Digital Humanities

I don’t agree with your statement that “people now mostly read physical literary books for joy, not necessity”; the vast majority of educational curricula still rely on the use of physical books. I do all of my research reading in print form, as I can’t remember the things that I read on a screen with enough clarity to work them into what I am writing. I see you making some hasty judgments about others’ reading habits that are likely based on your own subjective experiences, and I’d warn you to resist making your experiences “the rule” of a given practice.

I also don’t agree with your statement that “reading has become less intense” with the help of digital texts and resources. If anything, reading for researchers and scholars has become more intense, because digital resources reveal the vast amount of print information that exists to be read (as opposed to, say, a library shelf, which only reveals what it has in stock, and no more).

I think this is an interesting point here, “that reading has become a less intense and more relaxed activity with the help of the digital”.  I agree that it has indeed become easier given the amount of information we all have access to, and so easily, but I think because of that, reading, at least in the sense of ease, requires that much more work.  Because we have this incredible access to these other resources courtesy of the internet, I think more needs to be done, and to an extent, is expected.  So I think perhaps that reading being less intense and more relaxed is the result of the convenience and ease that comes with the different nuances of the internet.

So, can digital reading not evoke the same sense of passion and intimacy?  What is it about reading digitally that seems to have changed the relationship people have with reading? I agree that reading a physical book elicits a different reaction, at least for myself, than reading something on a screen. But does that necessarily mean that someone might be different? I think this is relative as well, because you and I likely have different perspectives on reading and books than someone in a different field perhaps, because it’s what we do. For those who dislike reading in general, I would assumed they have a different sense of the changed relationship with reading and books.

You make an interesting point here, that the definition of reading “in the era of the internet depends on the writer and he/she evaluates it”. I like this connection between writing and reading that you make here, something indeed prevalent in this field.  But I think your ultimate point, that the definition of reading is relative, is important. However, its interesting the way the way reading is evaluated and defined has changed so much since the internet.  Now, the way something is read is taken into account regarding what constitutes reading.