The pile of unread books we have on our bedside tables is often referred to as a graveyard of good intentions. The list of unread books on our Kindles is more of a black hole of fleeting intentions. […]
In the past two years, something unexpected happened: I lost the faith. Gradually at first and then undeniably, I stopped buying digital books. I realised this only a few months ago, when taking stock of my library, both digital and physical. Physical books – most of all, works of literary fiction – I continue to acquire voraciously. […]
The great irony, of course, is that I’ve never read more digitally in my life. Each day, I spend hours reading on my iPhone – news articles, blog posts and essays. […] But what of digital books? What accounts for my unconscious migration back to print?
Once bought by a reader, a book moves through a routine. It is read and underlined, dog-eared and scuffed and, most importantly, reread. To read a book once is to know it in passing. To read it over and over is to become confidants. The relationship between a reader and a book is measured not in hours or minutes but, ideally, in months and years. […]
Containers matter. They shape stories and the experience of stories. Choose the right binding, cloth, trim size, texture of paper, margins and ink, and you will strengthen the bond between reader and text. Choose badly and the object becomes a wedge between reader and text.
~ Craig Mod, Will Digital Books Ever Replace Print
Notes:
- Don’t miss full essay by Craig Mod: Will Digital Books Ever Replace Print
- Image: Kindle by Claudia Gaiotto
Live & Learn 
We are on the same team again. Reading a book on a tablet is not the same. Not as rewrading, not as relational. I agree with all the points stated and have not purchased an e-book in almost two years, while adding to my already overstocked (according to my wife) bookshelves continuously.
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I straddle both sides of the fence (I’m a slow learner)…but I’m coming back..
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I just don’t think I can ever give up the smell and the weight of a real paper book! My Mom’s recently had to move to a nursing home — you can’t take much with you … but my sister brought books and Mom was delighted 🙂 I like to think I’d be the same .. MJ
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Wonderful mini story MJ…
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Old School…I want to touch the paper. ☺
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As a reformed book hoarder, I mostly use the library now. They’ve had to start charging a fee for inter-library loans, so it’s a little more to find all the books I want to read. And some books are only available digitally, which stops me in my tracks. Next visit, I need to ask a librarian how to access those.
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Smiling at the reformed book hoarder. Can one reform from this addiction?
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I’m here to tell ya. I used to manage a bookstore, so I was a Professional Hoarder!
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Funny!
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I love a real book, but the digital version is sure handy when traveling, or killing time in a waiting room, and that kind of thing.
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I’m with you Anneli. Lugging books around when traveling, not for me.
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There is nothing, nothing better nor filled with more anticipation than a stack of books resting on the kitchen counter waiting patiently to be taken back to the public library…and hauling back more…please.
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Or nothing bigger to fire up the guilt for not picking them up. Electronic versions are buried, suppressed, easy to forget.
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The connective experience, for me when I see books lining a shelf is, first a wondrous curiosity, then the spine reading starts, the decision made, the follow through of intent, the fingering starts, pincher movement engaged and lift off happens…the cover examined, a quick flip to the inside cover or flip to the backside. hmm…further decision, is this of interest or not? If I teeter, anticipation has been peaked, than I open the book to about the third chapter and read a paragraph or two, the defining moment of choice, yes or no? Investment of my time for pleasure comes with deliberation….to experience holding that printed pulp, first in my hands, then reading, my eyes moving along, sometimes pausing to ponder, sometimes laughing, crying, all the while absorbing experience, from either creative fiction or non-fiction events… the process of integrating into my mind these experiences of others, their skill at analytical analysis, the touch-points of, stark reality, humor, love, adventure, inspiration, truth, beauty and touch of life… nesting, finding home, in my heart….The impact, of reading a book, teaches, instilling compassion, understanding, courage & hope, helping me to relate better to others… the flickering screen is somewhat un-deminisonal lacking intimate touch and it needs maintenance, charging …now I must ready to venture from the cozy cabin in the Mt Hood National Forest out into the rain & under the cascading fall leaves to experience connection, immerse of myself walking along the creek of the Little Zig Zag trail to the waterfall….
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Amazing. Beautiful. Esp:
“first a wondrous curiosity, then the spine reading starts, the decision made, the follow through of intent, the fingering starts, pincher movement engaged and lift off happens…the cover examined, a quick flip to the inside cover or flip to the backside. hmm…further decision, is this of interest or not?”
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I agree, the screen creates the un dimensional sensation I find quite distancing.
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Digital books sounded so promising… yet the reality wasn’t. I still prefer paper books. Much more enjoyable to hold and easier to lose yourself in their pages.
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I’m with you…
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Now…will the bookstores ever come back as they once were? Wouldn’t it be nice to imagine so?
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It would be. Not the Barnes & Noble types but the smaller, local types.
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Yes! That’s exactly what I meant. Exactly.
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for convenience and oft necessity, the kindle is the go to. But…. I Love the book; the silken feel of the different types of papers, the weight and balance, its unique beauty. I had a kindle for 18 months before I used it. 🙂
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I’m squarely aligned with you Debi.
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I love my books…digital is just not the same. I like to feel my books.
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I’m with you Tina. (Except when traveling… :))
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reading matters…i do feel less distracted with the classic book…but i read differently…thanks for this post.
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I feel similarly. Thanks for dropping by and sharing.
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i completely identify with this. to me, a physical book is a part of the joy of the experience. it cannot be replaced. i can still get the story/info from a reader, but it does not become a part of me in the same way that a paper book does.
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I’m with you Beth.
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