Tsundoku is the act of buying or acquiring books only to have them pile up without reading them. What a beautiful word to describe one of my vices. I buy books. And more books. And even more books. It’s gotten so bad that I try to have a “one book read, one book bought policy.” Without getting up from the computer, I can think of at least five piles of books, and I feel like I’m not accounting for a couple. Being surrounded by books is comforting to me; in times of sadness, I’ll go to a bookstore or the library to just be surrounded by books because it lifts my mood up. So, I prefer physical books. The binding, the pages, the feel of turning the page make the experience of reading so much richer. But eBooks are rising in popularity because of convenience and accessibility. I now have more eBooks than physical ones in my personal collection, and I can carry this library with me wherever I go on my phone. So, which format is better – physical or eBook? There is a clear and definite winner. Physical copies are the better format because they’re the property of the person who bought them. All the books on a person’s Kindle aren’t actually owned by that person.
Back in 2009, Amazon, without irony, removed several of George Orwell’s books including 1984 from customers Kindles. To be fair, Amazon did refund the purchase price. While this may seem unfair, Amazon is well within their rights to do so. This would not have been possible with physical copies of the book. Amazon would have had to come into each customers home to retrieve the book as opposed to just typing in a few commands to remove it. All the books that I bought for my Kindle or Nook apps aren’t really mine. Sure, I can highlight, make notes, and even lend them – to a degree, but I can’t really call them mine. While it’s very unlikely, it’s worth remembering that the tech companies own our books, not us. We just purchase access to them.
This isn’t limited to just books, however. With the ouster of Alex Jones from social media and digital platforms, people are seeing just how limited their control over their digital imprint is1. Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, etc. are private companies with terms of service (TOS) that we all sign in order to participate in that media. Those TOS provide private companies with cover to do as they please with their platforms, and in a free market, we have to accept that these companies have the right to decide what is best for their products and investments. My Facebook feed, my Twitter stream, and my YouTube account aren’t my own. The words, the images, and videos are mine, but their placement on those websites are at the grace of the companies. This is similar to the books on eReaders. Don’t believe me? Check your terms of service.
Can this be combatted? Sort of. Since the average user of social media do not own the companies providing those services, there isn’t much the user can do if the company turns on them. However, each of those users can create a blog, such as this one. I own everything that is on this blog, unless indicated elsewhere. No one can tell me what to write on here, other than my conscience. Still, that assumes I abide by the TOS of the company that hosts my website. Certain publishers, like Tor and Baen, provide their eBooks digital rights management (DRM) free so that users can convert their eBooks into files useable on any devices. The side benefit is that it can be stored outside of the cloud and thus not taken away.
Are eBooks a good addition to literature? Sure. They’re a great option for readers. Huge, brick-sized books by authors like Peter Hamilton, Patrick Rothfuss, and Brandon Sanderson are much more manageable as eBooks. Once I finish a book, I can open another one right away, no matter where in the world I’m at. The apps make travel easy because I don’t have to take up luggage space. So, I like digital media. I just don’t own any of it. I pay a one-time rental fee that may last for the rest of my life2. When I buy eBooks, I go in knowing this information. It doesn’t stop me, but I know those books aren’t 100% mine in the way that a physical copy is. Ownership supersedes convenience every. single. time.
Do you agree? Which format do you believe is superior? And why? Let me know in the comments.
1. Ironically, this has led to some on the right believing that the government should nationalize social media and declare these platforms as utilities. Seriously, the people gloating about the fall of Venezuela are urging the government to employ similar tactics that they supposedly hate. Also, these are the same people who decried and denounced the FCC’s Fairness Doctrine as applied to radio stations. Never underestimate hypocrisy in any person. Click here to return.