Is internet making books and book reading redundant?

“What is special about you?”
A random thought crossed my mind.

“I have lived a thousand tales and loved a thousand hearts.
I have seen the most distant and fabulous of places.

All because of books..

-Anonymous

One of my most significant childhood memories remains the bi-annual visit to Kolkata's famed Park Street with my grandfather during school holidays, to buy hardcover books. Books meant to me a whole new world of mystery and magic. This love of books in me was further fostered by my father who bought me Homer's Iliad from the USA on his work trip and kept gifting me new books to read on almost every special occassion.

As i passed through the X and XIIth Boards, while the love for books took a bit of a backseat, it was back roaring in college where i immersed myself in Assimov's science fiction, Nirad Choudhari's Autobiography of an Unknown Indian, William Dalrymple's the White Mughal and Anne Frank's Autobiographical Diary.

However, today as i see my cousins attending schools/colleges, i barely see any of them with a book. I seldom hear them debating about the magical spells of Harry Potter or try to look at India like Pandit Nehru did in Discovery of India.

And when talking of book reading, it is not just fiction but even newspapers and magazines which are all slowly heading towards oblivion.

Now i know Kindle has helped to popularize e-books and digital reading and new age 'cool' authors like Chetan Bhagat, Sudha Murthy, Twinkle Khanna have tried to keep the book reading tempo going, but it begs the question as to whether internet has rang the death knell for books/book reading?

And what about the romance of books? Do we hear stories today of a dried rose kept in between the pages of a book for a beloved? Or of exchanging books with secret notes in them - a phrase/poem dedicated to that special someone.

Today the minute you feel lonely or want something to escape into, you type 'google' and almost all your needs are met in a flash of second. While internet has helped to collate and retrieve a lot of information in a flash of a second, but has it or can it actually ever replace books?

Lets debate...

I was fascinated with Books as a child. My friend introduced me to English Literature. I think Jane Eyre was the first book I read. She also introduced me to Sydney Sheldon, who became my favourite author. I read a lot of Sydney Sheldon books.

My speed of reading books has definitely decreased. I am more into reading quick snippets on internet now. But I miss physical books. I do buy them from time to time but I am very slow to read them. The last set of books that I read was the ASOIAF series, voraciously. I hope I will get some new books to read, which I cannot put down. I am more into fantasy, dystopian genre.

wow nice topic....

i too agree with TM... now days book reading reduced a lot... even digital reading i am nt sure.... children and adult are busy with mobile... reels.... games..... no time for book... we cant say children are wrong... its the circumstance current situation making this new gen world...

parents are full time working and have their own work stress and personal stress... along with that they spend some quality time with their children.... during that time, book take a back seat.... parents play time... study time... tv... online world.... children are tooo busy....

most of new gen are living a nuclear family consisting f parents n children ... grandparents are seen thru video call... once in a while if visiting native.... that chance f getting story... book reading is also blocked....

parents need to find some way to bring child attention to book than other material things... i believe school nowdays have newsreading section in assembly which makes students to refer any newspaper,,, and teachers also motivate them of reading books.... how much successful i dnt knw...

As a child and teenager I devoured books. For me, a book is like a treasure, a door to another world. I read a few pages every day. Today it takes me longer to read a book than it used to. But nothing works without reading. In the early days of the Kindle, I couldn't imagine using one. Now I read novels almost exclusively with the Kindle. It fits in any pocket and is light.

The internet is not a full substitute for a book for me. There are online libraries where you can look at rare, old books or biographies of historical figures. That's a wonderful way to do research from home. But there's nothing like the feeling of holding a real book in your hand, leafing through it and reading.

But I think many kids and students tend to use the internet. It offers quickly a wealth of information at the click of a button. Social media, YT... offer information on almost every topic. I think it is the time we live in. Everyone has to decide for themselves whether they want to be permanently online or whether they want to make themselves comfortable with a thrilling or romantic book and a cup of tea or coffee at a favourite place.

a good book on a hand.... and other hand with coffee.... sipping n reading... and rain....

wow this s called magic land for me..... if soothing music played.... then paradise feeel❤️

Books has always been a form of escape for me since childhood. I started reading when I was around the 7th grade when my dad bought me a couple of comic books at the train station. Twinkle, will always have a special place in my heart.

That being said, I started reading ferociously a couple of years after that when my brother left for college, I had main exams coming up and honestly I was sad and lonely. Reading was a wonderful constant from the harsh and ever changing variable of teenage hood. I always wonder who I would be today if I haven't explored the world through various author's lenses. Dan Brown needs a special mention here. His books transported me to various cities of the world without even leaving my house.

