Polly44 wrote:Ooooooo, it drives me nuts when people say that! Plenty of people read books, not that i know many people who do, but that's beside the point. Or when people say "Get a Kindle" IT'S NOT THE BLASTED SAME!!!!! Sorry, i get a bit crazy about this, lol. But it's seriously not the same. I hate Kindle's and others like that with a passion. I get that they are good and practical in some cases, but it's still not the same. And some of them have a page turning feature thing i believe- well why don't you get an actual book then, huh?
You are preaching to the choir! XD I once wrote a very long rant about "e-readers" when they were first catching on.
It seriously isn't the same by any means. A book is an experience. From the smell of it, to the weight of it in your hands. Personally, I find screens to be very distracting. Unless I'm actively doing something on them my attention wanders. And on big blocks of text my eyes tend to feel the strain. But give me a book and I'll happily read for hours. And there have been studies done that show that lack of focus isn't uncommon with screens.
Also - I just love the way books look. I would enjoy collecting books for no other reason then aesthetics, like how some people collect stamps or figurines. I love how covers look and feel, I like the designs used on books (and trying to decipher what the book is about based on clues, like the cover design, the size, etc.), I like feeling the material it's made out of, feeling the heft of the pages, and smelling the ink and paper. Ah - if heaven has a smell it's probably that of books (or cotton candy - one or the other probably). Looking at a bookshelf you can see physical books have personality to them - there are some that are friendly, others are aloof, some are austere and serious, and other's like to pretend being serious, some are loud and busy, and some are quiet and overlooked, but I love 'em all. XP
I do understand how this technology can potentially enhance a book reading experience - making a story interactive to teach children in a fun way, or to help teach students. But just reading on a screen, when there are perfectly good paper books around. No thanks! Plus - you can't hug an e-book. XP *hugs books*