An idea that stood out to me in Bolters “Writing Space, Computers, Hypertext, and the Remediation of Print” was how encyclopedias are a reflection of the time that we live in. In the chapter “Encyclopedic Order” on page eighty-four Bolter discusses how books fluctuated due to the cultures that used them and events happening around them. This means at certain points in time there were either too many or too little books available. The encyclopedia, as Bolter states, solves this issue by putting textual elements in a place where the reader can be sure to find them and in this sense performs a therapeutic and bibliographic function. Encyclopedias main characteristic is its organization. The organization of the encyclopedia and its content also changes due to contemporary technology and knowledge of how things should be done.
On page one in Robert Coover’s “The End of Books” an idea that stood out to me was Coover explaining how print based technologies will eventually become obsolete. It is one of the main ideas of Coover, and he states how the print medium is a dying one that is to be replaced with a digital media. What is intriguing was Coover Stating how the printed medium is “dead as God.” Coover alludes to Friedrich Nietzsche and his work. When Nietzsche mentions God being dead, he doesn’t mean this in the literal sense, but in the sense that people have moved way from believing in religion and in turn God. Other forms of worship had entered people’s life and Gods importance started to fade away. Instead of the Bible, a new medium of worship existed in people’s lives. Coover makes this connection between Nietzsche and the print medium dying. Printed medium forms had existed for a long time just like the religions of old. Now with the invention of electronic books and media printed medium will now lose its importance as society shifts towards digital devices. Just as God died so will printed media.
