Blog post 2: What is a book?

A book is a flume. For those of you who haven't read The Pendragon series, this metaphor means nothing to you. But let me explain. In the series, Bobby Pendragon must save Halla (the equivalent of the universe) by travelling to different territories (think of them as planets) by way of flume. It's sort of a combination between a time machine and a portal to another dimension. I figured I would use a term from a book to describe what a book is because, really, how much closer can you connect two things? A book, to me, is a flume because it can take you to so many different places. In the same way that Bobby travels from Third Earth (the future) to Cloral (a territory floating on water), a book lets you travel from places that you could actually visit, to ones you can only go to in your mind. The most important thing that happens within a book is an idea. As a writer, I can say with great certainty that one of the best feelings in the world is when someone takes something away from your writing and is affected emotionally. However, this begs the question:

1.       Does it matter whether you read from a kindle or a hard-copy book?

 

In the controversy surrounding technology vs. real books, I am torn. In a world where reading isn’t a first-choice activity, I am simply glad that people are choosing to read anything out of pure enjoyment. If turning pages by swiping a screen is the only way to get some people to dive into a great story, then so be it. As I said earlier, the effects and take-aways are more important than the medium. However, I will always be an advocate for bookstores and the physical copies of a writer’s imagination that they hold. It’s a sentimental thing: loving the feel of a hardcover book or smelling fresh pages as they turn. Seeing how each page is different based on the structure of the writing. Realizing that an entire epiphany rests on a page so thin, you could easily accidentally tear it. I think that the more we allow technology to take the place of what we’ve always known, the less appreciation we have for the beauty of everything. So, do I think it matters which medium of reading you choose? No. But do I think both should still exist? Always.