Peter: Maybe my favorite comment in the thread, Peter. Thanks.

There is also the way we use computers to consider. We are used to BROWSING, not necessarily reading. We surf the web with 20 windows open, CTRL Tab jumping from one to another. When you are used to using a medium one way, the habit carries over to sites rich with text.

Then of course, reading on a screen can be tiresome and an eye strain. I’d love to get a Kindle and try that out, it seems to offer the best of both worlds, but I’ll have to wait till its in my price range.

Very thought provoking post, Sean.
And oh yeah, a VERY subtle diaper reference :)

Kwek: I think it’s infinitely more comfortable to read a book, just not nearly as convenient (for me right now). My eyes are never as tired.

Tammy: No doubt, it is all about balance.

Maya: Thanks for telling me about growing up, Maya. That’s really interesting. When I was little, my parents had a flower shop next to a bookstore. I used to spend entire afternoons in the bookstore getting lost in words. I’d probably be a different person today without such easy access.

Ruth: That’s true, Ruth. Successful blogging calls for reading the material of others, and that is most often morsels rather than meals (well said). I’ve been trying to be better, and am halfway through my third book of the year, so I think I’m doing well.

Bamboo: You’re awesome, Bamboo. Hats off. i’ve started following far less blogs myself because, I too, want to start absorbing every word rather than simply allowing them to fall in front of my eyes.

Lisa: I couldn’t agree more. It’s sad with the amount of quality literature available, we’re still fixed on the same old same old. I love the classics, but if I had been exposed to only them, I wouldn’t ever have been the reader, or the writer, that i am today.

Randi: Very true. Books are far more tangible than online text is. For now. I can only imagine what’s just past the furthest horizon we can see, but I have a feeling they’ll find a way to add a more tactile experience to online reading.

Patricia: Sigh. The Kindle never worked out, but I’m looking forward to maybe getting one by the holidays this year. Even at its best, I don’t think the technology’s there yet, but I think it will be soon.

Kristin: I’d never heard Chuck say that, but I love it! It’s true to the core. I have those two types of reading myself. I never curl up with my laptop. I would call myself a sit back writer on a sit forward writing device as well.

Of course, websites are the classic “sit forward” medium, while print is the classic “sit back” one. For a long time I resisted starting a blog for this very reason: my content didn’t seem to fit the form. But here I am now, 100+ posts later—a “sit back” writer relying on a “sit forward” delivery device. Sigh. It seems like the two will gradually become more and more compatible—they have to, don’t they?—but sometimes it’s hard to imagine.

P.S. Deep down, I’m still a book person. I love to read them, I long to write them, and there’s nothing more satisfying than seeing my three girls devour one book after another, reminding me of my own childhood.

Kristin T. (@kt_writes)’s last blog post..A magic morning (and a realistic outlook)

I read about 2 books a week besides blogs – one technical or text and one novel or poetry, short story compilation. I have discovered I find a richness of the word play and vocabulary stimulates my mind. I like the way my mind becomes more creative and playful with a book.

I am amazed after 5 months of owning a Kindle, I prefer it to other books and it’s versatility and it is much easier on my eyes too. Text and story both fix on there. I don’t miss the smell of books at all – or the dust and care they must have.

Reading a book gives my thinking mind muscles more exercise – I savor and reread a page to guess secondary meaning or suggestion.

My Mother stopped teaching 1st grade when children refused to learn to read face clocks – I have a digital watch! I can tell time! Now we know that they can not truly understand time and space ratio without those old clocks to read – we must make it a game on the DS player and bribe them to learn.

I think the brain needs to read books….

Patricia’s last blog post..Pooh Patrol

I hope nothing will ever replace the printed book. The subtle scent of a bookstore or library makes me as happy as a hippie in a head shop—pure Nirvana!

The tactile euphoria comes into play too…the feel of thick paper under my fingertips, running my hand back and forth in a caress as I read an especially well-written phrase, allowing a long fingernail to trace an engraved title…my monitor just does not evoke the same sensuality.

As Robin said, we feel as if books are our friends, but also books for me can symbolize my friends. I can open any number of books on my shelves and find an inscription from a loved one—someone who saw a book in a store, or at a yard sale, or in his own library—and was reminded of me. It carries more love weight with me than an email from those same friends saying, “Follow this link.”

Randi’s last blog post..Dissin’ Aretha

LisaNewton’s last blog post..The Treasured Sculpture Garden Gem at UCLA

That being said… it’s fun to enjoy both books and blogs. Do both. Enjoy.

Bamboo Forest – PunIntended’s last blog post..Clowns are Downright Creepy

I generally don’t follow this model. And here is how I overcome this trap. At least to me… it is a trap.

#1 I subscribe to as few blogs as possible. Only the ones that I feel are important for me to do so. Secondly, among these blogs… there are some that I opt not to read every post. I decide based on the title and maybe the first few lines.

I think the racing to finish you speak of is going to be much more prevalent among people who read blog entry after blog entry after blog entry. Not that there is anything inherently wrong with that. Not at all. Particularly if you want to make as many comments as possible.

But if you cut down on the blogs you read, you can read them with more care. That’s what I try to do.

Bamboo Forest – PunIntended’s last blog post..Clowns are Downright Creepy