Paper Books

Paper book is no longer a redundant term. There was much discussion generated with this article Why Printed Books Will Never Die, reshared by +Jonathan H. Liu at Wired. Tech devices, like tablets, etc. are an integral part of our family life. And I am grateful for educational apps, E-books, and sites like Khan Academy that have helped Eric tremendously with school. That said, printed books occupy a special place in our home. That place would be all over the place. They are spilling over the kids' night table --books that help them fall asleep. They are left on the dining table --needed them for homework. They are in the living room --the latest acquisition from our last trip to the book store. They are by the front door --need to return those to the library. They are in the kitchen --dinners magically pulled out from between the covers of cookbooks. They are wedged in the narrow space between tops of books and shelf above --old books freshly looked at but too soon to put back. Way up, out of reach, my books from a life before children. Oh and look here, need to get rid of A to Z Mysteries and make room for Goosebumps. Hmm... seems like not long age that I switched out the picture books. All these books that surround us tell another story beside the one printed inside. It is difficult to imagine them all gone from our life.

Yesterday, I took Eric for the first time to a local comic book store.  His face was beaming with delight as he stepped into this sea of comic books.  How can this experience possibly be replicated digitally?  What would replace the joy of rifling through endless stacks as if hunting for treasure. Browsing around, I also noticed vintage superhero action figures behind glass cases, posters, and other toys. But there was practically no sign in this place that we were actually in the 21st century.