The probable extinction of printed books: Shifts and debates in publishing techniques

A cup of coffee, sitting in your lawn with a good book in hand has been the best idea of a holiday for over a decade. But the development of digital publishing industry has somehow managed to cause a shift in the very idea of books. Amazon’s kindle has played a quite significant role in the shift. The never ending debate between printed books and digital books might have pros and cons for both the sides, but the history of books and publishing is a more interesting story.

If the definition of book is searched today, it comes out to be – “A written or printed work consisting of pages glued or sewn together along one side and bound in covers.” But the very essence of a book is sharing information. It started from pictographs in Greece, then came the clay tablets which had writings, then there were scrolls. The scrolls were usually made of Papyrus. There are a few dated as old as 3000 B.C., mostly because Papyrus was cheap and easy to produce (much like paper widely used in modern days). Another popular book form was a tablet, a precursor of student’s slate, which was mostly made of wood. These were used in most of the Western countries, which witnessed a change in these forms around 400 A.D., to codex – a binding of sheets of the same shape and size. Many manuscripts were written by various authors, using the codex. The problem in using the codex was that the books once written, could not be reproduced. Gutenberg solved this problem in 1440’s by creating a printing press, which was capable of publishing multiple copies of the same text. Various texts began to be translated and different countries started establishing printing presses. Printed books were the most common forms of books, till recently, internet came to exist. The internet has on one hand made books easily available for everyone and on the other hand has almost destroyed the legacy of printed books.

Can printed books be replaced?

 
One of the most popular debates today is between printed and digital books. There are advantages and disadvantages for both, but as evolution causes extinction of old species, so might be the fate of printed books. With the rising demand for sustainable development, its e-versions are gaining support because using e-books would help save the environment. They are easy to store, easy to manage, on a digital disk of the size of a human hand. On the other hand, printed books require a large storage and are difficult to manage. Another advantage of digital books is their easy availability and access. With emergence of e-commerce giants and the amount of funding they have managed to raise, there has been a significant drop in book prices (both digital and printed). One question this raises is that, Do the falling prices of books cause a Decrease in income for writers? The answer is no, it’s the funding of start-ups that is used to provide books cheaply and not the writer’s reduced income. But recent figures show a fall in the number of digital books, mostly because people are reluctant to pay for them. There are other advantages of printed books. They act as a link for human interaction. A printed book can be loaned, while an e-book can’t. A book can be touched, can be smelled, can be felt, it’s an experience, e-book on the other hand is just a digital file. Also, one can just read a book when reading a printed book. It almost eliminates the multitasking, which helps in improving concentration. While e-books stand their ground, another form of books – audio books are slightly gaining their significance. They are unique in their presentation, do not use visual aids as the other forms. They have certain benefits like e-books, but there are losses too. The most prominent cause for their limited use is that the author’s narration speed is not in sync with the listener’s interpretation speed. Nevertheless, every form of books has it's own boons and banes, and a debate on which form is better might be pointless. There may be steam and ice, but water still survives. Though they are forms of the same substance, they co-exist and change states depending on the environmental conditions. Similarly, there may be different forms of digital publishing, but they can co-exist depending on the conditions and the choice of the readers.

 

Books can co-exist in different forms

Books and publishing may have a long and quite an interesting history but one idea that is and will be always true is “Change is the only constant”. The humans have gone from writing on tablets to writing on screen and to just hearing, but what has remained constant is the sharing and accepting of ideas. The purpose of a book is to spread knowledge and there can be a change in the instruments used to share it, but knowledge is constant and remains. An elite section of the society believes that books are a medium to survive even after their death, through their ideas, through people coming to know about their thoughts. Eventually like the dinosaurs, the print media may extinct, but that process may take more time than expected, due to sentiments some have attached to printed books.

An Interview with Sheila Nielson - author of Forbidden Sea

“Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested: that is, some books are to be read only in parts, others to be read, but not curiously, and some few to be read wholly, and with diligence and attention.”   - Sir Francis Bacon

The “Forbidden Sea” written by Sheila A. Nielson is one of the books that is to be chewed and digested; read wholly and with diligence and attention.

The book introduces us to Adrianne, a young girl whose childhood is robbed when a tragic accident steals her father. The brave young girl deals with troubles far above her age and works very hard to support her mother, sister and aunt. Her already difficult life turns upside down when she encounters a mermaid. Now, her dreams are full of the mermaid’s singing as she attempts to lure Adrianne into the sea. The superstitious folk of the island where Adrianne lives turn on her and shun her family.

