The Feel of a Book
For those of us who are fascinated and intrigued by books can agree that a book has a special 'feel' to it. Whether it's the way it feels to the touch, the smell of a brand new book, the sound of flipping pages, the marks on an old piece of literature, it all attracts us to it. Books have long been special and no wonder people have been hoarding and collecting them for centuries. When I was in university, I majored in English Literature. Since I read so many books on a daily basis, I lost that special appreciation for the book as an entity. I started throwing them around my room, stuffing them in my bags, sometimes dropping food on them etc. Now that it's been a year since graduation, when I pick up a book to read, I am more careful, I study it in my hand, I play around with the pages, and I love holding a good book in my hand.
I worry about the digitalization of books and reading. Books still need to be published in hard copies. E-books are great too but let's not lose 'real' books and keep growing our libraries with hardcopies. No, it is not a weird or crazy thing to prefer paper to a screen. Both are wonderful in their own way. The 'live' book still wins in my opinion though. Don't you just love the smell of a freshly printed novel? It makes you want to read it right away.
Image Credit » http://pixabay.com/en/book-books-bookshelf-read-67049/
Comments
MsTina wrote on July 20, 2014, 3:48 PM
I still prefer "real" books. I am more likely to read a book cover to cover if I buy it in hard copy form. I have tons of ebooks on my computer and I only browse the titles periodically. I do happen to have one open right now. It's called Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg. I hope can find the time to read it because it seems like a great resource.
astraldreamer wrote on July 20, 2014, 4:44 PM
I love the feel of a book, my daughter has a kindle and I tried reading a book on it once but I hated it, I think kindles and tablets should just be used for applications and games.
paigea wrote on July 20, 2014, 5:13 PM
I think real books are easier on my eyes. But I have never tried looking at an e book yet.
indexer wrote on July 20, 2014, 6:59 PM
Having spent 40 years as a professional librarian I can only agree with you! However, I also appreciate that information and entertainment can be acquired from many different formats, and they all have their place.
LeaPea2417 wrote on July 20, 2014, 7:35 PM
I love to read and collect hard bound books and paper back books. Only rarely have I read an e book.
BarbRad wrote on July 31, 2014, 2:50 PM
Actually, novels are about all I enjoy reading as eBooks. Paper books are easier to use. They are easy to flip through when you want to find something. They are definitely better to use as cookbooks in the kitchen. Even when I review fiction that 's on my Kindle, I get frustrated with the navigation when I cant find the part I want to write about unless I already know where it is. But Kindles are great for waiting rooms and travel.
oldies909 wrote on September 28, 2014, 8:15 PM
I agree there is nothing like the feel of a book in your hand.
iwrite28 wrote on November 10, 2014, 2:46 AM
Nothing compares to reading a "real" book. Somehow virtual books just don't feel like you are actually reading a book. Also, when I go to a bookshop the smell adn feel of teh printed book pushes me towards buying it more than any online descriptions ever can.
angelsherry wrote on November 17, 2014, 8:14 PM
There is a book I read that talks about exactly what you mention. Technology has grown so much that people refuse to pick up a real book. I love those way better! I always have the habit of smelling a book once it is in my hands. I can freely live my world when I am around books. I hope that never goes away because of technology.
scheng1 wrote on December 5, 2014, 8:18 AM
I still read newspaper and books. Nothing can replace the smell of printed books, and newspapers.