Post 2: What is a book?

A book is a friend. A friend that can comfort us as readers by letting us escape to a new, different, imaginative world. A friend who lets us use our imagination to create that world, and lets us hold on to that false reality. A book is a friend, and can only be a true friend if it is a physical copy. Nacy Jo Sales stated, "There's something about the physicality of a book, the way it looks and feels and even smells--the notes witten in the margins--that makes it a living, breathing companion(who, like yourself, is actually dying). I don't think books will ever disappear for this reason: We need them too much. They remind us that we exist; they show us how we have lived." Books have sentimental value because you are able to remember them more distinctly. You might remember the smell of the picture book that you used to read as a child. With a kindle or iPad, you won't get that same effect; you might remember the imagery that the author used, or the overall plot, but you will never measure up to that freshly printed book that you received. Don't get me wrong, I do think e-books are wonderful tools. I have my own kindle and I love to use it when I'm traveling, but when I'm at school I like using a REAL book instead. I like flipping through the book to see my old annotations, especially when I'm writing an essay on the novel. Yes, you might be able to search key words or terms with your device, but can a kindle tell you where the rising action is? No. You would have to go towards the middle-end of the book and scrool until you found the section you were looking for. Books are much easier to navigate. Physical books should be kept because they are our friends and our best tools.