The Virtual Codex from Page Space to E-Space

The Virtual Codex from Page Space to E-Space

Summary: 

           

            The e-book had a tough beginning, it took awhile for these electronic devices to become sophisticated and evolve enough so that the e-book can be spread to the masses.  Drucker thinks that the advantage to the book is on the electronic side and will just take time for it to involve like the codex did.  She touches on the fact that books are static, fixed, finite forms that can be vastly improved through the addition of so-called interactive features that the e-books have.  She then talks about the layout of the e-book and how the reader wants to be able to mark where they are.  She says that with the progression of the format and the use of the slider that shows progress.  One main thing she touches on is the fact that the reader has an urge to annotate a text.  This is something that has always been super accessible for readers in the codex but this urge has been accommodated in electronic book designs as note-taking capabilities. 

Comment:

            Drucker touches on some great points in this read.  I never really thought about the e-book in this way until now.  I am a very traditional person and I really do not like reading online I like to physically hold a book.  I was not aware of all the advances in the e-book and how it is really becoming more and more like a physical book but just on a reading device.  I would use an e-book more if I knew all along that you could take notes and page search.  By talking about the format I was able to understand the layout of the e-book and how it has its pro’s and con’s. 

Question:

            Is there a way to achieve the esthetic that a codex has on an e-book.  Can an e-book ever replace a codex and be able to achieve the same results and effect that a codex has on the reader.