http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/culturebox/2010/07/judging_a_girl_by_her_cover.html

For me, it comes down to nostalgia, the tangibility, the smell of the pages, the scribbles in the margins, the dedications in the front cover of the old copy you found at a used bookstore, a unique copy that you and you alone own, etc. I guess, perhaps, there are two kinds of readers: those who like to read and those who love books, who read and reread and let their eyes take in the beauty of the language on the page, the visceral experience of the power of the written word. I’m sure a person reading War and Peace on a Nook will “get as much out of it” as reading an original autographed copy of the novel, but I’m willing to bet that a person who loves books will form a deeper sentimental attachment–maybe not to the story and its characters–but to the memory of reading the book, the smell of a good read, where they were and what they drank as they read those words.

In short, Nooks and Kindles are for those who “like to read.” And I think it’s obvious into which camp I fall . . .

I write as a Catholic children’s author and children’s entertainment entrepreneur involved in the production of my own series of eBooks (families, check out the Kingdom of Patria at http:.//kingdomofpatria.com).

I also write as a former academic and lover of literature who owns a substantial collection of conventionally bound books. I love conventional books, especially of course those with superior design. I am also a fan of electronic books. I do not see why it has to be an either/or on this question. For however much I love the design of good conventional books, I love the ideas within them more. Lest we forget, “conventional” books are artifacts or “machines” just as much as ebooks are (minus the electronic components). There was a time when what we think of as print books were a novelty. Plato’s Socrates in one Platonic dialogue views even the act of writing ideas on papyrus (as opposed to pure vocal dialogue) with suspicion.

But again, my point is not to pit one format against the other, but to encourage us all to let a thousand flowers bloom. I love the look and feel and reading experience of my first edition of P.G. Wodehouse’s “The Old Reliable.” I love the comfort of reading in bed with my Kindle, with a small electronic library at my disposal.

Isn’t life grand?

for nostalgia, nothing beats a book. for portability, nothing beats having a library in the palm of your hand. people read for different reasons. any claim that one form is better than the other is proud snobbery.

the popularity of ebooks also enables more authors to self-publish, which can be good for the author and bad for literature in general (as the average product is lower-quality).

I have published a short story and a novel online, and have found a powerful medium for literary expression that I might not have been able to find in traditional publishing. I can also update my works over time to perfect my vision, and any small errors I have made. Already companies are experimenting with interactive fiction on the Kindle, i.e. “Choose Your Own Adventure”.

Be patient. We haven’t seen everything that e-books can do.