Paperless Society?

This post may not be entirely eco-friendly of me. It might not seem tech savvy. It may seem a bit hypocritical, the electronic glow of the computer screen the only light as I sit here typing this at 3 a.m. But since finishing a book tonight I have not been able to get these thoughts from my head and so I submit them to you.

I look at the new e-readers and cell phone applications designed to put thousands of books immediately at your fingertips and instead of the excitement that some feel I can't help but feel a bit sad. There is a comfort in picking up a book. The weight of the book matches the expectations for what you may find between its covers. The heft can seem a bit daunting upon beginning but after finishing it feels like a badge of accomplishment. A new book with a pristine spine is like a new acquaintance, opening to you slowly and requiring some effort. But a book that has been well loved, read and re-read over the years will show you all the familiarity of an old friend. And whether it be the quick turn of a page from a reader dying to resolve their curiosity, the languid turn of a bored student flipping through a text book, or the heavy handed thunk of a toddler turning the thick pages of a picture book there is simple joy to be found in the feel of those pages between your fingers.

While I am not often moved to tears by movies, I am a sucker for a sad book. In this there is something else that an electronic version of a book or poem will never have. There is something almost poetic about teardrops on the page of a book, concrete evidence that something written on those pages has touched you as you touched those pages.

There are also certain sounds that come with reading. The sounds of the turning pages of different books are as varied as the voices of different people. The crackling of the spine of a book is like cracking knuckles. I enjoy a lot of sounds. I love music and the sound of rain coming down on the roof. I love the contented sighs of a sleeping baby. I actually like the creaking of an old wood floor. I love laughter and the sound of cards shuffling and the early morning sounds of the beach. But I can't think of anything more personally satisfying than the soft thud of closing the back cover of the book that you have just finished. And I find that the more books I read, the more chapters I take in, the more lines I ingest, the more words I devour- the more I cherish that sound.

It seems however that we have entered a digital age. People are beginning to prefer digital photo albums and digital picture frames, electronic copies of books and magazines, and doing crossword puzzles online. But I hope to one day write a book. I don't know what it will be about. I don't know when I will write it. But I can tell you this;

I hope that one day if I ever do write a book it will touch people's imaginations, their hearts, and also their hands.