Will people stop going to the library?

[Anna232]

This is my response to the prompt "Will people stop going to the library?"
Could you see if the parts in bold are natural as well as the rest of it?


We live in a time when technology is changing. More and more people are preferring to buy books online. It begs the question: "Will people stop buying books?"
I think reading books as a process has its own charm. I love the sound of turning pages. I like the atmosphere in a library. Many people like to sit there in silence focusing on reading. Finding books online can be done much quicker, but I find it more comfortable to read from a book. When we read from screen less information stays in our brain and we forget it quicker. Our eyes get hurt. I think people will never stop going to the libraries because people love them for their atmoshpere and convinience and in terms of maintaining eye health. Even though technologies are developing I don't think people will stop going there.

 

[teechar]

1- Is this for written or spoken practice?

 

[Anna232]

1- Is this for written or spoken practice?

It is written.

 

[emsr2d2]

I'm a little confused. The question is about library use but in your first two sentences, you've changed the question to (or at least added) "Will people stop buying books?"
There's also the fact that, in general in the UK, people don't go to libraries to read. They go to the library, find some books they fancy reading, check them out and take them home to read. Do people in Georgia go to libraries to read?

 

[Anna232]

I'm a little confused. The question is about library use but in your first two sentences, you've changed the question to (or at least added) "Will people stop buying books?"
There's also the fact that, in general in the UK, people don't go to libraries to read. They go to the library, find some books they fancy reading, check them out and take them home to read. Do people in Georgia go to libraries to read?

Yes, they do. There is even an American Corner in the public library which is for the lovers of American literature and culture. People go there to read books, attend club meetings, etc.

 

[teechar]

We live in a time when technology is changing. advancing very fast. More and more people are preferring to buy books online, which It begs the question: "Will people stop buying printed books?"
I think reading paper books as a process has its own charm. I love the sound of turning the pages.

Do you see the problem you ran into? You started off topic, and now you suddenly switch to talking about libraries. You can either:
- Start talking about libraries right from the beginning (which in my opinion is the better approach). or
- write a transitional/linking phrase to make your writing cohesive. For example: "In particular, I really love reading books in libraries".

I [1] like enjoy the atmosphere in a library. Many people like to sit there in silence focusing on engrossed in reading their favourite books, magazines, or even the daily newspaper. [2] Finding books online can be done much quicker, but I find it more comfortable to read from a book.

[1]: "Like" is not wrong, but I changed it to avoid repeating it in such close proximity.
[2]: I stopped here because you've gone off topic again. Revise your text and repost it below.

 

[Anna232]

Do you see the problem you ran into? You started off topic, and now you suddenly switch to talking about libraries. You can either:
- Start talking about libraries right from the beginning (which in my opinion is the better approach). or
- write a transitional/linking phrase to make your writing cohesive. For example: "In particular, I really love reading books in libraries".

[1]: "Like" is not wrong, but I changed it to avoid repeating it in such close proximity.
[2]: I stopped here because you've gone off topic again. Revise your text and repost it below.

How about:
I enjoy the atmosphere in a library. Many people like to sit there in silence engrossed in reading their favourite books, magazines, or even the daily newspaper. If we compare reading books in a library to reading them using our computers, tablets, or even phones, of course the latter is more comfortable.

 

[emsr2d2]

How about this?

I enjoy the atmosphere in a library. Many people like to sit there in silence, engrossed in reading their favourite books, magazines, or even the daily newspaper. If we compare reading books in a library to reading them using our computers, tablets, or even phones, of course the latter is more comfortable.

See above. Are you sure you really think that reading a book on your phone is the most "comfortable" way of doing it?

 

[Anna232]

See above. Are you sure you really think that reading a book on your phone is the most "comfortable" way of doing it?

It takes me an hour to get to the library and back home. There are always traffic jams which is quite annoying. I might be inclined to go there when I do have time. That's why I wanted to say "Finding books online (compared to looking for them in a library caralogue) can be done much quicker, but I find it more comfortable to read from a book." But these parts must be ungrammatical. Should it be changed into "Finding books online can be done much more quickly, but I find it more comfortable to read paper books."

