Quote:
Originally Posted by Sirtel
For me, a book means primarily its content. The form or shape that content has been put in is just a shell, not the book itself. To me, a paper book is no more or less real than an ebook, an audiobook or a clay tablet. I find it utterly weird to call a paper book "real" simply because the content is encased in paper instead of some other medium. But I guess everyone has their own way of thinking.
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"Real" as in "it exists independently of any other medium." Without eReaders or other computers, or storage devices, or electricity, an eBook does not exist — the words themselves don't exist. If you go on an extended camping trip without electricity, you're not going to have a "real" book on your eReader. You have a "potential" book but one that requires the eReader be recharged. Not so with a "real" (paper) book. Until the pages rot away, it's always "on" and always "charged." It's never a "potential" book, it exists independently of the conditions necessary for the existence of an eBook. So, in that sense, a paper book is always "real," as opposed to the potential "reality" of an eBook when certain conditions are not met.