On User Manuals, Digital Books, Travel, The Importance of eBooks and The Foresight of Thom Hogan
I like physical books. By that I mean I like a book I can hold in my hand, feel the texture, and maybe even revel in the smell of the paper and the ink. I like to consume well-done images that inspire or instruct. I like books that open themselves flat and allow me to look at them without having to hold down both sides of the tight binding of a signature in the book without being afraid that the book would snap closed if I turned lose with one or both hands.
But then I have to say that there is a “but” that goes with all of that. The bigger a book gets the less likely I am to have it along when I want it. Big books in heavy bindings don’t fit easily into the weight requirements of modern-day air travel. They’re, well, “big” and “big” and “ease of travel” are oxymorons. They just don’t work interchangeably.