The book combines the elements of drama, fantasy and romance to tell the tale of this courageous young girl who now has a way to escape the hard life she leads – an underwater paradise with an elusive Sea Prince. However, a sense of responsibility for the ones who love and depend on her hits Adrianne as she makes a choice.

The story is an inspiring one - teaching us about loyalty, love and hardship. Today, we talk to the creator of the amazing story – Ms. Sheila Nielson about her inspirations, her reading habits and more importantly, encouragement for young writers to follow her footsteps.

Q. I feel a lot can be told about a person from their reading habits. Looking back, which of the books you read as a kid do you feel shaped you as a writer today?

The book that probably shaped me the most as an author was L. M. Montgomery's Emily of New Moon series.  I love Anne of Green Gables as well, but it was really Emily I loved most. Emily wanted to be a writer. She had a lot of people tell her she couldn't do it. But she did it anyway. I read the Emily books over and over again. Something in them spoke to me. I loved her indomitable spirit. The passion she felt for nature was so much like my own. She was mischievous and stubborn at times--but deep down she had a good heart. I remember trying to tell my grandmother about why I loved Emily of New Moon so much. After a while, my grandmother asked if I would be willing to read the first chapter to her. We ended up reading the whole series together. That was the timeless magic of Emily. My grandmother and I were generations apart--but grandmother ended up loving the books ever bit as much as I did. Those are the kinds of books I want to write. Something everyone, young and old, would love to read.

 Q. The book, Forbidden Sea, is full of beautiful imagery. One of my favorite descriptions is the ‘luminous grandeur of the Sea Queen’s palace’. Is this something you have always imagined palaces to be like or did the picture just come to you while writing the book?

One of the things I did while writing Forbidden Sea, was I created a musical soundtrack, that I would listen to as I wrote--especially when I was writing the underwater scenes. The music helped me float out of my own world into that of the merfolk. It helped me fall deeper into their kingdom, and see it inside my mind. During the scene where I wrote about the whale--I listened to recordings of whale songs. I also watched a lot of documentaries about scuba diving. This helped me to see what living underwater would look like. I also went swimming a lot during the period I was writing the story. I would try different things (like making noise underwater), just to see what it felt like in my ears. All these things helped me write those final scenes so that they felt more real.

Q. There is much talk about the upcoming sequel to Forbidden Sea. When do we get to read it and is it Adri-based?

I am independently publishing the sequel--so when it comes out will depend on how long it takes me to get everything done. Since I have a full time job as a children's librarian already--I have to sneak all that work into the small amount of free time that I have left each day. But I am working hard every day to get it done as soon as possible.  I am hoping for a release sometime this summer--but that might be a little too optimistic. We will have to see. Adri will be in the story, but she will not be the main character this time around. She will be important to the plot though--and we will get to see what happened to her after the events of Forbidden Sea. One thing we will get to do is finally meet the Sea Prince and learn much more about him.

Q. I feel Adri is a symbol of hope and courage to stand up to all the Cora Lynn Dunsts of the world. Is there a story behind how this character came to being-real life incidents, people, etc.? What was the inspiration behind this amazing character?

I wanted Adrianne to be an amazing person who had no idea how truly amazing she was. I thought about the people who had made a difference in my own life. I had one friend in particular who lifted all those whose lives came in contact with her. I always wished I could be more like her. The kind of person who makes a difference in this world. The kind of person who never realizes their own power and strength. It was this friend that inspired Adrianne's character and gave her a soul.

Q. Circling back to your reading habits, do you have a list of books that you plan of reading in the future (a book-bucket list, if you will)? (I am sure our readers would be excited to learn what kind of books feature in an author’s list).

I've been really enjoying the new Lockwood and Co. series by Jonathan Stroud. I am dying to read the next book which isn't out yet. I'm also really excited to read the next book in The Queen's Thief Series by Megan Whalen Turner. Other books I want to read are: Echo by Pam Munoz Ryan, Listen, Slowly by Thanhha Lai, and whatever book R.J. Palacio decides to write next.

Q. Also, if you were to recommend one book (apart from Forbidden Sea) that one must read in one’s lifetime, what would it be?

Emily of New Moon by L. M. Montgomery. (Of course.)

