I'm really lamenting the demise of physical books and am happy I went through college when I did. Without a doubt having a whole volume of books at hand in a lightweight device is awesome. But reading a book is about much more than just the content to me. None of the devices on the market adequately model how I interact with a book and I think fundamentally they can't.
E.g., I constantly refer back to previously read material. I never know 100% where it is or know in advance that I'm going, but I have a rough idea of where it was by the thickness of the book. If I'm reading a novel, I like to refer to some previous dialog. If I'm reading a math book, I like to go back to the motivating example. When the depth component is removed it's surprisingly difficult to find my place. Likewise, I can navigate through a book by thumbing through it much faster than I can press the "prev" or "next" button or try to perform a binary search by entering in random page numbers.
Having said all that, I have a Sony Reader and I keep it in my bag when I commute. If I end up getting stuck someplace longer than anticipated, it's really handy to have a whole library at my hands. It's just not my preferred way of reading.
E.g., I constantly refer back to previously read material. I never know 100% where it is or know in advance that I'm going, but I have a rough idea of where it was by the thickness of the book. If I'm reading a novel, I like to refer to some previous dialog. If I'm reading a math book, I like to go back to the motivating example. When the depth component is removed it's surprisingly difficult to find my place. Likewise, I can navigate through a book by thumbing through it much faster than I can press the "prev" or "next" button or try to perform a binary search by entering in random page numbers.
Having said all that, I have a Sony Reader and I keep it in my bag when I commute. If I end up getting stuck someplace longer than anticipated, it's really handy to have a whole library at my hands. It's just not my preferred way of reading.