Shakespeare in an ipad?

http://www.cartoonistgroup.com/store/add.php?iid=48062

Last week Mr. Burke and I were discussing the future of literary works. Would all novels be turned into multimedia on kindles and ipads? How soon? For me, these thoughts are a little frightening. Unlike this cartoon depicts, I think that, like myself, Shakespeare would not be happy at all with the way novels are turning into digital files. I think books should be enjoyed thoughtfully, not read "on the go" as the ipad promotes. I like to sit down and allow myself to soak up the imagery and ideas of the literature. In addition, I'm beginning to get into the habit of underlining and making notes in margins while I read so I can keep track of the important details. That won't be possible anymore if I can't write on my books. My education would be impacted.

But more importantly is how this change would affect the writing itself. Imagery is what makes a book seem realistic, what connects a reader to the text (as I read in our textbook this week). If a novel is put onto a mini-computer so that a person can click and see a video of the imagery instead, it would take away that much more from the writing. My theory is that the writers would become lazier and think "I don't feel like describing that sunset. I'll just go find a picture." In addition, after much contemplation about what literature even is, my definition does not include pictures. I believe a piece of literature should be able to use such precise word choice that that should be enough. What happened to the days when, after a frustrating day of dealing with computers and other technology, the book was always there? The book- complex in ideas yet simple to operate. That is quite satisfactory for me.