Another item found at the AAUP Program Committee facebook page. The New York Times asks what happens when your book doesn’t have a jacket — a la kindle, nook, eReader. Will this impact readers who make book-buying decisions based on the books they see people reading at the gym, on the subway, in the park, and on and on? I am always checking out people’s reading material — it doesn’t mean I will buy that book, but it is a way of taking the pulse of what books are out there. Of course, this is done surreptitiously. Perhaps in the era of the eBook, we will actually have to (gasp) ask people what they are reading and engage in conversation.
What do you think? The New York Times article quotes Maud Newton saying, “People like to show off what they’re doing and what they like.” Is displaying the jacket of the book you are reading really important?
On March 31st, 2010 at 1:07 pm Maud replied:
To clarify — since Motoko Rich could only excerpt a tiny part of our conversation — I personally don’t care whether people know what I’m reading (that’s what my site is for), but I do think some readers like to communicate their preferences.