I was faced with a dilemma tonight. As a book reader for a film production company (and an avid reader on my own) I sometimes read up to two books a week. That’s a lot for my eyes and brain to handle, but I love it and would do this job even if I didn’t need the money, but when I was given an assignment and the book was in digital form but totaled over four hundred pages, I had to pause.

Could I really read a four hundred plus page book in digital form in three days?

No, I decided, I didn’t even want to try. My eyes hate it and so do my mind and body. So I went to a bookstore and bought a hard copy.

I love actual books. The feel of the pages, the way they fit in my hands, even the smell of them, and truth be told, I am not ready to go digital with them.

I was surprised to see that many others feel the same…

As I walked into a Barnes and Noble around 9pm this Thursday night, I found the place hopping. People were all around. A woman entered right as I did and a man was in line ahead of me to pay at the counter. Everywhere I looked, people were perusing the many different sections of the store. I was walking behind a young couple when I spotted this and then, I knew. It was a sign for me.

Hard copy books will not die.

As my cashier rang me up, I asked him how business was after remarking about Borders going bankrupt. He mentioned Borders hadn’t had an online store, just a deal with Amazon and I remembered that was the case and I never really liked it. I always wondered why they didn’t have their own retail online store… He thought that had something to do with their going out of business. Who knows, but regardless, it was nice to see the written page is alive and well.

And I learned tonight, I’m not alone in believing that some things just don’t have to be digital.