Q. Forbidden Sea (in my opinion) is one of those books that make one want to pen down one’s thoughts. So, in conclusion, could you give some words of encouragement and advice to all the budding young authors out there trying to follow their dreams?

Read lots of books. The best way to learn how to write is to see how other authors do it. Especially authors that do it well. But most of all--don't let anyone tell you that you can't write. So many people told me that breaking into publishing now is nearly impossible. That it was a waste of my time. Don't you believe it. Don't you quit. If you are going to write--write for yourself and the pure joy of creation. The rest is just icing on the cake.

OUR STORY

My first memory of you was when you were pink and blue and yellow and green. You showed me  butterflies and bees, cuddly bears with honey and funny trees. You taught me my first words.

And then came the mischievous fairies, clever dwarfs, wicked magicians and brave Knights. Together, we dove into rabbit holes, fought wars, kissed frogs and wished upon a star. You showed me how to have a good time and be adventurous, to hope and believe.

And then, you brought along the Famous Five and the Secret Seven. We joined their clubs, kept their secrets, recovered lost treasure, helped the police, caught bad guys and saved the day. I learnt how to be curious and kind, brave and intelligent.

And then, suddenly, we were in Hogwarts playing Quidditch, concocting potions, jinxing my nemeses, battling dragons, trolls and three-headed dogs, vanished teacups with eggnog. You made me laugh till my stomach hurt, comforted me when I cried. You taught me about friendship and love.

It was time now to get serious. Important exams to give, career choices to make. It was time to prove myself to the world. And you stayed with me through it all. We stayed up nights learning History, Geography and Civics, experimented with Chemicals, measured heights of buildings, performed complex mathematical calculations. I came out of the exam hall in flying colors.

And now,I'm 21 years old.  It is time for Archer's cunningness and John Grisham's lawyers, the classic Jane Austen and Jane Eyre and Stephen King's horror. It is time for me to face the real world but I have no fear because you will always be here.

You are my best friend, my teacher and you are such a keeper. 

You are my bookshelf.

Books of The Startup World

Since we have written so many articles on fiction, the Aspiring Bibliophile Team thought that this week, we could come up with something for our classy non-fiction lovers. So here is a huge treat for you guys.

Gokul Nath Sridhar is an enigmatic 22 year old entrepreneur. At the young age of 19 while he was still in college (BITS-Pilani), he founded Tenreads, an angel-backed startup based out of Chennai that aims at creating a delightful content discovery experience on the Internet. Let us see what books help these startup founders tick.

ABT: Hi, Gokul. How are you doing?

GOKUL: Hi Mrudula. I'm doing well. Thanks!How are you?

ABT: I'm good too.You are the founder of a startup called Tenreads, correct?

GOKUL: Yep. That's the product we are trying to build.

ABT: Can you tell our readers a little bit about Tenreads?

GOKUL: The Internet is a noisy place. People are bombarded with an endless stream of mostly useless information. I mean, why would you really care about where your high school friend from a decade ago ate her dinner yesterday. We are trying to cut through this cacophony and figure out the ten best stories everyday ​on the things you care about!

ABT: Wow, that sounds interesting. Are you guys doing well? It is super fascinating!

GOKUL: We started building this to solve a problem that we had -- eventually it turned out to be something much bigger! And yeah, we are doing fabulous right now. 

ABT: Tell me, Gokul, as a startup founder -- do you read a lot of books?

GOKUL: Of course -- it is as close to personal advice from folks who have ​built businesses or facets of businesses as it can get! On an average, I read about three books per month.

ABT: What specific areas do you generally read about?

GOKUL: I read about Company Culture, Product Design, Marketing. These areas fascinate me, and there is so much to learn.

ABT: Can you name the best book you have read in each of the topics you have mentioned, and why you believe that area is important to you?

GOKUL: On Company Culture, I highly recommend The Hard Thing about Hard Things by Ben Horowitz, one of the startup geniuses of our generation. I think Ben boils to an essence the hardest elements of building a company and lets you know that you are not alone in this struggle. This could perhaps be one of the best books I have read in my lifetime -- so dear that I have read it seven times. I think company culture is something every founder should take very seriously, and this book helps you understand just how serious it is.

On Product Design, there's this masterpiece by Donald Norman titled The Design of Everyday Things. I'm amazed by the level of details that Norman has an eye for -- no wonder this man was Steve Jobs' most favorite designer. When you are building something for people, it always helps to put yourself in their shoes and see for a moment how that feels like. This book helps you do exactly that!

