I originally tried to embrace the concept of electronic books (e-books, I think they are called) when they first rose to prominence.  I even read a few e-books on my fancy schmancy iPad.  Yet, as time went on, I found myself increasingly not wanting to read e-books.  It’s gotten to the point where I sort of scoff every time I see someone on the subway with a Kindle.

E-books do have their benefits; I can admit that.  For instance, portability.  If you’re reading Atlas Shrugged or Infinite Jest or something similarly biblical in size (or I guess the actual Bible, if you’re into that), you might get tired of carrying it around with you.  Books are heavy.  iPads, Kindles, Nooks, and whatever the hell Borders is trying to pass off as an e-book reader are all very lightweight.  And of course, you can carry like as many books with you at a time as you want because it’s all on one device.  There’s also the small benefit of e-books being on demand, so to speak.  You can get almost any book, like, right now.  Not sure when it is ever that absolutely vital to get a book immediately, but still, you do have to physically go to a bookstore or wait for an Amazon delivery for old school books.

However, to me, the benefits of e-books are far outweighed by the benefits of old school books (you, know, like printed hardcovers or paperbacks).  And I sincerely hope that I will never live in a world where books are only electronic.

Here are the aforementioned benefits of old school books.

New book smell. This is quite possibly my favorite smell in the entire world.  If someone could somehow bottle up new book smell and allow me to wear it as a perfume, I would go for that.  You just don’t get the same satisfaction from sniffing your iPad.  Not that I haven’t tried.

Anti-theft. I always have this fear that someone will snatch my iPad out of my tiny little hands in public places.  And from what I’ve heard, this does happen. But chances are, no one is going to steal a paperback book out of your hands, or even a hardcover book for that matter.

Real page-turning action.  There’s something oddly satisfying about turning actual pages.  It’s such a feeling of accomplishment when you finish a chapter or even when you give yourself a little bit of a paper cut.

Bookstores. I love going to bookstores, even though I usually leave with way too many books.  I can physically touch, hold, and caress any book that interests me (I’m a bookstore slut, clearly), and then I can judge it by not only its cover, but also its back cover summary, the first page, the type of paper used in the book, the smell (of course), and the author photo, if applicable.

Making your mark. Whether you underline, highlight, or dog-ear pages of a book, you make your mark on it in some way, almost like you’re interacting with a living thing. I personally love looking back through books I’ve read to find quotes that I found important at the time of reading.

Bookshelves. No one will ever invite you over to their house and ask you to check out the digital bookshelf on their iPad. And if they do, then that’s the house of someone I will never visit again.  Bookshelves give guests an interesting peek into who you are.  Plus they make you feel cool and distinguished when you’re sitting home alone, presumably reading while petting your obese cat.  If you don’t have any books around your house, well that just gives a guest the message that you’re either an e-book reader or totally illiterate.

Book signings. I love going to hear writers talk about their books.  But I don’t think I’d ever be able to ask a writer to sign their e-book.  That doesn’t seem like it would work.

The pains of being a writer. If I ever someday succeed in writing a novel or even getting anything published at all, I would not feel very accomplished to learn that my book was only published in electronic form. It’s just not the same.  It would feel about the same as writing this blog (which feels great, by the way).

Arrogance. If you’re someone who reads really embarrassing books all the time, things you wouldn’t want other people to know you’re reading, then go right ahead and purchase an e-book reader and download the latest Nora Roberts thriller (or is it romance?).  But if you read semi-legitimate literature, its sometimes a nice little pat on the back knowing that someone could be looking over and thinking “Oh shit, that girl reads Updike”.

It’s been said that school books will be entirely replaced by electronic books in the coming years.  This I support having been screwed one too many times by my university bookstore’s policy of “new editions” every single year featuring an additional chapter that the professors haven’t read.  However, I don’t think e-books for pleasure will ever entirely replace old school books.  But if anyone thought they could, hopefully this has made them think twice.

- Lauren Miller