E-book enthuisasts cite many benefits of this new technology. E-books are cheap to produce. They're portable and take up much less space, reducing thick, bulky volumes to a compact form. Steve Ditlea, author of "The Real E-books," says, "Thanks to Digitalfire and other budding digital publishing enterprises, authors like Rowe are being empowered to write about esoteric, highly personal topics and still find a worldwide audience—transcending the antiquated economics of shipping ink on wood pulp and bypassing the gatekeepers to traditional publishing."

Why, then, are e-books not being universally lauded, and why is my bookshelf not suddenly full of antiques?

The answer, according to Charlotte Moore's article, "The Buzz About E-Books," is that there is more to reading than passing your eyes over words. "Bookworms are a proud people who are incited when their senses are stimulated; they enjoy being attracted by a books cover, the woody smell of the pages, the way a bookshelf creaks when it's overwhelmed by thick, heavy classics."

I chose Moore's and Ditlea's articles as representative of their two factions--Those who, like Ditlea, believe that e-books are the future of publishing, and those who, like Moore, believe that paper books are timeless and will never be completely replaced. Which of these two approaches more accurately reflects the future of e-books? Ditlea uses the benefits for authors and the support of publishers as support for his predictions of e-books future success. Moore goes to the consumer rather than the provider, using as her sources the members of a book club in Texas. While Ditlea does build a convincing argument with his series of examples of e-book successes, Moore's point seems more credible, as it will ultimately be the readers that determine whether or not e-books will succeed. Ditlea admits that "for now" e-books are not out to replace tradtional books, but he points to a future where e-books will take another step, becoming multimedia applications with sound and illustrations, even animations. I find this concept to be a turnoff, and find myself questioning Ditlea's understanding of books and what makes readers love books. The idea of transforming books into something more like television is more appalling than appealing. Finally, there is the matter of tradition. We have all grown up with paper books. It is difficult to replace the mental image of a child and parent in bed with a slightly oversized, hard-bound copy of 'Spot' or 'The Bearnstein Bears' with the image of parent and child holding an e-book reader. Ditlea doesn't seem to view this mental transition as an issue, apparently taking it as a matter of course that the public will adapt.

The sources of the two articles are key in understanding their positions. Ditlea's article contains quotes from authors, examples of e-books which where turned down for print publishing but have succeeded electronically, and one or two brief histories of e-publishing firms already in existance. All of these groups are involved in the development and marketing of e-books, and they can do little more than study and speculate. Moore asks readers about the new technology, speaking to the members of Book People Contemporary Fiction Club in Austin, Texas. As a reader, I connect with these sources on a more personal level, and find their opinions more reliable. The consumers in the book market are readers, and every market depends on consumer demand.

Interestingly enough, both cite Steven King's Riding the Bullet, a novella produced solely for electronic publication, as an example. Ditlea uses it as proof of the potential of e-books, pointing out that 400,000 copies of Riding the Bullet were sold and downloaded. Readers can, it seems, be persuaded to flock to electronic media. However, Moore quotes Simon & Schuster's director of corporate communications in saying that Riding the Bullet was an anomoly, and difficult to draw conclusions from because of the number of variables involved in its production.

In spite of Ditlea's case studies, examples, and technical examination of the future of e-books, Charlotte Moore's basic approach is a more sound measure of the future of e-books. No matter how closely electronic readers simulate paper books, it is still a simulation, and there are those who will not accept anything less than the real thing. The success or failure of e-books in the eyes of a particular audience will depend on the kind of readers that are more common in that audience. In technical writing and acadamia, where the purpose of writing is to convey information, little would be lost in the transition from paper to electronic media. The kind of writing that is made to entertain depends on a connection between a writer and reader, and if a reader feels more connected to the story when he or she can feel the roughness of a page between their fingers, then they will be less open to electonic alternatives. Ditlea's feelings on how this has affected e-books? "The slow start [of e-books] is partly due to the perception that an e-book doesn’t fully replicate the book-reading experience. More importantly, the download culture—first evident with browser plug-ins, then with software upgrades and MP3 music files—has only taken hold recently with the non-geek public."

This is perhaps why Ditlea's prediction about multimedia e-books does not settle well with me. While I agree that some options are available with e-books that would be less practical with paper books, such as 'Choose Your Own Adventure' type branching novels, I think that imbuing books with sound and animation would truly take away from my reading experiance. Imagination is the wonder of books, and these types of changes, intended to put you further into the story, would only distract me from it. I can see how there might be a market for such books for children, similar to Disney's interactive CD-ROM storybooks. However, I have to question Ditlea's understanding of what readers like about books as opposed to television or movies, weakening my faith in his predictions about the success of e-books. Understanding the market is fundamental to successful business. Ditlea's feelings on how reader perception has affected e-books? "The slow start [of e-books] is partly due to the perception that an e-book doesn’t fully replicate the book-reading experience. More importantly, the download culture-first evident with browser plug-ins, then with software upgrades and MP3 music files-has only taken hold recently with the non-geek public."

Of the two articles, Moore's shows a better understanding of the limitations e-books will face as they take on the reading public. Ditlea shows an understanding of the technology and its potential, but is far less savvy regarding his audience and their attatchment to their traditional views of reading. There are a number of benefits associated with e-books, but after reading these two articles I am more convinced than ever that e-books will never replace paper books.

Moore, Charlotte. "The Buzz About E-books." Computer News Daily. 1 Aug. 2000.

Ditlea, Steven. "The Real E-books." Technology Review. Jul./Aug. 2000.