When Bacons, now , published its media directories online, I was so accustomed to turning the thin pages of the five green telephone bookish resources that I was forever lost. I needed to skim and scan and quickly flip the dog-eared newsprint with the flick of a licked tall man to make my media list.
Tactile. Tactilization. Tactilness.
I think the latter two mean something like, “I’m so old, I like to physically turn the page.” And, guess, what? That goes the same for my morning paper.
- I want to have a coffee and scan the headlines of the every day for blog fodder and client news.
- I want to take the entire sheet into my sight line and scan down the page without clicking, scrolling, tapping or sliding pads and mice and pointers and other spongy-tipped gizmos along a colored screen.
- I want to recycle the soy-ink, best newsprint for , who uses stacks of wet Wall Street Journals to shape and cool near-liquid glass into paper weights (I made two of them!).
- I want to mark up the story I need to read later and tear it out. I want to use it as reference to write a blog post and extrapolate snippets from the story. How can I do that from the iPad when I’m writing on the iPad?
I’m on the computer all day, and when I’m not I’m thinking about being on the computer; I dream of being a computer. I don’t wish to read my media online. Some outlets require that, but I’ll tell you I prefer to see the pretty colored pages with lots of advertising hit my mail box to the kitchen table to the dining room table to the office to the floor of the office and then eventually to the recycle bin. Or, perhaps I share copies of some pieces, like or .
I haven’t counted in awhile, but I subscribe to likely two dozen periodicals; there are stacks and stacks of them all over the office shelves. I could probably keep an art class swimming in collage materials for years. Do not even think of me as a hoarder! That’s not the case; it’s just that I will one day get to my reading and find a gem to inspire my story writing.
Don’t you wonder how I write about such a wide range of topics? I read a wide range of print publications. I am not inspired as much when I read online. I am unfocused; over-stimulated and cannot pay attention to the story and the never-ending clicks that take me deeper with snarky comments from anonymous idiots.
Think about the peacefulness that goes along with reading a publication that smears ink on your sweaty hands? Then compare the experience of reading the same publication online with all the intense distractions targeting your attention.
As long as publishers are foolish enough to offer me a subscription for $10/year, or thereabouts, I’m good to sign on the dotted line and have a hard-copy publication arrive in my mail box.
What’s your practice? Online or print publications?
I will never lose my love of the printed page. One of my favourite activities is to go into book stores – especially “new and used” bookstores, where the collections are eclectic, sometimes dust-covered, often underlined pages and a bit dog-eared, and roam through the stacks. Equally, I love the crisp, clean smell-look-and-feel of new books, with their shiny dust-covers and vivid graphics.I always say: I don’t find books. Books find me. They almost literally jump off the shelf.Yes, I do seek out titles, especially for business.
But when it comes to reading for personal and pleasure purposes, books find me. I will and do read online, but nothing compares to old-school, print publications. That’s probably why I’m also such a fan of longhand cursive writing, in beautifully bound lined journals. I’m a Renaissance woman in a digital age:) Cheers! Kaarina P.S. Your post is timely as I prepare to publish my blog post (a la Gini Dietrich ‘s recent post) on my 10 favourite books.
@KDillabough Gini Dietrich So great to see we’re all kindred in this regard! I was writing a few letters, yes, I still write letters, and realized how horrid my penmanship has become due to the computer. I’m so sad about that, but don’t know how to rectify unless I practice handwriting again.
I can see how we’d spend our time together, Kaarina — at artisan shops with jewelry and in used book stores! Absolute! Thanks for coming over!
@Soulati | B2B Social Media Marketing Gini Dietrich That’s a date! Cheers! Kaarina
I have both Kindle and iPad, I read so many PDFs on my computer, but you know what… I joined the local library few weeks ago because nothing can replace a book in hands! I even prefer subscribing to printed magazines instead of their online versions. I don’t have the feeling I own the book when I buy it for my reader! I want my own copy that I can read any time, make notes on with a pen and borrow to friends 🙂
@Brankica Hi, Bran!! I am so happy to see you here! I have to get with you on a few business matters and I see you’ve been quite busy over there! Congrats!
