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Comment by Dowwie | Hacker News Reader

As Summer is arriving, if you haven't chosen a fun science fiction book yet and are interested in the subject of this article, you may enjoy Neal Stephenson's book, "The Diamond Age". A tablet-like "book" plays a central role in the story.

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I actually have Diamond Age downloaded to my ebook reader right now. I'm working through Liu Chixin's Remembrances off the Earth's Past trilogy right now, but I'll have to start it next! I tend to have trouble getting through the first ~100 pages or so of Stephenson's books, but have really enjoyed the ones I've actually read!

The first 1/3 of The Diamond Age is the best part of it, so if you have trouble with the first 100 pages don't worry about the rest. One of the most frustrating books I've read.

Another reason to read it - the codename of the Amazon Kindle was Fiona, inspired by The Diamond Age:

https://www.quora.com/Why-is-Fiona-in-Amazons-ebook-URLs

Not to mention printing on paper is a terrible idea in 2019.

Why? trees are renewable and our eyes need a break from screens

Trees may be renewable but the arable land belongs to the forest.

In the US, there are more trees now than 100 years ago. I believe the law is for companies that cut trees for products, to plant two for every one they cut down.

Now there are problems in the rest of the world with deforestation, and hopefully we can fix that.

The negative impact of pulping isn't limited to just deforestation and loss of uncommercialized land. I think wikipedia does a fine job to explain the impact:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_impact_of_paper

If you've ever been to Maine, where the paper industry is important, you'll know there are further effects from "sustainable" planting. The trees are all young; there is no possibility of a high forest developing. The stench of chlorine is everywhere.

Buy a used copy. Give it away when you're done reading it.

Or borrow from a library.

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