As Tim says in this introductory post to Bookfuturism, there have been few spaces for people who are: a) interested in the future of reading; b) refuse to engage with either an overly conservative ‘books are the basis of humanity’ rhetoric or a ‘books are obsolete artifacts of the past’ one. This void is what Bookfuturism seeks to fill. As he suggests about this artificial, polemical battle between supporters of musty old books or flashy new screens:
They both LIKE arguing against the other. A more sophisticated point-of-view — which is also not just that of the distinterested critic, or the market watcher, or the tech insider — where is the space for that, really? Where is the community? Bookfuturists refuse to endorse either of these fantasies of “the end of the book” — what Jacques Derrida calls “the end as destruction” or “the end as telos or achievement.” We are trying to map an alternative position that is both more self-critical and more engaged with how technological change is actively affecting our culture.
While I don’t think I yet know enough or am articulate enough to contribute directly to the discussion, I know I’ll be reading and occasionally leaving some of my classically off-topic, rambling comments. What I’m most interested in these days is whether electronic reading will attempt to morph the form of the book for electronic purposes or if, instead, we’ll see that the book remains something attached to models of print and it’s notion of a text contained between two covers with an emphasis on narrative cohesion.
Anyway, exciting stuff! Looking forward to it. The home page of site is here.
Scrawled in Wax 