ontheedgeofeverything

There’s something unexplainable about holding and reading a book. I can’t exactly pinpoint what it is that gives me such joy, but having an actual text in my hands and turning its pages as I immerse myself deeper and deeper in its plot is a sensation like no other.

My mom gave me an article to read the other day. Detailing how readers actually prefer hardcopy and paperback books to electronic versions of the same texts, the article gave some statistics regarding actual books versus e-books.

Written by David Silverberg for The Brantford Expositor newspaper, the article states how “in 2018, revenue from hardbacks and paperbacks exceeded revenue from e-books by more than $300 million in the United States.”

I can recall when e-books first emerged onto the scene and how many people remarked that their introduction would be the demise of actual books. As Silverberg writes in the article, “book lovers have long been beset by predictions that technology would kill off the printed and bound volume, and they’ve gamely pointed out the failure of these gloomy forecasts to materialize.”

Based on the $300 million revenue gain actual books earned last year, I think it’s safe to say these remarks were wildly inaccurate, as Silverberg mentions.

Reading this article sort of rejuvenated my hope for the writing industry overall. I was under the impression many people preferred e-books to actual books, but it’s quite apparent that my feelings towards books are shared by many other readers out there.

To me, reading a book electronically feels cold, almost as though I’ve distanced myself from the words I’m absorbing. When I’m able to hold a book in my hands, it’s like my connection to the text itself is amplified, making it a more meaningful experience in the process.

Silverberg concludes his article with the following statement, and I think it’s a great way to wrap up this post as well.

“If you’re fond of books, you’ll be additionally comforted to learn that despite the many times pundits have proclaimed the book’s death, its heart has continued to beat strongly, transcendent as always.”

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