Books without Pages – Novels without Endings

“What if you had a book that changed every time you read it?”   Michael Joyce

Although the idea of hypertext seems complex and it involves lots of twists, turns and different settings, it is quite simple. In this weeks reading, Douglas discusses, explains and gives the readers examples of what hypertext is and the questions that surround it.

– When do you decide that you are at the end?

– Does the reader become the author?

– Once you’re finished, what happens if you pick up the book again and are in a different mood? Won’t that change the ending you have created?

The idea that the ending of the book could change depending on the readers mood, is very interesting. One aspect of reading books that I love is the sharing that comes after. Hearing everyones thoughts and ideas about the story, their questions, their interpretations of the characters and meaning is wonderful. It brings people together. But is this possible if everyones stories takes multiple directions and has a different ending?

The reading also offers the idea that we are becoming more and more dependent on the internet, and hypertext is the type of technology that we are leaning towards. Print literacy and network literacy are both still in use, but it seems that choosing our own paths in stories is what we want, and hypertext can give us that.

The Computer, Hypertext and the History of Writing

The section on Writing as a State of Mind really stood out to me. The feeling of not being unable to detach yourself from writing, and that our “technical relationship to the writing space is always with us” is a feeling that is very common with not I, but my dad. To me, “the writing space” means that the ideas of writing and words are always with you. Whether it be put from pen to paper, recorded or just kept in your head, it is always there.

My dad has always loved to write, whether that be short stories, poems, thoughts or just simple lists. To me, “the writing space” means that the ideas of write. He is always showing me stories he has written about family holidays or trips to the supermarket. When I recently when to New Zealand, dad sent me pages of his diary that he kept from when he hitchhiked around New Zealand when he was 18 years old. I found it so nice (and in a way comforting) to read about my dad’s travels on the same road that I was on.

I agree with Bolter when he says that the skill becomes like second nature. My dad is able to pick up a pen at anytime, anywhere and write beautiful words and beautiful stories. This is an ability that I wish I had but don’t. I find it difficult to type what is in my head, onto the page. Hopefully, by the end of this subject I will be able to!

This is a link to one of my dad’s stories about watching The Rolling Stones perform in 1968.

04.2 As We May Think

In this article, Dr. Vannevar Bush discusses the old and new scientist discoveries. Even though I didn’t find it very thought provoking I thought the section on photography was interesting and relevant to this day and age.

Bush states that “progress in photography is not going to stop.” Whilst this is completely true, and cameras are becoming more and more developed, there seems to be a trend in moving back to film cameras. This made me think about the type of photography that I see everyday. Lately, all my friends have started buying disposable cameras or looking into buying Point and Shoot cameras. I think some of the reasons they are popular is because you can’t see the result of the photograph until you get them printed and the quality of the prints are different. The tones are unpredictable, the colours warmer in the day time and muted when it’s darker. Personally, I love buying disposable cameras before I go on a holiday and using it over there. It’s exciting to take a photo and then have no idea what it is going to look like until the very end.

However, I still love using a digital camera or my iPhone for everyday/travels/uni work. You can capture nearly everything at anytime, and can take the picture over and over again until you’re happy. The ability to edit photos is also easier with a digital photograph (I think) as the edges are sharper and clearer.

Digital cameras and the progress in photography may always be advancing, but film cameras will never die.