Communications Paper

Name Name

Class

Prof

8 May 2013

E-Reader and its Effects on Reading and Publishing

Bookmaking and reading has been an art practiced for hundreds of years. Only in the most recent years has the method of communicating written information changed. The advancement of technology has helped modernize one of the most rudimentary forms of communication. E-mail was one of the first methods of exchanging information on a media other than pen and paper. From that point onwards, there has been a type of Cambrian explosion in the world of media and information technology. Revolutionary new technologies invented by some of the most innovative companies to have ever existed have changed what was once thought to be at the most refined form of communication, books. The new forms of books are called e-books, which are read using e-readers, created by popular companies such as Apple and Amazon. The popularity of e-readers has grown exponentially, as witnessed by their prevalence on commuter trains and buses and their ability to sell out year after year. E-readers are not only invading commuters’ briefcases, but they are also changing the way that people read and the method of publishing books.

Like any modern technology, e-readers are built off of the basic paper book, which has been in existence since the ancient world. Bookmaking, not the art of writing, but the physical action of making a book, has been an art practiced by only the most skilled tradesman, after completing a long internship with a master craftsmen. Each book required copious amount of effort and talent to create, making each one an extremely valuable asset for whoever was wealthy enough to afford it. The books were read and reread, even meticulously repaired because they were not mass printed. The lack of books made them a valuable resource only accessible to the literate, wealthy people of the world. Also, the quality of the writing in each book was extremely high because of the time and cost it took to...