Internet vs Books?

[Andy]

This year's winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature, Doris Lessing, in her acceptance speech, said that the internet was having a negative effect on society, and not only hurting people's liking of literature, but also drowning out great writing with rubbish. Here's two non-wikipedia :rolleyes: sources:

http://www.theage.com.au/news/opinion/stars-in-the-net-sky/2007/12/15/1197568329261.html
http://www.teleread.org/blog/2007/12/10/doris-lessing-on-reading-and-writing-in-the-internet-age/

So, agree or no? Discuss.

[Nyx]

I don't think internet drowns peoples' love of lit. I think it adds to it.

[Shaun]

She does have a good point about the Internet and Rubbish. Any schmuck and go online and put their fiction up there and have it read. The problem with it is that it provides a cesspool of garbage that people consider to be good, when really it's just trash that couldn't make it out of the slush pile.
The other side of it is that lots of writers who just couldn't get published, but are good writers, have a place to share their work. You just have to sift through the net to find it. It's a two-edged sword really. For some, it's like swimming in garbage (like me, I can't be bothered to sift through the net to find good fiction because I don't like reading online much and I don't like doing an editors job to get reading enjoyment), and for some it's a lot of fun.
So on the subject of the drowning out of great writing--yes, that's happening.
But for the other stuff, eh, not really. The Net is a great tool and without it our society would be incredibly simplistic.

[The Incredible Night Elf]

Um...

I don't think the internet can take away what you already have. If you love literature or whatever else, that won't change, regardless...

but the internet can definately ADD a lot of garbage. And not just the internet!

Our whole culture is drowning in trash, online, in magazines, tabloids, and don't even get me started on the rubbish that tv is excreeting!

[jordanisonfire]

I agree with Shaun that half is crap, half is good. YWO has some good writers, but the eBooks on Bebo are mostly just full of shit that people (their friends mostly) just say is good and don't give any negative comment, nevermind a decent crit. So, these people rely on their friends' words, think they could get published one day, flunk school to write their crap, which they don't edit ever, then take it to get published and then their life basically gets ripped to shreds. It's sad, really...
End rant.

[Shaun]

Well, most likely they wouldn't have their lives ripped to shreds. Editors don't generally send personal notes to people unless they like a work but can't publish it. So, most likely they'd just get rejected a lot with form letters...