These are excerpts from the author’s book “Deep,” which contains eight of his small books published in the form of Wisdom Literature covering different aspects of life: Facing troublemakers, dealing with pain, personal financial issues, gastronomy, reading, criticizing, inspiring, and feeling always good to go.

Series 5: Reading.

Isn’t the E-book a Real Book?

• The e-book has become an impressive reality, regardless of whether it will replace the paper book or not.

• Some readers not only insist on the e-book and reject the paper book, they request a specific electronic format rather than just any type of e-book.

• The bias shown by some toward the electronic book, and the reluctance and nostalgia that others feel about paper books, is likely similar to what was going on when the paper book replaced the reading media that preceded it.

• Disagreement and controversy over the acceptance or rejection of the e-book probably appeared similarly every time there was a change in the form of the paper book itself, whether in terms of size, paper material, or even printing in color versus black only.

• The e-book is definitely not the end. An entirely or somewhat different new reading medium will appear, so the debate will be renewed, and people will be seized by conflicting states of enthusiasm for the new and nostalgia for the old.

• The paper book seems to be a stubborn fighter. Despite the power of the electronic book and the ease of its spread and circulation, the paper book remains strongly present, whether as the medium many reading lovers still prefer, or as an additional—and perhaps essential—copy alongside the electronic version of the same book.

• A paper book retains many advantages that an e-book does not provide despite its own advantages. However, the existence of the paper book seems to be linked to nostalgia and getting used to a particular form of reading more than to the irreplaceable advantages of the paper book.

• Regardless of the extent of the survival of the paper book and the strength of its presence, the coming days seem as if they are moving strongly in favor of the electronic book, given the integration of the idea of dealing through what is electronic in all fields. For example, it is much easier to copy from e-books for the purpose of citation or sharing of commentary, which also applies to e-writing. This in particular strengthens the position of the e-book.

• The e-book has not only become a reality but a reality that has gone beyond imagination, both in terms of the incredible speed of spread and circulation, and the massive storage spaces that have been astoundingly and incomparably decreased.

• In any case, and apart from what nostalgia imposes or even the persisting practical advantages, the paper book will remain as much as what will remain from a tangible reality in our lives versus a virtual reality.