I had just been to a conference in Calgary, Canada, a conference set up by and for librarians. I met authors and illustrators I’d not known before. Great talk (in English and French) about books, writing, and most of all reading. I had a terrific time. But as I was flying home, and just about to land, I heard a flight attendant say to the person seated behind me, “Please turn off your book.” 

I was startled, though I had no reason to be. If there is any justification for having an e-book reader, it’s on airplanes with their ghastly cramped seats. Hauling around a Harry Potter volume, or War and Peace justifies a light, slim e-reader. Indeed, I had one with me and was using it for just that reason. 

But after being at a conference and seeing the beautiful picture books by Marie-Louise Gay, and enjoying the work of Richard Scrimger, I felt bad for young people who might only have e-books. It’s useful to recall that after Gutenberg brought the printing press to Europe, printed books were called “imitation books,” because they were not hand-crafted. So it goes: Stone, clay, papyrus, wax tablets, scrolls, codex, and the printed book. Over time texts have changed their form.

Still, the e-book is (for me) only about the ease of reading in odd places. The e (electricity) lies not the delivery system, but in the writing.