There is a New Yorker Magazine cover that has an alien on a destroyed planet Earth sitting in the midst of broken computers and telephones and Kindles, calmly reading a book.  I love that cover.  There has been much discussion (especially amongst book people) about the ultimate demise of the book.  But to misquote Mark Twain, the reports of the book’s death have been greatly exaggerated.

It is true that the print media in general is fighting what appears to be a losing battle against it’s digital foes.  A daily printed newspaper can’t possibly be as up-to-date as it’s digital counterpart.  A Kindle is far easier to lug around school than a backpack full of textbooks.  And I would much rather just take my phone to church than a set of scriptures.

But when I really want to study those scriptures, I want the real thing.  I want to hold my fingers in three spots and flip back and forth between them, and mark them in a way that makes sense to me.   [Read more…]