A book is a book. Does the physical form matter? Apparently, it does! I have heard a lot of people refer to paper books as real books and eBooks as… well… unreal books??? As someone who made the transition to ebooks with a lot of ease, I find this a bit strange. A book for me is about the content, the words, the story, the message of the author. Whether it gets printed on matte paper or glossy, whether it resides on a library shelf or a kindle, to me it is a real book.
I have had friends who find comfort in thumbing through dog-eared pages of a well read book. I have had buddies who seek solace in the aroma of musty old books. Those are the people who say they don’t find eBooks comfortable. I suppose these are the people for whom reading a book is about the whole experience. About settling down in their favourite nook, cradling the book in their hand and slowly turning the pages while savouring their cup of tea or coffee.
On the other hand there are geeks like me who feel that Kindle is a Godsend! It stores hundreds of books without cluttering a tiny apartment. It is a boon to carry around in long trips or vacations without breaking your shoulders with heavy book laden bags and the icing on the cake is synching across devices that means I can read on my phone, my kindle or my laptop! For me, a physical book or an eBook does not really matter. As long as I get to know the story!
Books are books and those who love books enjoy them. However, as Hemendra said, the paper books do have a personal touch, the smell of the book and availability on the shelf is great.
Agree Fayaz… I am the former category though… I just love books too much to bother about the form!
i think its about the connect, i have tried ebooks, while you get to know the story, you don’t find the connect. I think its about when your finger stop on certain words, and it evokes your emotion and all that. 🙂
I agree… for most people, it is the connect with the physical form that takes a precedence over the story!