Things have been crazy busy lately, which is why I've not had a chance to blog.  Actually, I have had time to blog, just not as much time to spend reading online in my regular pattern; thus, I haven't had anything really to talk about.

Through the wonders of the internet, I get to read the Seattle Times, NY Times, Washington Post, London Times, and on and on.... all online.  I have adapted to this quite well and enjoy it.  On the other hand, for books (novels, non-fiction, etc.) and scientific journals, I need hardcopy.  This is especially true when I am asked to review grants or papers -- I need all the pages in my hand so I can spread out, array a bunch of information out on the desk in front of me, flip back and forth readily to find or review information, and the like.  I simply have not adapted to this within the boundaries of a computer monitor -- it is too confining.

So what is the difference?

Length is one thing.  Newspaper articles are relatively short and in their entirety they do not push strongly on the boundaries of a computer screen.  When I travel, I see an increasing number of kindles, Amazon's electronic book reader.  I've talked to some of these people, and they seem to have adapted.  But, still... for these longer length, I have my doubts and so have not gone that route.

A couple of days ago I came across this series of opinions in the NY Times, entitled "Does the Brain Like E-Books?"  Fascinating.  I highly recommend it.  In reading this series, I had a flash of personal insight that one of the things I like most about reading newspapers online is the quick jump to other information -- another related story, or background information, or a definition of that obscure word or concept is just a hyperlink click away.  Electronic journal articles are getting there -- the references are just a click away -- but it is not the same.  I thing that what would get me interested in reading full length fiction or non-fiction in e-book format is the ability to jump to related information; jump to a dictionary entry; jump to interpretive information; jump to supplemental historical context; and so on.  That is, bring the power of the internet to a truly interactive experience.  That would get me over the hump.

Even so, I still think I would not want to totally abandon the comfort of turning pages in a physical, good old fashioned book...curling up in a favoriate chair with a glass of single malt and a fire just wouldn't seem the same holding a piece of plasic with an LCD reporting the output of a microprocessor.