You’re so right…I have a Kindle and iPad, too, but rarely use the Kindle to read — first it takes $$ and I’m shocked at how much they want for a digital book; second, I’d rather hold my book, too. There are a lot of people who feel that way. So, I’m hopeful we’ll still see print copies of all things we can read — especially to our kids. There’s nothing like reading a book to a child, no matter how old they are.
Such a timely post for me, Jayme! Yesterday I was stuck at the mechanic’s when we had to turn around and go back to get the AC checked out after we’d just gotten it repaired. I thought I would go nuts sitting in the lobby, with all I had to do waiting back at the office. Then I spotted Rhode Island’s local paper, The Providence Journal, on a table next to a stack of pop culture magazines.
I spent the next hour reading every article in the first section, articles I would never have taken the time to read online (too long), and let me tell you — “peace” is exactly the right word to describe the experience. I just might subscribe!
@New England Multimedia I never would’ve suggested that reading hard copy anything is peaceful, but you know what? It is! I am so over stimulated,and to get away from my computer is when I can finally begin to kinda sorta almost relax. Heh.
I’m sorry, I had to stop at “flick of a licked tall man.” Enjoying that… a second longer… now back to the post.
My practice? Online mostly, but I reserve special stuff for print. I order from Amazon regularly but it has never yet been for a digital book. When I WANT to read–and re-read, and truly get absorbed in reading (no distractions in the sidebar and in my desktop menubar and in the windows I have stacked behind this one, as you said)–I need the ink on the page.
I don’t think it’s a generational thing; I think we all need that. I’m trying to make sure we do, anyway. My 3-year-old doesn’t read online. She plays games, watches videos. But she goes for her books whenever I say, “Let’s read.”
@ShakirahDawud Not sure where this stuff comes from; glad a sister mother caught that and knew what I was talking about! LOL I think there should be a study by some grad students at Medill to research brain wave patterns in those who read stories online on Mashable or CNN versus on a newspaper or magazine. Bet there’d be fodder for advertisers there.
Absolutely bang on the money Jayme. You can’t sniff an iPad – well you can I guess but you won’t get that gorgeous fresh off the press smell that you do with a glossy mag or periodical. I stare at a PC screen all day long. I want real pages to feel and turn. I want newsprint (very good for cleaning windows btw!) Once again you’ve captured exactly how I feel – this is becoming spooky now!
@joolspayne Jools! What a delight to have you here! I just sniffed a hot-off-the press newsletter I wrote and there it was, that fresh inky scent I love so much. Remember when new cars stopped smelling like new cars and everyone rushed to get the new car spray to spray their interior? (Well, that happened in the States, anyway!) And, when I smell creosote I recall my youth with grandma traversing the rickety wooden bridge. My daughter smells all food before she tastes it and refuses to eat if it’s not pleasurable!
@Soulati | B2B Social Media Marketing An iPad scratch n sniff app …just waiting for it guys, just waiting… 😎
@joolspayne You know which smell best to me are the old musty library books! Yes, the same ones in danger of being burned or something because library funding is being cut…
@ShakirahDawud Library funding is being cut in the UK too. I re-discovered our local library earlier this year – a truly fantastic resource, with passionate committed librarians who LOVE books (NB: not iPads, tablets or other shiny things).
I love holding a book and like you, the feel of the paper in my hands. I used to be a major crossword puzzler, inhaling the paper with my morning coffee, then saving the crossword for the end and in spare moments throughout the day. I inhale my Inc magazine, thank you very much and prefer to read it in my hands vs online on the iPad.
I do own both a kindle and iPad and while convenient, think there’s nothing more delicious on a flight or on the beach, than my favorite magazine or book.
I loved this post. ESP that “flick of a licked tall man” part. Nicely done.
@EricaAllison Did you really do the whole thing? I’m impatient; I want to read all the clues and then answer all the easy ones and then go back and find something almost as easy and that’s probably why I didn’t do well on multiple choice tests — always looking for the big easy.
I think you’re gonna have to explain to @rdopping what a tall man is. Or, maybe @ShakirahDawud can help…moms; we know everything. SO GREAT to see you!
