Book bollocks

I read more and better books now than ever before thanks to the web. What I don't read is Nicholas Carr!

Comments

[John Connell]

Hear, hear, Euan, on both counts. The sheer volume of earnest self-absorbed cant that this piece of nonsense has generated over the past couple of weeks is incredible, and some of it from otherwise sensible and logical people.

[Brendan]

One of the problems with reading in the jewish/christian/muslim world still is that it is implicitly associated with reading "the book" and therefore "the truth". So reading brings you closer to god. Therefore reading long texts is good for you.

Carr says something about people not reading long texts any more. It's not about long texts, but about the abundant availability of competing texts. I found his text already getting to three paragraphs without getting the slightest idea of where he wanted to go. So then you start scanning, which turns up nothing again. Then I read the conclusion which is not interesting either.

It reminds a bit of Andrew Keen. Useless criticism, but still received well by those who believe in the old ways. Nothing wrong with being critical though. Even if you're wrong.

[Chris Killer]

What happened to the "don't link to crap" principle?

[Joining Dots]

Hear hear too. And Nick Carr isn't the only pessimist. See also: http://www.joiningdots.net/blog/2008/05/friday-thought-do-books-matter.html

And I'm fed up with multitasking being given a raw deal too. On both counts, there has been research to suggest we read more, not less, thanks to the Internet. We skim across lots of stuff and then focus when we find something we are interested in, as opposed to reading snippets of everything and bouncing around.

[Maddie Grant]

Hahaha - I was about to say Andrew Keen too!

[Jon Husband]

And I'm fed up with multitasking being given a raw deal too. On both counts, there has been research to suggest we read more, not less, thanks to the Internet. We skim across lots of stuff and then focus when we find something we are interested in

Dang ! Scooped one of my current draft blog posts ;-)

[Matthew Rees]

I'm more with Carr on this one! I read stuff on the internet for hours a day, can't remember when I last even looked at a book (except for fun holiday reading) and I've stopped reading magazines too. Business books are 95%+ padding and a review in a blog tells you all you need to know. It also means that you can learn what 20 books say in the time that it takes to read one.

[Dan Thornton]

I find the most amusing thing is that he quoted Scott Karp slightly out of context, and Scott responded on his blog before the actual article was ever available online:

http://publishing2.com/2008/06/17/connecting-the-dots-of-the-web-revolution/#more-1105

Although at least Nick does everntually come round to saying that maybe he's a worrywart and we should be sceptical of his views.

I am.

Mainly because the way I read has changed, and the way I deep think has changed as well. Instead of deep thinking about one perspective, I can now assimilate several sources, and then merge them all into something better when I take a break from my screen to go and think. It means a more complicated way of thinking about things, but also a more productive one, less shaped by just one point of view...

[Mary Anne Davis]

Still think Doug Englebart is more correct. This (google et all) is actually making us all smarter, as a species... ;-)