The way people read has changed over time; centuries evolving it.  Reading continues to change through e-readers like Nooks, Kindles, iBooks, etc.

However, people continue to weigh the good and the bad of a future with only e-books.  What will happen if everything people read, newspapers and magazines as an example, turn technological?

“The world of technology is a constantly changing place,” Johnson County Library’s Book Technology Expert Nancy Birmingham said. “It’s no surprise to me that it would begin to affect how we read.”

Technology, according to Birmingham, is truly having its effect. The amount of paper books available is beginning to decrease for several reasons.

One, e-books are cheaper and people can read online for free.  Two, certain authors sometimes publish only e-books.  And three, people don’t have to go anywhere to get these books.

Freshman Sydney Howe thinks that things like fanfiction, which are online fictional stories, have helped to get people to read more. She thinks that because of these stories, people spend more time reading on their technology than they normally might.

Some believe that a future with no e-books could have bad consequences for humanity.

“I think children will lose patience and social skills if all textbooks turn technological,” Birmingham said.

The future could very possibly hold only e-books; although it could be a long time before that happens. However, it could happen.

“I think that the future definitely holds more e-readers,” Freshman Sheridan Barnhart said.   “I don’t know if I’ll be alive when all books are technological, but I think it will happen.”

While all books becoming e-books could certainly be easier, faster and more interactive, it could also have some bad consequences as mentioned before. Humans must understand consequences, not just for having only e-books, but all technology.

“I don’t think that all books should become e-books; the device would simply take away imagination,” Freshman McKenzie Webber said. “Why take away something so simple as the delight in a child’s eye as they turn the page, their imaginations running wild? I can’t imagine a world like that.”     

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