I voted for ya tonight!
Jesus Murphy. You are one funny lady. “with the flick of a licked tall man.” What the heck is THAT? “I dream of being a computer.” Ha,ha,ah-ha…..annnnd “the never-ending clicks that take me deeper with snarky comments from anonymous idiots.”
Hey, I started out as one of those idiots, ya know?
There is something about the tactile nature and feel of a book or magazine. There is a sensuality to it. It feels personal to me. We just go this new series from https://www.live-inspired.com/index.cfm and they are just beautiful books. The graphics, typeface and feel of the pages can never be emulated by a screen. I am old school that way.
The one literary vice I have is reading blogs and there is no real other way to do that than staring at a screen. Great piece Jayme. Great, great piece.
@rdopping What? You were anon one day recently in comments? Cowardly lion transitions into courageous cougar? Or, is that me…once I got +K for Cougar…remember that, Guys?
I think you’re a Luddite.
Heh, did you figure that one out? Was that a compliment from Danny Brown ? LOL!!
Me, funny? That’s a #RockHot…it just comes and goes, ebbs and flows, ya know? And, at this hour it’s BlogJack Time! @KDillabough — are you such a noob, Ralph, that you don’t know what that is? Ask @EricaAllison or Bill Dorman and they’re gonna tell you.
@Soulati | B2B Social Media Marketing I’m sorry. I can’t figure out how I pissed you off.
@rdopping You didn’t piss her off; quit being so damn sensitive Ralph. We only pick on you, ’cause we luv ya. Do we have to explain all our humor to you Canucks? Humour you might get, but humor we give……….:).
Just go figure out how to shoot below a 90 and then come back w/ your bitchin’ and moanin’…………….
Trust me, you’ll know when somebody digs in on ya; for now, you still have a hall pass but that doesn’t mean we can’t pick on you.
@bdorman264 Apparently so.
@rdopping Start worrying when everybody ignores you; like they do me….
We’s just playing sir; it’s all in jest.
@bdorman264 @rdopping …did someone say something?
@bdorman264 @rdopping Don’t let that jamoke kid ya; he averages 50 comments per post…how the heck?
See, that’s not snark, that’s pure love!
P.S. I just went to Ralph Dopping house to see what he had to say on his blog. Is it just me, or does this guy really confuse you with all the themes and errant messages he sends out? Maybe it’s just me; after all, Danny Brown called him a Luddite…maybe that means he rides a horse.
Dear Mr. @rdopping I so enjoy you and your company in my house. That’s why I go to your house to give you shit. That’s why you need to understand that me giving shit to someone I enjoy is meant in the kindest of fashions, exactly as Mr. @bdorman264 has suggested (THANK YOU, KING!).
When someone writes with the VERVE (there’s your “V” for @KDillabough ) you do, you can only expect one thing — snark? — if you want to call it that; dry Death Valley @ShakirahDawud humor; blatant in your face accusations bordering on jest and hearts and flowers and NOTHING else.
The day I make you think you need a think skin as a blogger is the day I quit; not lying. We’re only just learning one another’s personalities, and apparently you’re taking mine a wee bit too too. I will tone it down, tread on cotton balls and be nothing but sweet and chocolate, until I’m not.
So, are we friends again? I apologize for my rabble rowsing; the hour was late (after 11 p.m. — the time when a good blog jack occurs). I will be more sensitive to you…but heck, haven’t you been blogging a year for criminey?
Good Morning, Ralph! I love you to pieces and thank you more for gracing this house! Have a lovely, pleasant day — I do mean that — all sarcasm aside, Friend.
@Soulati | B2B Social Media Marketing @rdopping @bdorman264 @ShakirahDawud You mean I missed a good ‘ol fashioned #TeamBlogJack?! Jimminey Crickets:) Thanks for that V word Jayme, and, as I’ve watched from the peanut gallery, it seems that you, Bill and Ralph have clarified things mightily, and we can all have fun in the sandbox that is social. Cheers! Kaarina
@Soulati | B2B Social Media Marketing @bdorman264 @KDillabough @ShakirahDawud Appreciated. The first time is always the worst. Bill is right. I’d rather that than be ignored. Thanks for being so “kind”.
