Harry Potter and
His Online Friends
Hurricane Harry has hit US bookstores and e-commerce, with
the publication of his newest adventure, and many people are left smiling.
Since, like celebrities everywhere, Harry now has his own official web site,
let the merchandising begin—
http://harrypotter.warnerbros.com
Well, not everyone is smiling. Harry has been dragging clouds of controversy behind his broomstick. Both sides of the controversy, of course, are represented on the Internet—
www.fflibraries.org/Book_Reports/HarryPotter/WHATS_WRONG_WITH_HARRY_POTTER.htm
Since I have to be careful about what I spend my tired old eyes on, I haven’t read any of the Harry Potter books. But the publicity surrounding the Potter books leaves me a little puzzled, even sad. In the jubilant paragraphs penned by so many columnists to celebrate that young people are turning away from that horrible Internet and engaging in so old-fashioned an activity as reading, there is a serious misunderstanding about the nature of the Internet.
One of my repeated themes in my articles about the Internet is that it is nothing special. It is not some new sorcery that Harry and his classmates study. There is no competition between reading and surfing the ‘net, because surfing the ‘net involves a great deal of reading. In fact, I can’t imagine a greater motivator for improving reading skills than using the Internet. Even the so-called "chat rooms" are simply another way to communicate by reading and writing.
But, we still have a lot of work to do. We still haven’t figured how to make the Internet as much a part of the classroom—and as non-threatening a part of the classroom—as the chalkboard. We know that education is more than having students look at a chalkboard or a videotape, and now we have to find a way to keep from turning the Internet into an electronic babysitter. There is still a serious need for philosophers of the Internet, especially in education, which was very evident at the National Educational Computing conference held last month in Atlanta. With such big names as Richard Riley, Secretary of Education, and keynote speaker Craig Barrett, CEO of Intel, the conference called attention to the level of commitment and level of problems in integrating computer technology into school programs, not making the Internet a program in itself. Ironically, you can read about the conference in Wired, a magazine available on the Internet at—
www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,37323,00.html
While you are browsing through Wired, you can also read about "the first New York Times bestseller to be released in its entirety as a free e-book online"—
www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,37600,00.html
That article deals with many issues involving the future of e-publishing, including the possibility that corporations will sponsor fiction and nonfiction books the way that they now sponsor television programs (a troubling thought). It also lists some sites where you can browse books online.
While Wired is an online magazine dedicated to matters of technology, Salon is a forum on a wide range of topics covered by some of the best writing on the Internet. I almost hate to log onto Salon anymore, because I get so hooked on its articles and links that I almost can’t quit. You can get started reading both magazines—
You can also enjoy online many favorite print magazines with easily recognizable URLs—
Newspapers are some of my favorite reading material, online or off, and the Internet can beat any newsstand I’ve ever seen with its great selection, not to mention prices—
Georgia’s best-known newspaper, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, is online, so Georgians can make themselves feel right at home, no matter where they rove—
www.accessatlanta.com/partners/ajc
I can take a trip down memory lane online with the daily New York Times and the weekly Village Voice, both from New York City. Many of my memories of the Times, strangely, are set in Sylvester, because when I was growing up here, the public library subscribed to the Sunday edition, which reached south Georgia on Tuesday afternoon. Now, we can read the Times as soon as the folks in Manhattan do—while breathing cleaner air—
For people who take reading seriously, the New York Times Book Review and the Voice Literary Supplement of these two newspapers are very important, as is The New York Review of Books. All three are available online—
You can even join an "Online Book Club"—
http://suncat.co.sarasota.fl.us/bookclub/Default.htm
For a library of out-of-copyright texts you can download, there is Project Gutenberg, one of my favorite sites—
What library would be complete with a dictionary? How about 626 dictionaries, which you can check with "One Look"—
Mega-best-selling novelist or one-person literary industry Stephen King earlier this year offered his first e-book for sell online. Now, he is challenging our notion of the relationships among authors, publishers, and readers by offering a new book as a serial on his website—
Keep your feet (and broomsticks) dry, your heart full of noble thoughts, and your eyes full of great texts, either on paper or online.