The cozy glow of format nostalgia

There’s an interesting post on Teleread by Chris Meadows that digs into the reflexive dislike of eReaders that many people have:

When people say they like paper books, the feel of pages, smell of books, and so on, what they are more often saying is that they are in love with the culture of paper books. The musty bookstores where you can go in and spend hours rummaging through the shelves, discuss books with the proprietor, pet the bookstore cat, maybe hold conversations with a bunch of like-minded people in a reading room or around a bookstore café table. These are fond, warm memories for them, and threats to the trappings of that culture are a threat to their egos.

I imagine that extends to news formats like newspapers and magazines, too. I have warm memories of browsing newsagents for magazines, or enjoying reading them in the bath. I liked waiting for the newspaper to drop through my parent’s door when I was growing up (I was a weird kid). Those are experience Hazel is unlikely to have – or to value, if she does.