Books and Kindle

I recently was borrowing a friends Kindle to read a work that I needed to read for class and felt... disappointed? I understand the utility of such a device and that it saves us time, space, and organization. In a world like ours, people are constantly looking for technology to simplify our lives. Yet how I've grown up defines reading as something that the Kindle can't quite accomplish. Reading a book means sitting down and leafing through the pages, smelling that old/new book smell, and preferably doing it on a beach! As I held the kindle and turned the pages from "left to right" I realized it didn't have the familiar, satisfying feel of turning the page in a book. Even the read itself was a little off to me. I've grown up in a digital age that most certainly has involved a great deal of digital reading. I've read full texts online and oftentimes my assignments have been on websites, but its always been easier and more enjoyable to read printed texts. I agree that this technology can be great for some people, but I still think that the students we teach should know the joy of opening up a book. It is still on our shoulders to reinforce that reading is indeed a joy, but to shift into the digital age and not learn what it feels like to open up a good book at the beach seems sad to me.