What will become of books?

Although I have reached the minimum number of blog posts, I still want to write this one about the future of books. I figure this is a fitting way to end the class, since we did talk about everything about books, including the future.

This is the video I included in my presentation, so you can see it better now. This is what the video on which this post will be centered.The video comes from the Digital Theatre and Sonia Friedman Production's stage production of "Much Ado About Nothing" starring David Tennant (in the Superman shirt) and Catherine Tate as performed in London's West End.

This scene, especially the boy's shoulder shrug at the end, leads me to my question of what will become of books in the future? I don't know if it was the purpose of the director to make the boy look like he didn't know what a book was, but that's what it looked like to me. I feel like we all hope this never happens where children literally don't know what a book is. I think it could be argued that even people who don't like reading would not want to see this happen, if, for nothing else, to preserve the book as a "novelty" or a historical artifact.

Personally, I do not think it will ever get to the point of someone saying, "I don't know what this book is that you speak of." I think it will be more along the lines of: "Why would you want that? Don't you have an iPad?" Now at least with the second scenario, books still exist and are recognizable. It might not necessarily be the first choice of relaxation or leisure, but at least the next generation would know what a book is.

Although elementary, middle, and high schools are trying to become technology-driven schools (I know, I went to one of these high schools), books are still going to be just as important now as they were five or six years ago. (Side note: it's scary to think that five or six years ago meant I was in sophomore and junior years of high school! Crazy how time flies!) But as long as schools do not completely ditch the book, it will continue to survive as more than just a reminder of day's of old.

a scene from the Doctor Who episode "Silence in the Library"

Just to bring in a little pop culture and my own little nerdiness, there is an episode of Doctor Who (starring Tennant and Tate) that portrays a library in the far distant future FULL of books. It is so large that it is in fact it's own world. Now, of course, this is science fiction, but it is nice to think that at least the writer, Steven Moffat, thinks the future will have tons and tons of books. I'd like to think that way too!