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.
