Post 2: What is a book?

Interviewed by the Doppelganger of K.E. Hibner

What is a book?

A book is like the bubble window at the aquarium. You can fold your entire body into a swirling paracosm without being completely submerged in it, still breathing in the air likely conditioned at a cozy seventy-something degrees. At least, until the bubble breaks.

Less elegiac, please.

Okay. My technical definition of a book would be a form of storytelling relying on words and/or images, but not moving images with audio (that constitutes a movie). That definition encompasses the classic print novel, the audio book, the children’s picture book, and the graphic novel. But I’m open to contentions.

So where do you stand in the debate between the e-Book embracers and the traditionalists?

I straddle that spectrum. Ideally, I agree with the traditionalist perspective. I agree with Tom Piazza’s sentiment for the smell and texture of books, which allows them to “seriously impinge on your reality.” We retain information through sensory cues, so I believe the physical elements of a book enhance our reading experiences; we remember and interact with the story more completely. Also, the engine of the book distribution industry is the publishing house, so naturally I advocate for that illustrious, endangered species.

But we have to be realistic. The platform conversation is arbitrary— not only is the digitization of books now inevitable, the digitization of future generations and their habits is too. Thank goodness e-Books are following that trend, so our children can, as Joe Meno wrote, “still have the chance to engage in active imagining, translating word into image, connecting these images to memories, dreams, and larger ideas.” This activity is the basis of all types of innovation that can advance society. We need to shape up that creative muscle; we need to be “force[d] to complete [stories]” so we can expand our imaginations and therefore improve our reality. If posterity attaches their electronics to themselves like IV-tubes, at least those tubes will have a menu that can instantly direct them to an e-Book. It’s a lot simpler and quicker than buying and keeping track of a physical copy, God forbid.

Piazza would argue that you can’t give someone an e-Book.

Well fine, you can recommend books to one another on Goodreads. Not quite the same, I know, but the vacuum of digital conversation is just about to swallow all of us First World-ers. Digitization of books will allow them to further penetrate that chatter. It’s a little sneaky, in a way, like e-Books are double agents slinking into the other side.

I don’t follow.

Whatever, Doppelganger. Crawl back into your hole.

Why I Read

I primarily read to escape from reality. Although TV and movies can provide similar diversions, nothing can replace the immersive power of human imagination. You develop deeper attachments to stories and characters you helped develop with your own creativity. You can escape more completely when your mind is your vehicle.

I’m also fascinated by the English language itself. Reading both novels and poetry provides inspiration for my own writing by enhancing my vocabulary and introducing me to new topics and character dynamics to write about. Many of my poems are image-driven, so I’m always enlightened by new ways authors convert dry, monochromatic text into tangible, sensory experiences. F. Scott Fitzgerald mastered this in The Great Gatsby, as evidenced in this still from the film version of the novel:

Books also educate me about life in the past. I recently read East of Eden by John Steinbeck, and it detailed the strenuous labor of settlers in the American west. It also informed me of how cars were introduced to the general public, how Chinese immigrants were abused in the building of railroads, and how astounded people were by the onset of WWII. Books such as East of Eden educate me about my national heritage, allowing me to learn from past mistakes and have empathy for those I encounter in the present.