"Kindle 3" by kodomut. Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kodomut/5145390611/ (Creative Commons License Attribution 2.0 Generic.)

To what extent is reading on a Kindle or other tablet platform similar to traditional print reading? What are the major advantages and disadvantages? A couple of New York Times reporters have weighed in on the issue. The authors note that whereas reading a print novel or on a basic black and white Kindle is direct and absorbing, reading on a internet-ready tablet offers a host of 21st century distractions while reading. Given such distractions, what is the future of reading, readers, and literacy? Will reading decline as a leisure activity, or will e-readers and tablets enhance the convenience of reading, thus boosting reading as a leisure activity? Read the full article below and form your predictions!

–Finding Your Book Interrupted…By the Tablet You Read It On

Here are some alternative opinions in the debate:

-A high school librarian from Boston weighs in on reading and distractions – why, regardless of platforms, she considers herself a constantly distracted reader (and why that’s not a problem).

-Alexis Madrigal of the Atlantic also critiques the NYTimes article and explains reader distraction as normal, regardless of format.