Thanks so much, HistoryWes!
I'd love to hear what others have to say about this question. Where did you read about it, if you don't mind me asking?
You hit the mark when you say we are "used" to page numbers, and it's not an easily changed habit. I've found that I am very dependent on the page when actively recalling something I've read. It's hard to explain: it's like the page makes a visual frame in my memory - a white backdrop - and I zoom in. The loss of that reference (top or bottom of the page, left or right side of the open book) has actually made itself felt now and again ("Now where exactly did I read that?") since I've switched to the reader.
Also what SeaBookGuy and elcreative said: a loss of pages means losing "flipping convenience." Now you can't just check to see when the story really ends, or glance to see where the pictures are...
But those are just growing pains! We have to embrace the wonderful things digitalization brings to books (word search, variable font size, easy storage/transport). If this means learning a new way to read and recall, then so be it!
It might also mean splitting your reading into 2 - "flipping" through your ebook on the computer first
and reading in detail on the e-reader later.
It also means, I think, we have to devise a new way to document books and, therefore, establish a new way to refer to them.
One last thing. The printed page is still the "real" one in the sense of being the definitive, official copy. Any academics out there will know that it is important to use reliable text sources. The guarantee of the printed copy comes from the name of the publisher. A student can rely on the translation of Derrida offered by Routledge, for example; one should be wary about citing an html copy of Writing and Difference downloaded from the internet...
But that leads us just a little
Sorry to yammer on like that! Have a great day!