Books vs Internet

This sounds more like a boxing or wrestling match than a simple argument or maybe a heated controversy. Until 1990, whenever you wanted to research something, you looked to books, searched encyclopaedias and headed for the library. This was something so natural, so normal and anyone from a 5-year old child to a Doctorate Graduate would have no other choice but browse through books and more books, until they presented the paper to their teacher. And this was usually typed on a typewriter, and if you wanted a copy for yourself, you had to use those black carbon papers.

Now all this may sound prehistoric to anyone who is in High School or younger. There is no doubt that Computers have changed our lives radically, and will continue to change how we will live and communicate in the future. Books will never die, and libraries will never have to close down, but the Internet has brought thousands and millions of books and documents into our homes. By means of the Internet, I can write letters to my friends in the USA, New Zealand, Brazil, Iceland and every country in the world, and the recipients can read them within a few seconds. I can access any bit of information or statistic within a couple of seconds, just by clicking a mouse.

All of you who read my blog daily, do so at your leisure, whenever you want. It will be great if you can share my blog with others who may not be aware of its presence. I am surprised sometimes when I meet people, even here in Malta, and remind me of some posts I posted months ago, and they tell they me they got hooked on checking my blog daily. To tell you the truth, I am surrounded by books here in my room, but there are days and weeks when I do not open one of them, even the Breviary since I pray it on my IPad through Laikos (a Maltese version) or the ProTerra Sancta EBreviary in English. But newspapers are still being printed and books are still being published and you need once in a while to get the feel of paper or a hardbound book in your hands, besides clicking away or tapping on your keyboard or IPad.