A few years ago, I was the ultimate fan of ibooks&#x2F;kindles. Still am in some regard - when talking about space or moving from place to place, lugging around any kind of books or physical media sucks. I did this before from one coast to the other and back (SF -&gt; NYC -&gt; SF). Lugging shit around is stupid..<p>I remember the first time I went to Japan in 2000. I was a little shocked how everyone seemed to be buried in their phones on the subways. Seemed a little weird, but after a while, I was like, meh, it&#x27;s Japan.<p>Fast forward to 2015 and everyone has their face buried in their devices in the states. Walking. Driving (ugh). Bus. Stores. Subway. You name it. I do it too, of course, but not all the time. I still enjoy my walks around my city even if it&#x27;s to re-appreciate the same things along the same route. There&#x27;s something about disconnecting now; funny you have to even do this at all.<p>Books are a part of this. Not only the physical aspect, but words on a printed page that never change and always just are. It wasn&#x27;t until recently that it dawned on me how important physical book authors are to society and culture. It&#x27;s so easy to watch videos, movies, tv shows and nothing else. I love movies, but it&#x27;s not the same thought process. I feel bad for people who are not encouraged to read more because they definitely do not know what they&#x27;re missing.<p>To read a book...., <i>that</i> is a bicycle for the mind.<p>I don&#x27;t get to read as much as I want to, but whenever I go on vacation (which doesn&#x27;t happen much either :-\) I always being a few hard cover books. Yah, u lug them around, the additional weight sucks. But, having that book and picking out that chair or hammock, that&#x27;s one of the best things ever.