Paper vs. Digital

There has been a lot of discussion about printed books going the way of the dinosaur. The digital age has arrived, and eBooks are the new thing. Well, it's true that the digital age has arrived and eBooks are the new thing, but I don't believe that printed books will go the way of the dinosaur. At least not for another few years, anyway. Like fifty, I'd say.

One of the reasons I say that, other than the fact that a lot of people just plain prefer paper, is that having a real physical book in your hands is really a different experience than sitting in front of a computer screen or an eReader screen.  Turning pages, smelling the print, feeling the paper, is all part of the experience of reading a book. And digital books remove all of that.

Of course, you still have the words. And therefore you can still read. But it's not the same. Like now, for me. I have yet to receive my debut book, Killer of Killers, in print. I do have the digital copy. And I've been happy perusing it on a computer screen. But I long for the moment when I can hold my book in my hands and turn the pages and read the ink. So, even now, the fact that I'm a published author has not  been, shall I say, consummated yet. Because even though it has happened, I don't have a real book in my possession to show for it.

Well, I expect to have one this week. In fact, I expect to have ten or eleven this week. And when they arrive, only then will I be able to hold my book and say, "I wrote this book." And I will sit down and I will read it, and turn the pages just like in the olden days. Somehow that just sounds better. Is that an old school thing? Maybe it is. Maybe I'm just an old school type of guy.