Ebook or not Ebook: Is That the Question?

Okay, I get it - you love books, I love books, we all love books. We wouldn't be here in a macro and micro sense if we didn't. They contain the knowledge of., or escape from, reality. They can affirm, they can contradict, they can challenge, they can teach; they take us through a myriad of emotions, each greater than the last because they are the most recent, and thus the most affecting of our lives, until the next. And who doesn't picture that special moment or two when we are able to find that comfy chair, that favorite snack and beverage and that sweet, blessed escape where nothing matters, yet everything is alive in our own little worlds, swirling, twirling until we are "full" at least for that moment in time. We can picture it, but what does our companion look like? Is it a tome of paper to be savored as each page turns, or a mystical device that allows us to peruse the novel in electronic form? We've heard the arguments for and against each, but I posit that perhaps we are missing the premise of the debate? Instead of commanding the benefits of our choice and condemning the costs of the other method, should we celebrate the most important point? With either method, whether by paper or ebook, we are READING? Is that the essence of learning, of gathering, of disseminating, of life. We have the means, by any mean necessary to gain in our station over our previous position in the matter of minutes, hours, days, weeks and even months. Picture the pleasure of the process, without critiquing the tool, because it's the practice which make us perfect, at least in our eyes. Personally, there are moments when I prefer to open the book for the first time, after the requisite sniffing, the breathing in of the soul of the author which will never die because we keep their most precious words to the world in our heart, as Carlos Ruiz Zafon's reminds us in Shadow of the Wind. There are other times, that the convenience, the logistics, even the weight, make an electronic device as simplistic as our phone, or other device, allow us to catch a glimpse of our "reality" while waiting in line, in an office, or other setting, where we feel we are "bookless" at the most inopportune time. So here's to you and you and you - whether I can see the cover of your book or not, depending on your preference - here's an idea, why don't we introduce ourselves, and share those special snippets together of that special passage that means so much to us - I promise the next question will not be, "did you read that in a regular book or an ebook?" Because we will both have that knowing look, that knowledgeable look, because we read! Read on.....