Jessica Scott

Bet you thought that was going to say basics, huh? Well in the last few weeks, I’ve been conducting a little experiment.

I’ve been reading ebooks on my iphone. I know, after the last time I spoke about ebooks and confessed I wasn’t particularly fond of them, I went and did a little trial run. I read a few books, just to get a feel for it. I read a bunch of sample chapters, which is currently my favorite feature of the ebook/kindle format.

But what I don’t have is hard copies of the books I enjoyed in my library. Oh, they’re on my to buy list, but to date, they have not yet been purchased. Between us girls? I doubt they ever will be purchased, even though I enjoyed them and they probably would have made it to my keeper shelf.

The other thing I’ve discovered is that I retain more of the book when I read the physical book. I couldn’t recall the character names of one I’d read on ebook but the physical book I had waiting for me in time for my morning workout, I simply could not put down. Whether format had something to do with it or not, I can’t say but I do know there was a difference.

So I’m not sure whether the ebook thing is for me. I just ordered physical copies of 2 books I’m dying to read: Allison Brennan’s Cardinal Sin and Laura Griffin’s Unspeakable. Both are auto buys for me, as is Sherry Thomas. And Sherry’s latest: His At Night nearly had me in tears this morning while I was working out. I loved it, I loved that I had my hand on the physical copy more. I also love that I can look at my shelf and see all of Sherry and Laura’s books, sitting neatly in order of publication. I can’t do that with a file. The files are too easy to lose.

This is just me. I know there have been times I wished I had a digital copy of a book, like when I was in Iraq. But just like it would be easier for me to have carried a hard drive full of books (I had a full disk of just music) instead I hauled a tat box full of books. The only place I felt even remotely normal in Iraq was at the CAC where all the free books were.

So while I won’t say I’ll never have an ebook reader (or an iPad) I will say that I’m going to encourage my kids to read physical books and I will do the same. The experience, for me, is different and one that is too integral to who I am to be ignored.

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I’m a book person. I’m not biased against ebooks, but when it comes to reading, I prefer books. I like looking at my shelves and seeing Laura Kinsale books that I’ve had since I was a teenager. I like looking at my Anne McCaffrey collection that I’ve read every year since I was in 7th grade. I have memories tied into those physical books and when a book earns keep status, I like nothing more than seeing it on my shelf.

Don’t get me wrong. I want an iPad. I lusted for a Kindle but never broke down and bought one because I was deploying to Iraq when Kindle mania was going strong and I wasn’t sure I’d be able to download books on it while I was there. The lust passed.

I’ve since discovered the Kindle app on my iPhone. I’ve read a bunch of preview chapters and one book on it. I can see me buying more books if I had the iPad or even a Kindle, but shelling out 200-500$ for the pleasure of reading books is not something I can justify at the moment.

Then there’s the limitations of ebook readers. I can’t read a Kindle during take off and landing in an airplane. I wouldn’t want to take my shiny new iPad to Padre Island, where sand and wind nearly wrecked my iPhone a few weeks ago. And God forbid one of my kids get ahold of the files and delete them. It’s a heck of a lot easier to lose a file than a physical book.

I’m torn about digital media in general. In cleaning out my garage this weekend, my husband found 3 CDs that I’d bought in Germany. Seeing the covers brought me back to being 19 years old and living on my own for the first time in a foreign country. Hearing the songs took me all the way back. I would have had the same memories by just hearing the song, but holding the busted CD case and seeing the names of bands I’d long since forgotten gave it a little extra.

I’ve spent hours looking for a sone. It was a CD I’d had since Germany, some unknown techno compilation. I Googled the song. I searched my files. It was gone. Not on iTunes, not anywhere. Gone.

It happened to be on a blank CD compilation I’d made up over 10 years ago. How easy was it for me to find that? Had it not been for the physical CD, it would have been nothing but a fading memory.

So there’s something to the tangible. A real book inspires memories. A real CD holds forgotten songs. Kindles and iPads are great for the right now, but what about the memories. For me, a file will not hold the same sensory input as a physical book.

Don’t get me wrong, I still want an iPad. But for me, physical books are still the treasure I hold and smell and touch and absorb. And given the premium price for a Kindle and even more for an iPad, I believe those that sing the death knell of physical books are a tad premature.

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There’s nothing quit so frustrating as finally settling on a title for your book, that you’ve worked on forEVER, only to find that a NYT bestselling author has a book with the same title and the same hero: a wounded GI. Ah well, back to the title drawing board. At least my hero isn’t a pilot, too. That’s another book.

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