Marketing -- ah, one of my primal loves! Marketing is essentially telling the story of something -- your company, your product, your volunteer campaign -- something. In this regard, it is mighty useful if you can think of yourself as a storyteller than a marketer, and Made to Stick by Chip and Dan Heath helps you come up with insanely awesome stories that spread like wildfire. I like their methodical and logical deconstruction of something as intangible and emotional as a story -- giving you a framework to tell great stories yourself.

ABT: If there were one book everyone must read before they die, what, according to you, would be it?

GOKUL: I think everyone should read The Art of Thinking Clearly by Rolf Dobelli. It has helped me think objectively during various trying times, and I owe a lot of my rational thought process -- which I take a lot of pride in, btw -- to this book.​ Irrespective of who you are, what you do, or how old you are, you must read this book. Trust me, you'll thank me later.

ABT: Thank you so much for your time, Gokul. We appreciate it.

GOKUL: Happy to help, Mrudula. Have fun.

The afterlife explained...

The journey of an 83 year old man who has lived a fulfilling physical life but an unsatisfied mental life, this story begins where the rest end, the death of the protagonist. Hence the journey implies the afterlife. The original impression sort of throws us off by implying a religious novel however the book revolves around the five people you or anybody is destined to meet in heaven. Not random folks, but folks from your life whose life you altered or who affected you!!!

Eddie, the maintenance guy at an amusement park, Ruby Pier, led a predominantly banal life. He did fight in the World War II, where he was tortured at a PoW camp. While escaping though, he burnt the huts around and got hit by a bullet in his legs. One of the huts that he lighted up, he felt the presence of a kid, however, before he could enter the hut, he got hit by a bullet. Due to loss of his father and an ambitious brother, he was left to stay back in his hometown and take care of his mother. Being under qualified and physically handicapped, he could earn just one job that he dreaded the most, that of the maintenance guy at the amusement park that his abusive father did. All this while, he married the blossom of his life, his childhood sweetheart.

While saving a child at the amusement park, he dies and enters heaven where our book begins. His 5 people are - Carnie, the blue man from the freak show at Ruby Pier; Captain of his army from World War II; Mrs. Rubie, the owner of Ruby Pier; Marguriete, his wife and an unknown child. 

It is one by one that he realizes that the place, things and events that he hated most had shaped his life. It was Carnie from Ruby Pier (the park that he hated!), who saved his life and sacrificed his own when Eddie was a kid. It was the captain who had hit him by the bullet, the bullet that he blamed for his in-capabilities all his life, to stop him from entering the hut and getting burnt down. The captain even sacrificed himself to save the troop from a land mine. Mrs. Ruby was the one who told him the sacrificing story of her husband and workers like his father behind the foundation of a park that never failed to entertain the town. It made him realize the pressure under which his father worked to have had a cranky look towards life. His wife reminded him of the wonderful years that they spent, their marriage years even though they were bereft of the love of a child. And in the end, he meets the kid. The kid from the hut, who he thought was an illusion!

The kid ends the story by making him realize that even though he couldn't save one kid, he saved thousands by taking care of them in the park. He, in fact, died saving one! But all that might not have happened if he wouldn't have been saved by Carnie, hit by a bullet by the captain and stayed put in the hometown because of his wife. Your life touches many and your life is touched by many. His afterlife explained to him the essence of his life, how precious it was! The story inspires me to believe in an afterlife that would answer my present.

The story makes one wonder whether heaven is a destination or an answer! 

Forensic Science: A Sherlockian perspective

Sherlock Holmes was the world’s first and foremost forensic scientist. The statement may sound strange given that the person in question was a figment of the mind. So, the true credit actually goes to his creator, the literary genius, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. In Conan Doyle's opinion, science is what set Holmes apart from other detectives who usually relied on chance to solve crimes.

The books of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle are a bundle of scientific information till now. In fact, the Chemical Adventures of Sherlock Holmes are often used as supplement to classroom studies in chemistry. Examples are "Sherlock Holmes and the Yellow Prisms" which provides a problem in organic and inorganic qualitative analysis while "Mrs. Hudson's Golden Brooch" which emphasizes qualitative analysis, metallurgy, and gravimetric analysis.

