haptic evaluation of books
The haptic concern also follows from the peculiar essence of the book as hand held art. Books are only read at arms length and are notoriously intractable in gallery display. This is a legacy of writing as a picture of speech and its early use as a handheld prompt. And the codex echoes it own legacy as a folded letter inviting unfolding and re-foldings. The whole environment of this experience is tactile, manipulative, confined, tricky and surprising. If critically pursued, the consciously hand investigated book could induce a greater appreciation of artistsí books.
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paper or plastic?
The advent of case construction bookbinding in book manufacturing occurred in the United States from 1820 to1850. This is a period in which bookbinding was handwork with tools and equipment guided by physical effort alone. While case construction enabled the eventual mechanization of industrial bookbinding, that mechanization occurred long after the structure had first proven itself as a preferred method of book manufacturing by hand.
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er, analog freedom vs. digital regulation?
For the copying and distribution of conceptual works, the book presentation format is immune from regulation, but the screen presentation format is not. Why is this?
Books, in their long history, have passed through stages of content pirating, illicit copy production and content mutation in distribution environments much wilder than the Web. Perhaps screen presentations will just have to pass through such an era as well. It will not be a speedy process since regulation based on digital technologies can be more invasively and pervasively applied. (Harley-Davidson is contesting with Honda over infringement of the sound of a motorcycle.)
So regulation of distribution books vs. ebooks could converge across time, but it will take a long time to transpire. And the two presentation formats are just as likely to go their separate ways.
The book format has passed beyond public domain into a determinant of human culture itself while the screen format is only a mimic of that status. In essense, the screen format is infringing the copyright of the book format. If that is the underlying suit, and the book publishing model is certainly being applied, then the screen format will need to distinguish itself from the book format and it can easily do that. But not by mimicking books.