Perspectives
Thursday, Jan. 20, 2011
What eReaders mean for the future of good old-fashioned books and fans By Rachael Renz Copy Editor I knew this was coming. I knew everything would change and I hate it. Why must eReaders brainwash the newest generation of readers? Is it pure laziness? Is it convenience? Is there a sudden lack of love for the tangible book? Plain and simple, I hate eReaders. For one, one of my favorite stores is Barnes and Noble. I completely and utterly love going to Barnes and Noble, buying a tall hot chocolate and browsing the Fiction and Literature section. I find my monthly and sometimes weekly trip to be relaxing and entertaining, all at the same time. The fact that everyone and their mother are buying Nooks, Kindles or any other eReader is heartbreaking. I suppose it’s because they are convenient and society today is obsessed with any new electronic merchandise they can get their hands on. Buying an eReader takes away from the entire experience of buying a book. Turning on your eReader, purchasing a book and then electronically flipping through the pages, now how robotic is that? Another reason why I hate eReaders is because I feel very passionate about bookcases. I know, it sounds weird and a bit pretentious. But, one of my dreams since I was little was to have a built-in
bookcase that has the shelves embedded into the walls. I imagined having a high ladder that you can reach books on the tenth shelf without a problem. To me, displaying my books on my bookcase is a conversation starter and in one way, almost a trophy shelf. I love collecting the books I have read and putting them on my bookcase. I’ve had friends in my room who say, “Wow, you’ve read Atlas Shrugged?” and it starts not only a conversation but also a connection. You can’t display your books on an eReader! What kind of connection can you make with someone over a Kindle or Nook? When people buy these eReaders, they are essentially ending the world of book retail. Yes, Barnes and Noble owns the Nook so they are bringing in annual revenue but that cannot last forever. Eventually, the Nook will become the main source for reading and Barnes and Noble won’t be needed. Reports say that stores like Barnes and Noble and Borders will be completely out of business within the next 10 years. And suppose I was forced to buy an eReader because believe me, this purchase will not be voluntary. Can I transport the books I have already purchased to the eReader? I easily have 100 plus books, so what value is an eReader to me? One of the Nook commercials
shows a mother and child using the Nook to “read” a children’s story. The Nook is shown to have the capabilities of having an automated voice to read to the child when they tap on a word or phrase. Now, I understand that this tool can assist in teaching children to read but from what I personally understood from this commercial is that it can also handicap children’s reading abilities. Children will become complacent and will in laziness, tap on an entire story and have it read to them without actually learning to read effectively. Some of my favorite memories include my father and me cuddling up on the couch, reading Goosebumps books together while my father pretended to be scared and I actually was. Or when my mother would put a book under my pillow instead of money when I lost a tooth. Which brings me to another point. You can never give a person a book for the holidays or on a whim. They would take every literary memory I have except the actual content. I think everyone needs to take a breath and think before purchasing an eReader. Are these products really worth it or do we believe they are because society today is more dependent on technology than ever?
The Loquitur 7
The big three in eReaders Nook • Manufactured by Barnes & Noble • 6 in. screen • Full color • 8 GB • Built-in WiFi • $249
iPad • • • • •
rr724@cabrini.edu
Manufactured by Apple 9.7 in. screen Full color 16GB - 64GB $499 - $829
Kindle DX • • • • •
Manufactured by Amazon 9.7 in. screen Black and white 4GB $489
Ssource: mctCT
New year, new annoyances By Melanie Greenberg Staff Writer This is without a doubt the worst time of the year. Not because of the mountains of snow or the pale ghostly person who looks back at me in the mirror each day. It is the New Year’s gym-goers. Nothing makes me more mad than walking into the gym during January and February and having to wait for a treadmill. I get so angry when I have to wait while a group of guys talks about last night and does about one rep per machine. Good for those who truly want to lose weight or live a healthier lifestyle, but seriously, if you have to do your makeup before you go to the gym, please stop wasting my time. It is going to sweat off anyway! I have been an avid gym rat for about four years. Each December I begin to dread the following two months. I won’t say that I am self conscious of myself at the gym but with the gym being so crowded with people who don’t really give a damn, it is irritable and makes me somewhat uncomfortable. It may seem as if I have a hostile view on things but I basically live at the gym. I know the people who go there, as creepy as it sounds. There are those who I have seen shed weight, bulk up, fall off the wagon, become scary thin, you name it. I may not know them by name but month after month, we’re all there for the same purpose. Each year, and you may be one of them, people make New Year’s resolutions to eat healthier and run a marathon or something along those lines. Each Jan. 2, I see that line out the door filled with people waiting to sign up for their membership and it sometimes makes me dread it enough to just turn around and run home. There are some of those people who stick with it and become passionate about exercise. Those are the people who are still sweating it out come March.
Classes are full in January sometimes pushing the regulars out. At least for the month. My sister happens to be one of those people I applaud in March. She lost probably close to 20 pounds over the past year. Granted she did have me showing her how to use the machines properly and it is always easier to stay motivated when someone else is pushing you. Let’s get another thing straight. If a person decides to exercise, make sure what is being done, is done correctly. I can deal with waiting around to use a certain machine if the user is actually doing the exercise correctly, and let me tell you they better be sweating. What I cannot deal with is a person doing something so completely wrong. I wish I could just tell them that what you’re doing could very well hurt them and make them unable to walk in the morning, or is doing absolutely nothing and they are just wasting everyone’s time. Now I really sound bitchy so I give my congratulations to the 12 percent of those who make their New Year’s resolutions and keep them. According to psychologist Emily VonSonnenberg, most have given up their resolutions by June. What puzzles me is the fact that people don’t want to keep feeling accomplished after sweating it out for an hour or so.
mct
Maybe reading this may piss someone off just enough to encourage them to prove me wrong and lose that extra five pounds or just keep healthy and I say, good for you. I’d rather the gym be crowded with people who try and succeed than those who just stare in the mirror at themselves for 45 minutes. mmg65@cabrini.edu
Shown is the volume of online searches for the term “gym.” As you can see there is an obvious increase at the beginning of every year as resolutions are made. Source : Google Trends