Many of the advances in forensic science were done in reference to stories of Sherlock Holmes. For example, “The Sign of Four” talked about using fingerprint evidence. Interestingly this book was written in 1890 when two techniques of identification were being used; the second being bertillonage (also called anthropometry). This was the system of identification by measuring twelve characteristics of the body. The two methods competed for forensic ascendancy for many years. The astute Conan Doyle had picked the eventual winner long before.

Another such incredible example is “Study in Scarlet”, in which the detective expounds upon the importance of the "Sherlock Holmes Test for Blood" as the "most practical medico-legal discovery for years." He talks about a reagent that is precipitated by haemoglobin and nothing else. This is in fact in reference to guaiacum (a resin isolated from trees) in combination with hydrogen peroxide. If a stain turned blue when treated with these reagents, it was considered a positive result indicative of blood. It was not until 1893, a full seven years after the publication of Study in Scarlet and 12 years after Sherlock Holmes formulated his famous test for blood that the very first book published on this subject appeared. Sherlock Holmes’ test for blood thus gave impetus to development of more improved techniques of blood identification.

In the one case involving a typewriter, “A Case of Identity” (1891), only Holmes realized the importance of the fact that all the letters received by Mary Sutherland from Hosmer Angel were typewritten. Holmes figures out the idiosyncrasies of the typewriter by just analyzing a typewritten note. In the United States, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) started a Document Section soon after its crime lab opened in 1932 (forty years later).

This is just the tip of the iceberg. Holmes was seen to analyze footprints on quite a variety of surfaces: clay soil, snow, carpet, dust, mud, blood, ashes, and even a curtain. The footprint analysis was almost entirely responsible for solving the case (Boscombe Valley Mystery). These techniques of deduction might have existed but Holmes was the one who formalized experiments and observations into a scientific discipline.

The TV Show, Sherlock BBC, keeps up to this chemist genius created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. In the adventure of Green Ladder (not revealed on the show), Sherlock relies on the traces of green paint in the gravel to solve the case.

Clearly, Sherlock Holmes was a man ahead of his time. What seemed peculiar and far-fetched then is quite common and widely used now. Basic science departments in medical schools provide professional education for future physicians, supply academic graduate and postdoctoral training to research scientists.

The innovative academic program that the world’s only consulting detective created for himself in the Victorian era is not unlike that received by scientists in toxicology and forensic science. But, Sherlock Holmes was the first one to do so.

Sherlocked, aren’t you?

References:

-SHERLOCK HOLMES: The Education of the World's First Forensic Scientist. The Hounds Collection Vol. 10, May 2005, p 66-72

-The Scientific Method of Sherlock Holmes by James F. O’Brien.

-http://www.thescienceofdeduction.co.uk

-The Chemical Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, Volume vi, Issue 1 March 8, 2011, ACS Publications

(First published by the writer in

https://medium.com/@ashantikiran/forensic-science-a07d273c2643) 

A TRIBUTE TO R K LAXMAN

                                                                       

I have always wished writers be immortal so that they never stop writing. I wish I could say the same for R K Laxman. The world recently observed the end of the amazing cartoonist and great literary genius.

Most people knew him as the foremost cartoonist in our country whose touch of satire in the common man marked the beginning of the day for many. However, hidden underneath the cartoons was someone who could express satire in his writings. While he hasn't published many books, his autobiography is worth a read. The Tunnel of Time expresses a beautifully crafted journey from a simple boy interested in drawing to a successful cartoonist. The description of his childhood is especially well drawn up - comprising of his strict father and his routine life, his creative mother who was a voracious reader and his bossy older brother who was constantly trying to inculcate good habits in him.

"I drew objects that caught my eye outside the window of my room – the dry twigs, leaves and lizard-like creatures crawling about, the servant chopping firewood and, of course, and number of crows in various postures on the rooftops of the buildings opposite"
— R. K. Laxman

Some of his lesser known works but equally amazing include short stories like "The Gold Frame". On careful reading one can notice the subtle similarity between his and R. K Narayan (his older brother's) writings. Both of them immortalize the passive hapless common man. In "The Gold Frame", the protagonist is the owner of a small stall namely Modern Frame Works. Like his brother does in most of his works, R K Laxman brings out the hypocrisy and false prestige of the middle class.

R K Laxman's death marks the end of an era for the journalism world. One would be hard pressed these days to find a writer/cartoonist who creates something magical from the simple pleasures of life.