But You Can't Hug an E-Book

All the buzz in the publishing world of late is e-books. E-books on the Kindle, e-books on the iPad, e-books on the Nook, e-books on the Sony Reader, e-books everywhere except on  bookshelves, which apparently will soon become obsolete pieces of furniture because the printed books that they hold now will be displayed in museums, along with ancient Greek pottery, Native American arrowheads, and bullets from the Civil War.

When writers and publishers get together, the future of the printed book becomes the topic of conversation. Will it survive?

As an editor, I'm not worried. Like wedding rings, framed college diplomas, and the family china tucked safely away in a cabinet, books represent something deeper than just the information and stories they contain.  If you're a book lover, stop right now and think about a book that you own. It has a story beyond its story, right? So that when you see that book, you think about the story inside, but you're thinking about other things too.

Two books do this for me, and one is Heidi by Johanna Spyri, particularly the edition pictured here. I probably read this book five times during my grade school years, and I loved Grandfather, Heidi, Peter, Clara--and even Heidi's aunt who meant well, but was just a little uptight. But the reason I loved this book so much was that it was a gift from my dad--one of two books that he sent to me when he had to go away for some training for his job. It was the only time he travelled for his work, and he was gone for a couple of weeks, as I recall. But he sent me Heidi and a collection of Anderson's Fairy Tales, and I read them both over and over.

A tattered copy of the Norton Critical Edition of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn holds a special place on my bookshelf and in my heart. It was required reading for freshman composition. I fell in love with it, and I wrote papers about Huck Finn whenever it was appropriate in my literature classes. For me, Huck Finn represents the joy of learning,  an English major's adventures in analyzing and writing about literature, and memories of one of the best teachers I have ever had.

True book lovers will keep the printed book alive. We need tangibles to remind us of the intangibles. That's why we wear wedding rings, save those Christmas ornaments our children made in kindergarten, and treasure our grandmother's handwritten recipe cards. These things are precious to us because they stand for something far more valuable than what they're made of--someone else's love for us and the times of joy that we have shared.

God recognizes our human need to have tangibles to represent the intangibles. That's why He gave us baptism and the Lord's Supper. The water that we see and that our child feels reminds us that we are impure and need  Jesus to wash away our sins, and the bread and wine of communion remind us of Jesus' broken body and shed blood, which provide remission of our sins. Tangibles to help us remember the intangibles.

Books are more than paper, ink, and glue, but that paper, ink, and glue allow us to see, touch, and remember the significant people and moments of our lives. E-books are here to stay, and both their producers and consumers will learn how best they can be used in time. But no one will ever curl up with a good e-book by a fireplace on a cold, rainy day, and grandchildren won't snuggle up with Grandma as she reads from a Kindle. You just can't hug an e-book.

What's your book story? Share it in the comments, please.