Digitalizing Classic Literature

Digitalizing Classic Literature

By Lily Eves

Karolina from Kaboompics

15-20% of all U.S. trade book sales

are now digital (Jabr)

Viktor Hanacek from Picjumbo

A New Kind of Reading

For newer generations, the term reading has

changed.

eBooks and audio books have sparked in popularity

over the past few years, with many households

being very familiar with these new ways to read.

Books are being created strictly for these new

mediums and older books are being adapted into

them.


Reading Through Screens

eBooks have become immensely popular, especially among the younger generation.

They allow for a large library right at your disposal, which prevents the need to travel to a library or bookstore.

They offer a variety of features including zooming in, hyperlinks and integrated media.


A large selection of eBook sites and apps have been launching from different companies as the popularityof these mediums increase.


Audio BooksAnother new, literary

trend is audio books,

which allow you to listen

to books as conveniently

and as quickly as you

want.

This medium is efficient for

those who claim they

don’t have enough time to

pick up a book.


“So far, Audible, which is owned by

Amazon, has paired some 26,000 ebooks

with professional narrations. The

company is adding more than 1,000

titles a month and aims to eventually

bring the number to close to 100,000”

(Alter)


Audible, by Amazon, is the clear leading brand of audio books

At the same time, however, other companies have jumped on the trendproducing audio books to fit their users’ busy lifestyle


“Yes, experts assert, there's no disputing the impact of digitised text on the whole culture of the codex; fewer paper books are being sold, newspapers fold, bookshops continue to close, libraries as well” (Self).


Where Has The Paper Gone?

With all the advantages of eBooks and audio books, paper

copies of popular novels can face a huge decline in the future.

With the new, digital texts having so many features and a

library right at your fingertips, why would you want to drive to

the store to pick up a new paperback novel?


Reviving The Classics

Classic literature from throughout history is beingrepublished as digital texts to reach the new audience of readers.

While the idea of making these works more portable and accessible is great in theory, there are many elements from the physical book form that are lost.


Losing The Text in Sound

In audio books particularly, the role of punctuation is sometimes lost

With the ability to speed up the reading process by adjusting the speed or even shortening the pauses, the text can take on new meaning.

Speed-Listening “removes the silence that can, in context, be meaningful in and of itself” (Garber).


Learning Through Paper

Certain studies involving texts and quizzes show that readingon paper rather than a screen has a higher chance of retention (Kraft).

This could be do to subconscious thought of reading on paper being a more serious activity, as well as the easier navigation from page to page (Jabr).


Learning Through Screens

According to Jabr, screens drain more mental resources, whereas screens are “more physically and mentally taxing”.

Others have pointed out issues regarding image polarity, size and font of the text on screen as also being distracting or overall make the text difficult toread (Dillon).


Tactile Feelings

eBooks take away the feelingin your hand, the smell of the paper and the distinct sound of turning pages.

Sensory experiences of reading matter to many people, with a physical novel being more satisfying to the reader (Jabr).

Pippalou from MorgueFile

The Eye

eBooks give users the

ability to zoom in on

text and adapt it to their

own vision.

Paper books, however,

are less straining to the

eye, especially for the

individual who reads to

help insomnia (Kraft).


The New Way to Write Novels

With the changing way that people read texts, writers need to adapt.

With audio books, shorter works have the advantage ofretention.

Amazon has taken advantage of this, now paying writersfor the amount of pages read by users (Wayner).


“For the many authors who publish directly through Amazon, the new model could warpthe priorities of writing: A system with per-page payouts is a system that rewards cliffhangersand mysteries across all genres. It rewards anything that keeps people hooked, even if that means putting less of an emphasis on nuance and complexity” (Wayner).


Classics in the New Medium

With the new way of reading books, classic novels can’t keep up.

Longer works can’t maintain attention from the readers with their

often complex and extended ideas.

Clarita from MorgueFile

Book or eBook?

eBook’s are convenient for the new digital generation, but classic literature loses the tactile and visual experience when placed in virtual form.

For the greatest experience for the book lover, a traditional, physical book is favoured.


Works Cited

Alter, Alexandra. “The New Explosion in Audio Books; How They Re-emerged as a Rare Bright Spot in the Publishing Business”. Wall Street Journal, 1 Aug 2013.

Dillon, Andrew. “Reading From Paper Versus Screens: A Critical Review of the Empirical Literature”. Ergonomics, vol. 35, no. 10, 1992, pp. 1297-1326.

Garber, Megan. “The Rise of ‘Speed-Listening’”. The Atlantic, 24 June 2014.

Jabr, Ferris. “The Reading Brain in the Digital Age: The Science of Paper versus Screens”. Scientific American, 11 April 2013.

Kraft, Amy. “Books vs. e-books: The Science Behind the Best Way to Read”. CBS News, 14 Dec. 2015.

Self, Will. “The Novel is Dead (This Time for Real)”. The Guardian, 2 May 2014.

Wayner, Peter. “What If Authors Were Paid Every Time Someone Turned a Page?”. The Atlantic, 20 June 2015.

Digitalizing Classic Literature

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