Turning the Pages

A friend of mine reads books on his cell phone. I think that’s such a pity. The pleasure of reading is not just about the words that have been written. It comes from romancing the book—by caressing the cover in your hands, by turning the crisp white or yellowing pages, by remembering where the words fall on the page, by breathing in its smell. You imprint your personality on the book. That’s why you can’t replace a book with another copy of the same work.

Electronic reading takes away that romance. It’s the difference between sex and making love.