Ten years ago, many people thought that the age of physical books was coming to an end. The objects that had been the companions (伙伴) of millions of readers for hundreds of years were about to disappear. Soon, we'd all be reading on little electronic screens and laughing at the memory of places called "libraries" and "bookshops".
But it seems not true about the idea of the death of the physical books. At least in the UK, as The Guardian noted, sales of e-books are falling while sales of physical books are rising. More surprisingly, it's young people who are buying the most physical books. More than 60 percent of 16-to-24-year-olds preferred print books to e-books. The most popular reason given was:"I like to hold the product."
Books become very personal objects to lovers of reading. It often starts with the way they get them. Many buyers of books like to write down their names on the inside cover when they've bought one. And we carry books around with us everywhere.
If there's a mark made on the pages from coffee or food, it doesn't matter. These accidents make the book—our book—even more personal. It's as if readers of physical books make friends with them.
Of course, some could say that the devices(设备) on which people read e-books, like Kindles and iPads are also objects that we like. But it isn't quite the same. A Kindle can hold as many pieces of writing as a whole library. But a story we remember from our time turning its pages in our favourite armchair enters our memory forever.
Physical books are as valuable to some readers as photographs of family members.
This "friendship" people develop with books isn't just about feelings. Research has shown that readers remember more information read from physical books than electronic ones.
However, there's no doubt e-books are here to stay. They aren't simply a "here today, gone tomorrow" thing. But it's also certain that physical books, which have been in production since the fifteenth century, are here to stay, too.
