Publisher's Weekly Review
In a wired world, what of literature? Editor Socken, himself a veteran of academia, has gathered an international cast of authors from a wide variety of fields from archivists to philosophers, from writers to critics to consider the issue. Their views are similarly varied. While they for the most part agree on some points-in particular that the medium of paper books and literature seem inextricably linked; e-books, whatever their virtues, are seen as sufficiently different to fall outside literature's borders-on many other points there is wild divergence. For Drew Nelles, literature is ideally a glorious solitude that seems to border on catatonia; for others like Leonard Rosmarin and Lori Saint-Martin, literature offers intimate contact with strangers and friends. Still others see in the changes forced on literature by changing media reflections of a world pushed in unknowable directions by protean technology and in the dwindling world of the humanities shadows of inexorable global corporatization. While some arguments herein carry more weight than others, the authors present their cases firmly in rigorous prose. The impression is of Cassandra in Troy or Canute knee deep in rising tides; foresight brings such figures only austere comforts. (Sept.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Choice Review
Many books have been published about the effects of e-books, social media, and the Internet on reading, especially on reading lengthy works of literature. Some treatments--most notably Alan Jacobs's The Pleasures of Reading in an Age of Distraction (2011) and Andrew Piper's Book Was There: Reading in Electronic Times (CH, Jun'13, 50-5329)--are more positive about these developments. Others, for example, David Ulin's The Lost Art of Reading: Why Books Matter in a Distracted Time (2010), have generally viewed e-books and other technologies negatively for the ways they supposedly create distracted, less insightful readers. The Edge of the Precipice is a collection of 15 essays by a somewhat diverse group of writers (only one appears to be a digital native) who address this general topic. Most contributors contend a great deal has been lost by the advent of non-paper texts and the Internet, and all assert that sustained reading of literature (never fully defined) has enormous benefits. Some essays, notably those by Socken, Michael Austin, Drew Nelles, and Sven Birkerts, offer extremely thought-provoking analyses; a good number, though, are rather desultory and offer nothing new to the larger conversation. Summing Up: Recommended. With reservations. Upper-division undergraduates and above. C. Johanningsmeier University of Nebraska at Omaha
Library Journal Review
This insightful collection edited by Socken (emeritus, French studies, Univ. of Waterloo, Ont.) addresses questions around the future of print literature in the electronic age. For instance, studies show that young people today have interests that compete with reading-immersing oneself in a novel seems old hat. They reveal also that digital reading is distracting and that readers spend less time investigating complex texts. While the Internet provides easy access to information, it offers essentially unfiltered knowledge rather than meaning. Most of these essays are as delightful as they are content full: Michael Austin (Reading the World: Ideas That Matter) explains why he bought a hard copy of Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace after reading the novel on a Kindle, while Leonard Rosmarin (Getting Enough) hooks students on literature using the work of the 17th-century French playwright and actor Moliere. A common theme is that reading a novel and surfing the Internet are opposite experiences and that we need the empathetic and critical skills that solitary reading encourages. With the exception of Alberto Manguel (The Library at Night), contributors aren't familiar names, but all have something to say on this relevant and important topic. VERDICT For serious readers, both lay and academic, who wonder where we're headed in this puzzling age of digital overload.--David Keymer, Modesto, CA (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
