The Future of Books

      I want to embrace the new technologies that supposedly make reading a better experience, but I just haven't been able to. I am not sure if it is due to practicality or comfort, but I really prefer hard bound books to the tablets. I don't understand why you would want so many distractions on the tablet while trying to read. I guarantee that I would spend my time playing games instead of reading novels. I love the experience of going to halfprice books and wandering around until I find a book that looks interesting. It is exciting, and it also becomes a social experience. Instead of just sitting alone at home picking out novels online, I am interacting with fellow buyers and the people that work there. My trips to halfprice books are relaxing because I am focused only on finding a great book. I am concerned about people trying to jazz up reading with smells, sounds, etc. Reading would be so much harder for me because I would be distracted. Also, I want to be the one to imagine the story. Once the work is published, it is completely out of the author's hands, and I am free to visualize my own characters. If people continue to focus on the writing, I think that the future will be bright. However, if the glitz and glam distract even the authors, we are all doomed.