Monday, May 3, 2010

Books vs. Netflix


Books vs. Netflix...there-in lies the age old question. Do we stick with an older "technology" (books) or do we let the new technology (Netflix) pervade our lives so much that the older medium becomes less utilized as a means of storytelling? And do we use new media tools (Kindle or ipad) to read books?

Let's start with the second question. Changing the medium. I know that lots of people love the kindle and ipad. In fact, as an author who one day might publish an e-book, I'm all in favor of that technology. However, for me personally, I still love turning the pages and wearing down a real, live book. There's just something about dog-earing those smooth pages that is comforting. I also wouldn't want to take my expensive Kindle to the beach because I'd be worried about ruining it. But take a $2 paperback that I got from paperbackswap.com? Sure!

Ok, so back to the first question. I am a bit of a sellout when it comes to Netflix and watching TV series through that service. Right now we're immersed in Battlestar Gallactica. (I love that the series is a mix of politics, religion, and science fiction. Kind of like Lost, actually.) So since we've been watching so much Netflix, I haven't read books as fast as usual. For instance, I just finished the first Percy Jackson book yesterday.

I read just one book at a time, so the only book I have read for the last week or two was this one. It's not that the book took me so long because of the writing. No, it was a great read! It was truly Netflix that decreased my book reading.

Is that bad? No, not really. Does it make me "dumber" to be watching TV instead of reading a book? No, because the TV series is probably just (if not more so) thought-provoking than the Percy Jackson series.

But it does make me a little sad that I didn't have more books to write about on my blog. The blog...yet another technical wonder that's taken my time away from reading. Oh the irony! :)

Goodnight to all, and to all a good read!

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