The Printed Book

Written by Karlissa J.

There’s something pleasant about holding a book in your hands.

The texture of the cover. The subtle scents of the paper.

When children are young, they’re already pulling novels off of book shelves. They can’t read, or even recognize lettering. But even when they’re aren’t any pictures, children enjoy just flipping through the pages of books.

I’ve heard that some people say ebooks will take over, and people will stop making printed books altogether. I find that highly unlikely.

There are certainly benefits to ebooks. They’re cheaper to make, easier to pack around, and save paper.

However, in an era of digital technology, ‘physical’ experiences - holding a real book, weeding the garden, tossing around a basketball - almost seem to have gone from mundane to special merely because we have easier, digital alternatives to fall back on. There is something sacred about embodied experiences.

I know I’m not the only one who enjoys having a printed book to hold, to flip through, to place on a shelf.