Don't get me wrong I wasn't that well off to get paperbacks and hardcovers all the time. Most of the time I just read random romance novels and fan fictions on the internet in the early years. Since then I have dabbled in many genres.

I will have to admit I don't see many kids these days reading when they look at their phones but instead scroll through various social media or play mind numbing games all day. I do that myself sometimes, but nothing beats the satisfaction I feel after reading a good book.

I also have to say since I didn't have anyone in my family who reads alot or gets me books whenever I asked, it was the internet that quenched my thirst for stories and kept it alive till I was able to find other ways to read. It was also the people I met online who recommended all the wonderful books that shaped my perspectives today.

So to me personally, I can't completely blame the internet for taking away the interest to read as we all are making do with the changing world and emerging technologies. I find myself reaching for audio books more these days due to minimal time and the strain at the end of the day.

About today's romance in books, honestly I found many of the stories I read in my teenage years glorify unhealthy relationships, be it portraying abusive partners as normal which if we think about, sets a bad example for the readers who might encounter the same instance in their lives and think of them as "normal". But I do see some developments in that area as more people are calling out such writings and their problems. Some books are even swoon worthy even without the dried roses and the jealous, macho men. But yes internet has taken away the joy that comes with doing something unique for that special someone as so many gifts and ideas are ready made and available already. It has curbed our ability to think on our own which reflects in today's romance novels too I think.

I do hope more parents encourage their kids to reach out for children's books rather than the pre-recorded rhymes and stories that keep even the babies glued to the screen. I also hope more people have someone to share their love for books and reading, which would help keep that part of them alive.

If books interest you, are part of life, the Internet will only help them. I have paper books, an e-reader, books that I downloaded from the Internet, an application on my smartphone. I also found my mother a book from one series that was missing there, using an online store.

Why am I again? If you put enough mind and heart into something, one does not interfere with the other at all. Never or almost never.

Originally posted by: devashree_h

I was fascinated with Books as a child. My friend introduced me to English Literature. I think Jane Eyre was the first book I read. She also introduced me to Sydney Sheldon, who became my favourite author. I read a lot of Sydney Sheldon books.

My speed of reading books has definitely decreased. I am more into reading quick snippets on internet now. But I miss physical books. I do buy them from time to time but I am very slow to read them. The last set of books that I read was the ASOIAF series, voraciously. I hope I will get some new books to read, which I cannot put down. I am more into fantasy, dystopian genre.

O i remember my Sidney Sheldon and Jeffrey Archer obsession days. Dad would be like, where did you blow all your pocket money🤣

Originally posted by: Nichuss

wow nice topic....

i too agree with TM... now days book reading reduced a lot... even digital reading i am nt sure.... children and adult are busy with mobile... reels.... games..... no time for book... we cant say children are wrong... its the circumstance current situation making this new gen world...

parents are full time working and have their own work stress and personal stress... along with that they spend some quality time with their children.... during that time, book take a back seat.... parents play time... study time... tv... online world.... children are tooo busy....

most of new gen are living a nuclear family consisting f parents n children ... grandparents are seen thru video call... once in a while if visiting native.... that chance f getting story... book reading is also blocked....

parents need to find some way to bring child attention to book than other material things... i believe school nowdays have newsreading section in assembly which makes students to refer any newspaper,,, and teachers also motivate them of reading books.... how much successful i dnt knw...

I agree, the lifestyle changes have put a lot of pressure on time and it seems we are almost in a hurry always. The moments of peace and tranquility are few and far too short to contain book reading. Hopefully though parents realise the value of the written word beyond school syllabus and foster the habit of reading. I think reading and travelling will always be invaluable sources to enrich a person's soul.

Originally posted by: So-So

As a child and teenager I devoured books. For me, a book is like a treasure, a door to another world. I read a few pages every day. Today it takes me longer to read a book than it used to. But nothing works without reading. In the early days of the Kindle, I couldn't imagine using one. Now I read novels almost exclusively with the Kindle. It fits in any pocket and is light.

The internet is not a full substitute for a book for me. There are online libraries where you can look at rare, old books or biographies of historical figures. That's a wonderful way to do research from home. But there's nothing like the feeling of holding a real book in your hand, leafing through it and reading.

But I think many kids and students tend to use the internet. It offers quickly a wealth of information at the click of a button. Social media, YT... offer information on almost every topic. I think it is the time we live in. Everyone has to decide for themselves whether they want to be permanently online or whether they want to make themselves comfortable with a thrilling or romantic book and a cup of tea or coffee at a favourite place.

Yes indeed YT and online ebooks have their advantage in today's hectic world where time is a scarce commodity. But so true that the feeling of leafing through a book remains unparalleled.