It takes me a while to finish a book nowadays.  With so much information coming from all directions, it’s hard to stay focused on one source.  Everyday I scroll through Tumblr, then I filter through Twitter and Google Reader and queue up my news for the morning.  I do all of this on my laptop and phone.  On top of that, I subscribe to a handful of magazines which I read religiously.  Altogether, this ends up being a ton of material I selectively consume.

There’s a lot of short-form content being created that’s packed with important details.  It’s succinct, informative, and easily accessible.  This style of news and entertainment consumption isn’t just a trend, it’s becoming reality for anyone with internet.  From a macro-perspective, this is a good thing.  Information flows quickly and freely and the readers win.  However, this glut of online information is compromising the role books play in our lives.

Recently I started reading John Battelle’s The Search.  I was initially apprehensive to pick it up, not because I didn’t have time for it or wanted to read fiction, but because it was written in 2005.  How relevant could a book on internet search written almost five years possibly be today?  (The answer in this case is very relevant.  The Search is a fantastic read about the anthropological effects of internet technology, particularly Google.)  I’ve been trained to value things that are “current” or “real-time” more than influential works from the past.

In today’s world of instant gratification, people have a growing tendency to overlook the value of books.  Blogs and online news sources cannot replace the depth and wealth of knowledge books provide.  That’s not to say one is inherently more valuable than the other - in a sense, they’re complementary goods - one providing a platform of rudimentary theory and knowledge and the other constantly pushing new trends and schools of thought.  As we enter an age where online media is becoming our primary source of information, we should never overlook or take for granted the benefits and impact that books have on our lives.  They will always be equally important.