 

[emsr2d2]

It takes me an hour to get to the library and back. home. There are always traffic jams, which is quite annoying. I might be inclined to go there when I do have time.

That's why I wanted to say "Finding books online (compared to looking for them in a library catalogue) can be done much quicker more quickly, but I find it more comfortable to read from a book."

But However, I think these parts this sentence must be ungrammatical. Should it be changed into to "Finding books online can be done much more quickly, but I find it more comfortable* to read paper books"?

*The problem is your use of "comfortable". A sofa can be comfortable. A chair can be comfortable. A situation can be uncomfortable. I think the word you're looking for is "convenient".

 

[Anna232]

*The problem is your use of "comfortable". A sofa can be comfortable. A chair can be comfortable. A situation can be uncomfortable.

I think the word you're looking for is "convenient".

I will use that instead. Do I understand correctly "read from a book" isn't wrong, is it?
Is "read from (the) screen" also correct?
"When we read from the screen (I added 'the') less information stays in our brain and we forget it more quickly. Our eyes get hurt."

 

[emsr2d2]

We "read a book" if we're just sitting reading it. If you say "reading from a book", it suggests you're reading aloud to an audience.

We read "on a screen", not "from the screen".

Our eyes hurt, or they begin to hurt. They don't "get hurt" - that suggests an injury.

 

[Tarheel]

I would keep "technology is changing very fast" and change "people are preferring to...." to something else.

 

[emsr2d2]

I can say, with 100% confidence, that "prefer" is not used in a continuous tense in BrE.

 

[Anna232]

I can say, with 100% confidence, that "prefer" is not used in a continuous tense in BrE.

Could you tell me if these parts are natural?

When we read on screen less information stays in our brain and we forget it more quickly . I think people will never stop going to the libraries because people love them for their atmoshpere and convinience and in terms of maintaining eye health. Even though technologies are developing I don't think people will stop going there.

 

[teechar]

When we read on screen, [ 1] less information stays in our brain and we forget it more quickly. [ 2] I think people will never stop going to the [ 3] libraries because people love them for their [ 4] atmosphere and [ 4] convenience. [ 5] and in terms of maintaining eye health. [ 6] Even though technologies are developing I don't think people will stop going there.

[ 1]: Note the comma.
[ 2]: Never put a space before a punctuation mark.
[ 3]: No "the". Otherwise, you'd be referring to a specific group of libraries.
[ 4]: Install an English spell-checker.
[ 5]: That part doesn't fit with the previous one. Your sentence says "Libraries are convenient in terms of maintaining eye health" which is nonsensical.
[ 6]: That's another incoherent sentence. The two parts don't fit logically. You might say: "Even though many books are available online, I do not think libraries will disappear in the future". Note also that if this is meant for some kind of essay, then write "do not", because contractions (don't) are not acceptable in formal writing.

 

[Tarheel]

@Anna232 @emsr2d2 conveniently finished my thought for me. (I was hoping you would figure it out for yourself. (I'm like that sometimes. ).)

 

[Anna232]

[ 1]: Note the comma.
[ 2]: Never put a space before a punctuation mark.
[ 3]: No "the". Otherwise, you'd be referring to a specific group of libraries.
[ 4]: Install an English spell-checker.
[ 5]: That part doesn't fit with the previous one. Your sentence says "Libraries are convenient in terms of maintaining eye health" which is nonsensical.
[ 6]: That's another incoherent sentence. The two parts don't fit logically. You might say: "Even though many books are available online, I do not think libraries will disappear in the future". Note also that if this is meant for some kind of essay, then write "do not", because contractions (don't) are not acceptable in formal writing.

Can I change it into "I think people will never stop going to libraries because people love them for their atmosphere and in terms of maintaining eye health they are much better than online books?"

 

[Tarheel]

Can I change it into "I think people will never stop going to libraries because people love them for their atmosphere and in terms of maintaining eye health they are much better than online books?"

Yes, but the entire sentence is a question-- not the part you are asking about.

 

[Anna232]

Yes, but the entire sentence is a question-- not the part you are asking about.

I mean the following: "I think people will never stop going to libraries because people love them for their atmosphere and in terms of maintaining eye health they are much better than online books."