Post 2: What Is A Book?

Q: What is a book?

A: A book can be many things; to me, a book is a book – no matter the form it comes in.  There are, of course, certain traits that every book possesses like: words and a plot and a main character(s). These are what you’ll find in a book whether it’s a children’s book, an electronic copy or a paper copy from Barnes and Noble.  But most books also have a hopeful or light mood that’s generated through the author’s creative implementations of the elements of style. 

 

Q: What is a symbol or person that embodies those same traits?

A: A symbol that I see representing these traits would be a game.  In games, like books, the player (reader) is always hopeful of the end, no matter what the beginning or middle is like. I think that that’s why we read; we read for the hopeful ending that will make us either fall in love with everything preceding the ending or make us forget that we just read the worse book ever written.

Q: What’s important about books? Whose argument(s) do you agree with? Disagree with?

A: I couldn’t agree more with Joe Meno when he says that for him, “a book, in whatever form it takes…is actually a place, a place where we, as readers, still have the chance to engage in active imagining, translating word into image, connecting these images to memories, dreams and larger ideas.” On the other hand, I disagree with what Tom Piazza says about how tablets and any other way to access an electronic copy of a book takes away the perspective that the author was trying to craft.

 

Q: Is a book on a Kindle, iPad, or phone the same thing as a hardback book to you?

A: No, they’re not the same thing but they have the same purpose.  Most people prefer one over the other because they both have pros and cons.  For instance, electronic versions book are easier (more compact) to carry, but they are more likely to be taken. Books have a nice smell to them and people seem to enjoy the act of physically turning pages; however, book can be bulky and hard to travel with.