It’s hard to believe that I was writing things like this last year:

I’ve been pleasantly surprised at just how much I enjoy reading books on the iPad. I was initially worried that eye strain or the loss of the traditional text reading experience would make it seem more like a gimmick than some revolution in reading. But those fears were quickly assuaged, and I’m now absolutely hooked on the iPad as an e-reader.

It feels like ten years ago. I guess that’s what happens when major disruption occurs: remembering how one lived before the disruption becomes difficult.

The iPad was a major disruptor in my reading workflow. It wasn’t an add-on or an enhancement. It fundamentally changed how I read.

I now expect books to be in some kind of e-form. When I open a book on my iPhone, it should be in the same place it was when I stopped reading on my iPad. The number of words a book has should not dictate whether I can carry it with me.

2010 was the year that, for me, books transcended relativity and grew new legs in the quantum world. Books are no longer bound by the conventions of space and time. They’re photonic manifestations of human ideas that can exist anywhere.

I don't think we're witnessing the death of paper though. At least, I hope not.

While I read paperbacks far less often today, when I do, it seems extra special. Sorta like those rare occasions I drink a Coke in a glass bottle, and I’m transported back in time to my early childhood, sitting in a frozen-in-the-1950s barber shop with my Dad.

A medium, itself, can contribute as much to an experience as the content it delivers. Touch screens have permanently and positively affected my overall reading experience, but they’ve also made printed books more special than ever.