Fer Dennings Sake, Whut is a Book?

A book is another name for a story.

Right now, that's all a "book" is for me. I don't think that the physical way that a story is presented determines whether its a book. When I look at the book vs. ebook debate, I really just see a debate over conveniences vs. inconveniences, and preferences vs. other preferences. Some people don't want to have to go to a library or a bookstore, so they would prefer to have a library in their hands, an ebook. And some, would rather hold a book, and be able to turn to any page they want, and have that more personal and physical feeling of reading a book. Even though an ebook isn't physical a book, it's still a book. It contains a story, just like a book. The difference to me is that some would prefer to read a story in a different way.

Like Joe Meno said, it doesn't matter which form the book takes on, it's always a book.

As I see that there really is no difference between the two, I would still somewhat prefer a physical book over an ebook. Like I said, it's really a battle of preferences and conveniences and inconveniences. I have to use an ebook for English because I couldn't find a copy of Brave New World. So I used my sister's ebook. I really don't like it, at least for school. It's slow, the "page" numbers are different, and I wish I could just flip to any page I wanted to, rather than having to press a button, at home it's not so terrible, I have an entire library in my hands, which is cool, but I would still prefer to have a physical book. Being the visual person that I am, I love the cover art on a physical book. While not all are great, most are beautiful, and make a bookshelf look cool and colorful. I also feel like a physical book is more personal. It may be mass produced, just like an ebook, but a physical book just seems more personal. They feel more real and human, and honestly, I find myself more protective over a physical book than I do an ebook. Physical books are always things that were passed down and kept, while an ebook has books that you rent, so it doesn't seem that important. You have to go out and make an effort to get the book, you have to really want it. With the ebook, you get things with the touch of a button. Like the internet, it all seems to be quick fix, and not as rewarding.

I refuse to panic, and I don't think that people should panic about the "future of books". I think that people are blowing the whole issue out of proportion. No matter what form a book takes, I think that reading will live on. What we really should be worrying about is if people stop writing. That would be bad.