Much is to be gained by eBooks: ease, convenience, portability. But something is definitely lost: tradition, a sensual experience, the comfort of thingy-ness — a little bit of humanity.

Chip Kidd, a prominent book-cover designer, contrasts the practical advantages of eBooks with what he sees as the irreplaceable qualities of physical books. The quote frames reading not only as information consumption but as a culturally embedded, bodily experience: the feel, weight, smell, and visual presence of a book, along with the rituals and traditions around owning and sharing it. By calling this “thingy-ness” and “a little bit of humanity,” Kidd suggests that material objects can carry emotional and social meaning that purely digital formats struggle to replicate, even when they are more efficient.