The seasonal flu among expositors of the future of the book and the future of reading is upon us. No sooner does one town cryer sneeze about the latest reading device or software than a town de-cryer follows heralding the superiority of reading print – or vice versa.
Sure enough, here is the Guardian today: “Whisper it quietly, the book is back … and here’s the man leading the revival“. That would be James Daunt, CEO of the UK bookstore chain Waterstone’s, who has used a Russian oligarch’s money to bring the chain to breakeven.
And without a hint of irony, here’s the online-only .Mic demonstrating that variant strains can cross generations and oceans as well as media: “Science Has Great News for People Who Read Actual Books“. That would be the oft-repeated Norwegian study of two groups of 10th graders, one of which – the print readers – comprehends and retains more than its ebook-reading counterpart.
There are plenty of days remaining before the year’s close for the digital riposte surely on its way to envelop us. In the meantime, here is a combined and fortified reading list from Christmas bloggings past:
Reading List
Association for Psychological Science (2010, August 30). Eye movements reveal readers’ wandering minds. ScienceDaily. Accessed September 8, 2012.
Bookmark for “A Brief History of Reading” (and a Revisit of “The Future of Reading?”). BooksOnBooks. Posted February 13, 2013.
British Association for the Advancement of Science (2007, September 11). Reading Process Is Surprisingly Different Than Previously Thought, Technology Shows. ScienceDaily. Accessed September 8, 2012.
Dehaene, Stanislas. Reading in the Brain. New York: Viking, 2009.
Florida State University (2012, February 14). How Do Children Learn to Read Silently?. ScienceDaily. Accessed September 8, 2012.
Hill, Bill. The Magic of Reading. 1999.
Jabr, Ferris. The Reading Brain in the Digital Age: The Science of Paper versus Screens. Scientific American. April 11, 2013. Accessed 14 April 2013:
Kozlowski, Michael. Amazon Unleashes Immersion Reading and Whispersync for Voice. GoodEReader. Accessed September 8, 2012.
Mangen, Anne, et al. Reading linear texts on paper versus computer screen: Effects on reading comprehension. International Journal of Educational Research. 58 (2013) 61-68.
Mangen, Anne, et al. Evolution of reading in the age of digitisation. ISCH COST Action IS1404. Updated May 6, 2014. Accessed December 14, 2014.
Mangen, Anne, and Velay, Jean-Luc. Cognitive implications of new media. The Johns Hopkins Guide to Digital Media. Edited by Marie-Laure Ryan, Lori Emerson and Benjamin J. Robertson. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2014.
O’Callaghan, Tiffany. Reading on screens is different – does it matter? New Scientist. October 30, 2014.
Rollins, H.A. Jr., Hendricks, R. Processing of words presented simultaneously to eye and ear. J. Exp. Psychol. Hum. Percept. Perform. 1980 Feb; 6(1): 99-109. Accessed September 8, 2012.
Vinall-Cox, Joan. Moving From Paper to E-Book Reading. eLearn Magazine. March 2012. Accessed September 8, 2012.
Walker Reading Technologies, Inc. LiveInk® (four papers: jaltcalljournal, National Educational Computing Conference, Reading Online and IEEE International Professional Computing Conference).
Books On Books 