Reading into Social Networking.
Most people consider reading a solitary activity — a way to wind down after a long day, something you do in bed before sleep, or while perched in a cafe drinking a latte, or an [enter overpriced espresso drink here]. Perhaps every now and then you share it with your significant other, or your pet even. (I know my cat loves Harry Potter.) But what many often forget is that there is more to books and reading than the solace they can provide an individual. Since the creation of eBook reading devices, such as the Sony Reader and the Amazon Kindle, the reading experience, for some, has drastically changed.
I can only imagine where this innovation will take us. I think it could completely change the reading experience. I admit, the experience could potentially be less stimulating if you were holding a portable device, sacrificing the physicality of books — their presence on your bookshelf, turning and seeing your progress through the pages, smelling their freshness, bending bindings for the first time… especially when it’s usually just you, enveloped in your own fictional world, with a book in your lap.
But when you let yourself delve into the characters, the setting, the plot, you’re also letting yourself join the book’s (or the series’) following, relating to those who, like you, also can’t put the book down. When I finished reading Philip Pullman’s “His Dark Materials” series (The Golden Compass, etc.) after my sister eagerly shoved it into my hands, we couldn’t stop talking about it for days. About what we liked, disliked. About how we each pronounced the foreign names differently in our heads (and when I saw the movie, I discovered she was right). About the ridiculous religious debates surrounding the book’s plot (okay, fine, the movie’s plot — but come on, it was a book first). In this sense, reading itself becomes a community, a group of fanatics, of intellectuals. A notion of belonging, and a way to see parts of you in others, and to feel validated for your thoughts, feelings. So, what could devices like the Kindle do? Well, it could make that community virtual.
These wireless devices could potentially expand the meaning of community to become a sort of social network for books. We have social networks for friends, colleagues, and everything else. Just imagine what could be gained from the reading experience by expanding your social network to a place devoted solely for reading. Imagine interacting with fellow users who have similar book tastes, or who are reading the same book as you simultaneously. Messaging back and forth, perhaps asking fellow readers for clarifications, or participating in discussions — debates, even. Things like the Kindle could create a virtual book club of sorts.
For whatever reason — maybe it’s a proliferation of closed-mindedness, or an increase in media telling us what to think — it seems like books and literature are going out of style. Even newspaper subscriptions are dwindling. Although eBooks only make up a small portion of the book market, they still have a strong niche. And with the implementation of an online community, they could become the next big thing. Innovations like the Kindle are allowing books to make a comeback, providing a way for us to enjoy reading again in an age where technology frequently distracts us from sitting down with a book.
This is an excellent point. I don’t have time to go and join a book club, but I’d really like to discuss the books I read with other like-minded people.
Have you checked out GoodReads?