e-book - see/hear/read - Where's the Book?

"...each day mankind and the claims of mankind slipped farther from him. Deep in the forest a call was sounding, and as often as he heard this call , mysteriously thrilling and luring, he felt compelled to turn his back upon the fire and the beaten earth around it, and to plunge into the forest, and on and on, he knew not where or why; nor did he wonder where or why, the call sounding imperiously, deep in the forest."

The Call of the wild (Jack London 1876-1916), 1903 - Chapter 6 "For the love of a man"

Well for the last half-dozen or so years at least, there has been talk that e-books will herald the death of the book as we have known it for the last millennium or so. However, after delving into the world of the 'alternative format' book, I don't think we need roll out the black arm-bands, or light the fires, just yet. The written word is still at the heart of all these formats, and as long as people continue to write, and there are still eager-beavers waiting to share in their tales of wonder and imagination, that flag will continue to wave. Having said that, though - it is amazing the choice we now have in how we read the wealth of literature that exists, and to be reassured that these various formats are contributing to the preservation of, and extending the reach in ways probably never ever considered in the wildest imaginations of some of the ancient scribes who first penned those works.

I had forgotten just how long Project Gutenberg has been going, and this was my first real look right "into" it. I searched for Jack London, as he is the first author to really make an impression on me when I first discovered reading. I devoured "Call of the Wild" and "White Fang" back then (perhaps that explains why I have such a bent for dogs wild cousin the wolf?), before digressing to "Robinson Crusoe" and other such classics. I hadn't realized Jack London had such a catalogue of works, and browsing the "pages" of these old favourites has rekindled my interest in his writing, so it will be a visit to the "Stack" to search out some of this wonderful stuff. I was also curious to see if under "language" there would be an entry under 'Maori', and was heartened to find one title there. It is the story of "Hinemoa" and the information that is given with entries is well presented, although I would have liked to have known a little more about the provenance of this particular text. Mention of the assistance by Victoria University of Wellington/Te Whare Wananga o te Upoko o te Ika a Maui reminded me of that institutions own project, which is well worth exploring for New Zealand texts. Among their ever-growing catalogue, you can find the 54 works that make up the "Official history of New Zealand in the Second World War, 1939-1945', and the latest addition is volumes 1 & 6 (vols 2-5 will follow at a later date) of the Cyclopedia of New Zealand. Volume 1 "Wellington Provincial District" weighs 5.1 kilograms in hard-copy - imagine if that fell on your toe! Small mercy then that this is available for perusal online - one small triumph for "Health and Safety" in the library stacks.

I have rambled on enough now about this, and there is still Google Books, Kindle, LibriVox... I have dipped into these as well, and am impressed by the array of ways to access/view/listen/download. But for me, nothing can yet beat curling up with a lovely cup of tea/coffee/hot chocolate - sadly a glass of wine would put me straight to sleep - with puss (1, 2, 3 & 4) for company, reading text and turning the page of a tree long since pulped, and floating off in to dreamland (some might call it dream-er land, but what's wrong with that). On that note I will bid goodnight, and get off home to afore-mentioned Puss 1, 2, 3 & 4, who have been known to masquerade as 'wolf in sheep's clothing'. ..

"...there was about him a suggestion of lurking ferocity, as though the Wild still lingered in him and the wolf in him merely slept."