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. Were I still in school, the digital textbook would never work for me. I need to see the whole thing, not just small pieces of it. I have a hard time re-finding something I read in digital format because the view is fragmented. I wonder if anyone has done a study on reading retention in a book vs. digital format. (And would the age of those studied make a difference?)
Anyway, back to the original question, why books? Because, I can’t be the only one for whom reading is a tactile experience. Curling up with a Kindle, pad or computer has never really worked for me. For the alien, absent a power source or working technology, the book is the only option. But who is to say that it wasn’t the best option all along?