Vox: IVY ALVAREZ
The Verity La Forum was conducted by Alec Patric from July 2011 to December 2011
Forum Question: A New Archaeology
The rise of e-publishing is already enshrining the book (especially handmade books) as a fetish object. Perhaps one day people will go around carrying these books as jewellery, new status symbols denoting prestige.
But that’s the physical form of the book. The novel, the contents of a novel, its plots and narratives: these are not trivial. There is a reward in the reading, whether enlightenment, entertainment or escape.
I think we are in a state of flux. People will pendulum between the physical book and the ebook. Eventually, it will swing further in one direction but at the moment, not yet — not for me anyway.
My personal affections will always lean towards the book. Still, I am mindful that, as a writer, I would want my work to reach its audience, in whatever forms that might take.