It was once a sign of prominence to be literate. In modern times however almost all people can read, and although the basic grammar still remains relatively similar, the way in which a person reads something has drastically changed. Books or document have always been read from the same device. Be it Homer’s Iliad or an issue of Mad Magazine we have always experienced their stories on paper. In the past few years however people have begun reading books electronically. First on a desktop then a laptop and now there are even eBook readers. These readers allow a person to carry around a device the size of one novel that is capable of storing thousands. Technically an eBook reader like Amazon’s Kindle is superior to paperback books. It is more compact, there is a built in dictionary, and one never has to worry about the dreaded paper cut. Paper books however are loved by people for nostalgic things like their smell or the feel of the pages on their fingertips. I’m not saying there is anything wrong with enjoying the smell of dried ink, but I would say the main reason people would probably choose paper over electronic is due to emotions. When they open a book for the first time, and smell that aroma they can’t help remember the good times they’ve had reading. It is that nostalgia factor that we hold on to, and that will make us keep paper books around. With that being said however, I do not believe eBooks will die down. On the contrary I believe devices like the Kindle will only grow in popularity simply for its convenience. Sure it may not be quite as effective for some people, but when the first washing machine was developed I’m also sure that hand washing was probably still more effective than the machine…But I bet it was damn helpful.