Over Design?

The other day whilst perusing around the shelves in Waterstones I came across something that I regrettably see as becoming a new fad. Where there once was my favorite graphic-novel section, a shelf full of assorted books which i would happily skim through for lengths at a time, there was now a large blank space and a perspex box in place of a shelf.

Before you panic (because I'm sure thats what your doing), the graphic-novels had just been relocated. However what may be worse was that in there place in this clear plastic box was two shiny oversized calculator looking objects, which still needed a sign with a description underneath them that read: EBOOKS.

Ebooks? Whatever could that be? Quite self explanatory to be honest, there large screened like an oversized phone that digitally hold books and display them page by page like a...book. Im pretty sure that there not new inventions as I feel I can remember talk of their release some time ago although now that they were here the idea of them sort of worried me as the thought that this could well be the future of reading. That somewhere in 30 years from now entire librarys could be held in the palm of your hand and rather than just having a walk round and having a look for something that will grab your attention, you will have to perform some sort of cross search and know exactly what your looking for.

I am sure that some people will think the exact opposite from me and think what a wonderful invention, having all these books at your disposal in the palm of your hand. But its nice to get a good book and read it and tear it too bits, then pick it up years later and reed it again and remember it from before. I myself like to go into a library without knowing what I'm looking for, I wouldn't want to lose this and have it replaced by having to do a cross-search every time I wanted to read something. Plus you lose books all the time and you have precious books that mean something to you, a cold piece of metal isn't something you can enjoy in the same way.

What happens if an eBook breaks? Are all your libraries gone. I feel that this is a step where design is sometimes blind. Just because we have the technology to do something doesn't mean we should. Everything doesn't have to be simplified to an iPod stage and if it were there would be no simple joys any more. No small problems like having to fold the cover on a paper back book over when your lying down to read it, which although is annoying is bearable. There are some things that are just good being kept the way they are.