00 am on MySpace.

And I really don’t mean to imply that the future of print media is at an end. Many will hold out to the last, hanging on to old favorites and trying to pass them down to their grandchildren. Ah, well. Just one more chapter in the history and future of literature.

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

"To Kill a Mockingbird" was required reading when I was a freshman in high school. At that time, we also viewed the movie together as a class. It's surprising how true to the book the movie is.

The further information on whom the characters are based gives it a special enjoyment to me. If you didn't know, Scout is the author, Harper Lee, herself - who also narrated the movie, and Dill is Truman Capote, the author of "In Cold Blood", who actually was a summer neighbor and friend of Ms Lee.

Since then I have read the book a number of times just because I wanted to. It's still, as far as I'm concerned, a modern classic which should continue to be required reading.

Poland by James A. Michener
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

While a very long book, Poland is a worthwhile read. Michener is at his best and is able to cover a very large period of time. The novel begins in 1204 and covers 777 years until 1981.

The author courageously covers the major wars, civil changes, and social changes. His descriptions, particular of the battles and subterfuges make you feel like you are intimately involved with the people and places.

While many of the characters are fictional, he manages to include, at least, references to historical figures. Pope John Paul II (Cardinal Karoly Wojtyla), Lech Walesa, Ronald Reagan, and others.

We are taken into battles between the Polish people and the Tatars, the Prussians, the Viennese, the "Great War" Germans, the Nazis, and the Communist Russians, to name a few. And each time Poland always "bounces back".

This is a protracted tome, but well worth the read. If you're interested in the minor countries place in the Middle Ages, in the relationship of those Slavic related countries, in World War I's place in Eastern Europe, and the beginnings of the freedom fight against the Russian Communists, then this is one great place to start - or to continue your reading and study.

Step up, take a deep breath, and enjoy.

A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I have had many opportunities to have read this book before, but the scope of the story frightened me. After I found out that it covered the same period as Les Miserables - which I have read - I decided that it was time to read it.

This is a book of tremendous scope. I found it hard to keep track of some of the characters, but the overall story was excellent, and the principles were very well fleshed out and showed great humanity.

In many ways this was a "typical" Charles Dickens story. There are many storylines and some of the characters work in and out of the stories to tie the whole thing together.

I found this to be an enjoyable read and recommend it to any and all who are Dickens fans and any who are interested in the period of Louis the XVI, the guillotine, the storming of the Bastille and the French students' rebellion/riots/protests.

View all my reviews