Jonathan Franzen is Very Concerned About Technology, Ebooks

Posted on January 30, 2012

The Telegraph reports that author Jonathan Franzen is very concerned about the future of printed books. The Telegraph says Franzen is worried that our desire for digital books is "damaging society."

Franzen fears that in fifty years no one will care about printed books. He says, "Someone worked really hard to make the language just right, just the way they wanted it. They were so sure of it that they printed it in ink, on paper. A screen always feels like we could delete that, change that, move it around. So for a literature-crazed person like me, it's just not permanent enough."

It is not just electronic books that are a problem for Franzen. The luddite also fears technology. Franzen says, "I think the combination of technology and capitalism has given us a world that really feels out of control. If you go to Europe, politicians don't matter."

Jonathan Franzen's novels, Freedom: A Novel and The Corrections, are both available as ebooks for the Kindle and Nook. Franzen thinks ebooks are a serious problem, but this isn't stopping him from profiting from them.