Manguel and Baron Articles

These two authors both begin to look at writing in a much more linear sense for me. Manguel looks at the development of what I would guess is the most common medium for writing today-the book. Baron looks at the development of writing from early stages-just pencils, all the way to the computer. I think for each of these authors the development of a certain aspect of the art form over time is a defining characteristic in the relationship it plays with us today.
Something that had never occurred to me before was that books were not always written, and published therefore, in a matter that made them easy to carry around with themselves. Manguel talks about how the shape a book was produced in has a direct effect on how it was meant to be read. Even today we still see this sort of thing I think. Imagine cozying up in bed with a good romance novel, then imagine yourself cozying up in bed with the latest edition of the OED. Not quite the same. This was a very historical look at the development of the physical book.
Baron, on the other hand talked more about the evolution of technology in writing that Manguel I think. The modern conveniences that we rely on to do any type of writing now are far different from the "technologies" relied on even 20 years ago. At work this past week, I had to ask someone else how to use a typewriter-that was a technology for writing that I never needed to know how to use. And as a matter of fact, now that I know how to use it for a requisition at work, I will probably only use it there. The idea that there is another reason for writing besides communication is just crazy to me. Even Baron states that "each new literacy technology begins with a restricted communication function..." (Baron 71). Think about it, why would we invent new things if they didn't create easier access to communication than the old?