The Edge of the Precipice: Why Read Literature in the Digital Age? by Paul Socken
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Paul Socken, a retired professor of French Studies at the University of Waterloo, has brought together a wide variety of essayist in this volume to answer the question, "Why read literature in the digital age?" Respondents were asked to focus upon the act specifically on reading literature as opposed to non-fiction, news or other genres.
The strength of the work is the wide varieties of responses in the included essays. Some wrote of the joy of owning real books, others talked of the aesthetic pleasures of reading a fine volume. Other writers spoke of the importance of continuing to read literature for the many benefits it brings the reader without expressing a strong preference for format. There was even a discussion about the vocationalization of colleges and universities and how the decline in the reading of literature is a part of that process. A few expressed a love for the new technologies and the convenience of e-Readers.
As I read the various essays I found myself reflecting on a number of issues related to my own history with books, reading, and electronic devices. Growing up in a rural area with little access to books other than through underfunded school and public libraries led to my attaching a certain sacredness to those volumes that I owned. I can understand fully the contributors who wrote of identifying as a collector of books. I also identify with the author who spoke of a "U-Haul upgrade" being needed to move their books (my last major move required a second U-Haul for just this reason). Several years ago I began moving most of my reading to my Kindle and iPad and am very comfortable doing so though I still purchase physical books to read and collect. It also seemed somewhat ironic to be reading some of the essays that celebrated reading physical books and decried the electronic book on my iPad in eARC format.
Like any collection of essays some resonated with me more than others. Nonetheless, all of the essays in the volume will cause you to think about the nature of reading, literature, technology and most importantly, your personal relationship with all of these.
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