E is for e-xperience

Many of us have transitioned our reading from  hardcopy to ebooks, and many more will do so over time.  eBook sales are expected to increase further this year, and should surpass print and audio-books by 2017.

I began this process many years ago, when I was a management consultant working for an international firm.  My travels took me anywhere from two to six countries in one trip, and the amount of client material I had to haul was back-breaking.  So I schooled myself to read manuals electronically, which were typically in large binders.  I cajoled myself to take interview notes directly onto my laptop.  Instead of packing pamphlets, brochures and newsletters, I relied on client websites for such information.  By now, I hardly ever read anything hardcopy, and I rarely use a pen or pencil anymore.  Meeting notes, article ideas, personal notions go right to the Notes app on my iPhone, and it's very convenient to review them on-the-go.

That said, I encourage adults and children alike to read more via The ReadBook.  Regardless of their language, culture or country, they ought to read for the pleasure of it and for the ways it expands and enriches the mind.  "E is for e-xperience" is one of my latest ReadBook videos, where I focus on the phenomenology of reading in the digital age, and its impact:  from publishing and literature, to science and science-fiction.

I ask, What should we call that e-xperience?  My idea was to look at this creatively, maybe with an eye for irony (e.g., using moveable type for an ebook).

I gathered the images I used in the video, and offer the following context and contrast.

New era of publishing

The new Gutenberg Moveable Type

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Johannes Gutenberg invented the moveable type, and revolutionized printing in the 15th century (image credit)

Day of the Illustrator

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Lithography, along with engraving and etching, were once the mainstays of illustration (image credit)

The Concerto Accompaniment

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We can draw on our imagination, but otherwise books are without soundtrack (image credit)

Digital era of science

The Metaphor of Fluid Mechanics

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Fluid Mechanics is a metaphor for what may be a difficult-to-grasp, watery experience (image credit)

The new Skin Literacy

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Automation, algorithms and digital may supplant the tried-and-true ways of reading the skin (image credit) 

Theory of Digital Relativity

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Albert Einstein may have gladly read ebooks and worked on digital theory (image credit)

Re-vision of literature

Rebecca's Library at Manderley

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Manderley is the estate in du Maurier's romantic mystery Rebecca (image credit)

1001 Arabesque Nights

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I sought that lyrical pun between Arabian and arabesque (image credit)

The e[mbedded]Book

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In the future will books be programmed onto microchips and embedded in our skin? (image credit)

'Facting' of science-fiction

Bourne Subterfuge

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Minority Reality

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Matrix Uploaded

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Altering the painting

The Alteration of Lesendes Mädchen

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Lesendes Mädchen, painted by Franz Eybl in 1850 (image credit)

Tower of Tablets

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The Tower of Babel, painted by Pieter Bruegel, The Elder in 1563 (image credit)

The Cyber Sistine Chapel

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The Creation of Adam, painted by Michelangelo at the Sistine Chapel in 1509 (image credit)

The video

Thank you for reading, and let me know what you think!

Ron Villejo, PhD