I remember the first time I got an e-reader. It was Christmas, and the gift was totally unexpected. The first words I blurted out were something along the lines of: “What? Why?”

It was ungrateful of me, of course, and I quickly laughed it off as a joke and thanked my parents for their thoughtfulness. In time, I even learned to love my Kindle—though less for the books on it than for the games and easy, portable internet access. (It would be several years before I finally replaced my flip phone with a smartphone, and my laptop was kinda heavy.)

All of this is to say that I am not an e-book hater. I have nothing against e-readers or the people who use them—even those who prefer them over print books. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t own at least a hundred e-books of my own.

But it would be little better than a half-truth if I didn’t also admit that I haven’t read any of them in a few years now. In fact, I’m not entirely sure where my Kindle even is these days. The reason is simple: physical books are more important to me. And it seems I’m not the only one who feels that way.

Print Books Aren’t Perfect

Let’s get this out of the way right now. There are some definite downsides to buying print instead of electronic copies. E-books are cheaper, and that makes them potentially more accessible to people who may not have a whole lot of disposable income to spend. E-books are, at least in some ways, more minimalistic and environmentally friendly, as they take up less space and don’t require paper, ink, or glue to make. (This is something I still wrestle with, even as I continue to add to my physical to-be-read stack of books.) E-books are also easier for self-published authors to get out into the world, and I’m a fan of anything that makes it easier for us storytellers to help our stories find the audiences they deserve.

But physical books are vitally important in spite of their shortcomings—a fact I don’t think e-books or any other e-options are likely to change anytime soon.

Print Books Are Empirically Better than E-Books

There are a number of studies that say physical copies offer more benefits to readers than e-books. While I won’t delve too deep into the data here, some of the advantages seem to include:

• Greater immersion in, and retention of, narratives and information
• Fewer opportunities for distraction (e.g. apps, internet browsers, etc.)
• No blue light—making physical books better to read before bed and easier on the eyes

As someone who already spends most of my working day (both at my day job and afterward) chaining my bloodshot eyes to my computer screen, that last bit is especially important. Even if your work doesn’t require constant PC time, however, you still probably spend more time than you think staring at various digital devices. Most Americans these days spend five to six hours just on their phones. And yet medical resources like the MayoClinic recommend no more than two hours of screen time per day.

In short, your eyes desperately need a break. Physical books let you take that break without giving up entirely on reading.

Enjoying Print Copies vs. Electronic Tomes

Ask any longtime collector, and they’ll tell you the same thing: there’s just something special about how a physical book feels. Whether it’s the comforting smell of paper and binding, the swishing sound as you turn to a new page, or the satisfaction of watching your bookmark slowly travel from cover to cover, there is something deeply personal and even, at least for me, spiritual about getting lost in a good physical book.

That’s not to say that e-books are flat-out unenjoyable. They’re certainly more affordable these days, which makes it easier to try out books you normally wouldn’t and discover books outside your comfort zone that you might really love. And the words, in any case, are the same—and if you love a story, you will love it regardless of the form it takes. Practical Magic is still Practical Magic, whether you’ve got the paperback, the hardback, or the virtual version.

But for me, they’re much harder to get lost in. Partly this is because my eyes (and my head) simply can’t take a long e-reading session, but it’s also because e-books just feel colder, less personal. The books I choose to read for fun are often fantasy books that take me far away from the woes of the real world—including the many technologies that all too often distract us from the beauty of nature. I’m not anti-technology—without modern medicine, I wouldn’t be alive, after all—but I do believe in a good tech detox now and again.

More than that, though, physical books are important to me—and to many others—because they hold a special place in the heart and the imagination.

The Real Reason Why Physical Books Are Important to Readers

I, and many like me, could go on for days about the scientific evidence and social proof that explains the advantage of owning a few good print books. But I think the real reasons why physical books are important to so many may be a bit more personal than that.

For me, there is a strong connection between books and family. Both of my parents (and my older brother) are readers, and long before I began to amass a personal library of my own, I took great pleasure in not-so-sneakily sneaking books from their shelves. Robert Louis Stephenson, Stephen King, Michael Crichton, Lord Dunsany—many of the names I hold dear today, I came across first in their collection.

And some of my earliest memories, of course, involve reading together. I made my parents read Scruffy the Tugboat to me so many times they nearly made it disappear. And reading The Lord of the Rings for the first time with my mother was, I believe, the spark that ignited my passion for storytelling, even though I didn’t quite realize it at the time—I was too busy trying to figure out how to get out of this world and into the Shire.

Swapping physical books brought me closer to some of the best friends and teachers I’ve had over the years. Physical books have also played a major role in my current relationship—one I still feel so lucky and grateful to be in. The first movie we saw together was The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies. Our first date involved, among other things, giving each other tours of our favorite shelves in Barnes and Noble.

Others may have different memories to share. Books given as gifts that let them know for the first time that someone cared. Books that changed their minds, or changed their lives. Books that helped them understand how to do something new, how to meet someone new, or how to simply be a better version of themselves. Books that survived hurricanes and floods and fires and earthquakes. Books that have been with them for years, and books they will keep for many more to come.

As it is with anything in life, the real reason why physical books are important to us is simple. They are important because we say they are—and because we believe it.

If you’d like a peek at some of the books in my own library—or if you really enjoy pictures of plants, pets, and the occasional cosplay selfie—be sure to follow me on Instagram @storyteller.kim. While I don’t have any physical books of my own to offer up yet, you can read my interactive fiction novel The Harbinger’s Head online for free right here.