Jeff Young, from the The Chronicle of Higher Education, wrote a piece titled Book 2.0: Scholars turn monographs into digital conversations, where he discusses a bit about the work going on at the Institute of Future of the Book . Sadly, it’s a paid service, and the article is not public, but a quote from my post Updike and the Future of the Book was mentioned in the last paragraph of the article.
On the Institute for the Future of the Book’s blog, Mr. Vershbow responded to Mr. Updike’s much-quoted speech.
Calling Mr. Updike a “nostalgic elitist,” he said it was unfortunate that the author was helping shape the popular conversation about e-books, and he criticized The New York Times for giving the remarks so much ink.
In a comment posted on the blog in response, a user with the nickname “renee” agreed with Mr. Vershbow. “Regardless of what Updike thinks or wants, the new Renaissance is under way,” she wrote.
Another reader of the blog quickly jumped in to defend Mr. Updike, however: “I think he is simply acknowledging the changes to the book, and I think he has an honest concern of what might [be] lost in the transition of moving ideas to the Web, especially from someone whose life has been about books,” wrote Eddie A. Tejeda, a computer consultant who helped the institute build the GAM3R 7H30RY e-book. “I think it’s fair to lament what might be lost.”
The discussion continues in the blogosphere.
Update: Here is a free version.