racoma.netI love to write. I write to live. I live to love.

You’ve probably read it one time or another. They say print media has finally met its demise.

That movement is leading to a lot less revenue for printed media due to fewer sales in general and secondarily through loss of advertising because of the lower sales. It’s a pretty vicious cycle to be caught in, especially since the cost of publication doesn’t really scale down as the sales do, so they are spending the same (or more in some cases) and making a lot less. Sooner or later something is bound to snap, and that’s what we are seeing now.

I’m a digital type of person. My handwriting is so bad that I prefer to type notes rather than write them down. I lose both paper and .txt files all the same, anyway. And i don’t keep a pen-and-paper calendar. Paper organizers don’t have alarms, after all. I use my smartphone for that purpose. I read my news online. A lot of books I’ve read lately are e-books, either downloaded free or bought from Mobipocket.

But give me a glossy newsmagazine, and I’ll be in awe at the presentation of each article. I’d read it from cover to cover (usually starting from the back, because that’s where the fun stuff is). And even years after, I’ll still go back to old stuff I’ve read before.

Same with books. Yes, I’ve enjoyed reading ebooks, but there’s something about a hardbound or paperback that gives one a better reading experience. Perhaps it’s the tactile and olfactory aspects of it. Sure, paper can smell moldy and mildewy, and might breed dust mites if left uncared for. But that rough texture and the sometimes dusty scent can evoke memories. That’s something digital media cannot give you.

No. Print media is not dead. Perhaps print media as a business is a declining trade. It’s a sunset industry. But print media as tangible objects will always hold a special place in my heart, and perhaps in the heart of many other folks out there. It’s not dead, because it’s something we keep alive.

Read a book today. Better yet, touch a book. Smell a book. Feel a book. (Maybe you can throw a book at someone, too.) Talk to it. Hear it talk back to you. Yes, you’re probably crazy, it will tell you. That’s how you know it is still alive.

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