Welcome to MobileRead Keith.
Psst!! Ebooks ARE "real" books...just digital versions.
I'm sure you meant to say "paper" books ....
As for spending money on ebooks, there are literally 10's of thousands out there for free, legally. Written by masters of the art of writing, and many great low cost books are available by talented independent authors.
A good place to start would be here, in our Patricia Clark Memorial Library. Hand formatted by our own members, eliminating the frustrations of wading thru errors or extraneous pages.
The "feel the book in your hand" comment is common......I had it myself. After only a few minutes with my K1 2 1/2 yrs ago, I realized its the content, not the physical book itself, thats important.
Hope you wind up feeling the same.