It’s funny…I used to want to do exactly as you describe here. But then I started traveling as much as I am (13th week in a row right now – ug) and it’s SO MUCH easier to have things in one spot (my iPad) and not have to lug magazines, newspapers, and books from city to city with me. It’s definitely changed my reading habits…and I’ve found I read more now than ever before.
@ginidietrich I hear you on the lugging of the ‘zines and books. Always a drag and especially when you’re on the road as much as you are. Wow. So great you stopped in during your hectic schedule, Twin. Am missing you, although you’re accounted for every day at your house.
@Soulati | B2B Social Media Marketing That’s the beauty of scheduling posts…you can write them in the middle of the night. But commenting on blogs as to be in real-time so I can’t get to it as much as I like. Now if we could invent scheduling comments ahead of when the blog post is written…
@ginidietrich @Soulati | B2B Social Media Marketing The rate at which I inhale books and magazines has definitely increased since I added a Nook (now Lisa’s!) and an iPad to my stable of gadgets, and you can’t deny the simplicity of having a large volume of content contained on a single device.
And while there is indeed a certain sensuality to reading a dead-tree version of a book or newspaper tied intimately to nostalgia and memory, authors best positioned for success are those who fully embrace the digital format (and some may eschew physical copies entirely). chuckwendig jchutchins and I had an interesting dialogue sometime ago discussing the changing publishing industry. Sentimental attachments to the physical book is primarily a reader’s perspective and less so the author’s.
And while I consume a great deal of content digitally, there are certain books that I simply will not ever own digitally – even if they were available (i.e Lord of the Rings, The Riverside Chaucer, The Riverside Shakespeare) because they are so deeply rooted in my memory. My annual read of LOTR (complete with that big, heavy leatherbound volume) is important. 🙂
@jasonkonopinski @ginidietrich chuckwendig jchutchins So, do you think an author has no clue HOW he/she wants the story to be consumed…like maybe just being a producing machine and let the publishers worry about how it appears? Hmm, I want to think on that.
I’m sure Shakespeare and Chaucer would relish their positioning inside leather-bound gold-edged pages and expect it, too!
@Soulati | B2B Social Media Marketing @ginidietrich jchutchins chuckwendig No, quite the opposite. An author makes a very conscious decision about how they’d like their content to be consumed, but the ones that are best positioned to be successful are those who understand the changing publishing landscape and secure their place.
@jasonkonopinski @ginidietrich jchutchins chuckwendig Nice.
So, I’m going to ask you a question…I am forever seeing people who write like this…”An author makes a decision…but those THAT understand publishing.”
I was taught that a person/noun is a “who” instead of a THAT; apparently, you were taught the same? What’s right? I am forever correcting it to “who.”
@Soulati | B2B Social Media Marketing @ginidietrich You two make me smile 🙂 I still laugh at when you two caught up outside the restaurant and posted a quick vlog when you called the iPhone camera “$#1tty” Jayme and @ginidietrich had to apologise to her Mom! Real time posts from the UK are a drag…my day is ending just as you guys are hitting your stride!
@joolspayne @ginidietrich Oh, man, you watched that? That was hilarious; I laughed my arse off … i was giddy from flirting and that’s what happens … the filtering light turns off. Heh.
I do most of my reading online, but after reading this, I think I’m going to kick back and read a good paperback book : )
Cheers Jayme!
@Mark_Harai Drop by my place Mark: I’ve got some suggestions for you in my Top 13 Favourite Books of All-Time post today. I know which one in particular I’d suggest for you:) Cheers! Kaarina
@KDillabough Heading over soon : )
@Mark_Harai Trust me, I think you’ll find the solace and serenity what the Dr. ordered.
@Soulati | B2B Social Media Marketing Dr. Dillabough – has a nice ring to it : )
Sometimes I like to take my media in places where electronics should go. Just saying
Sometimes I like to take my media in places where electronics shouldn’t go. Just saying