Set the scene:  A college student is packing up the sundry tomes and paperbacks that have amounted to a year’s worth of study. As she lugs an obviously heavy duffle full of knowledge into the hallway, she stares longingly at her iPod; so sleek, so efficient, so light.

There just has to be a better way.

Of course, it’s the year 2010 and there is that better way. The future of reading is here and has been for a while, with the Kindle already in its third generation and plenty of other digital devices (Nook, Sony Reader, etc.) looking, not necessarily to replace books, but at least to make the act of reading a little more convenient in these modern times.

Why stop at books?

The Page, while still only theoretical, is our age’s answer to the newspaper. On the site, the creators claim that their goal is to make ‘A device that truly considers the daily scenarios of our audience as they engage with news content.’ All that means is, as with e-book readers, they want to create a piece of technology that allows its user the benefit of reading without any fuss. Can’t argue with that.

There is the argument that something is lost... more »

Today on the American Short Fiction blog, the web editor posed the question, “What does online publishing mean to you?” to literary luminary Rick Moody. Moody recently garnered much buzz with his Twitter story, “Some Contemporary Characters,” a series of tweets which appeared over 3 days for Electric Literature.  Though Moody clearly appreciates the possibilities and new directions provided by online publishing, he also still firmly believes in the power of print:

“Online publication, to me, is of interest because it’s cheaper and easier to produce, thus emboldening people who want to bring their vision out into the marketplace of ideas. But that doesn’t mean it’s better. Best of all is written on stone, and if that doesn’t work, whatever is nearly as long lasting as stone.”

What do you think? Do you agree with Rick? What do you see as the ultimate future of publishing as we know it?