Cuddling up to a Kindle?

It seems that I need to address something.

I have just received a copy of a review of my book, Digitisation Perspectives (Sense Publishing, 2011) which appeared in the journal Alexandria (22, 2/3, 2011). This was largely a summary/overview of the different sections and chapters in the book, but in the last paragraph the reviewer Beccy Shipman, has this to say:

"At one point the editor argues that e-books will never replace the experience of reading a printed book, especially as you cannot take an e-book to bed, but this is already possible."

As this has been mentioned elsewhere, I thought I had better now address the issue.

What I meant was that one cannot cuddle up to and snuggle up to an e-book in bed - one cannot cuddle up with a kindle; stroke it lovingly; put it under the bedclothes; flick through it tenderly; look glowingly at the cover and the pictures. Basically, it cannot connect with ones sensations and emotions in a way that a hard copy book can. Dear oh dear! I didn't think it would be necessary to spell this out. I thought it was all rather intimate really, but there you go, and there it is... If the kindle can do all that for you, then good luck to you - but it certainly can't do all that for me!

Still, the reviewer ends on a positive note, saying:

"If you are interested in a wide-ranging discussion of digital content and the impact of recent technologies with much thought-provoking commentary, this may be the book for you."

Happy reading (in bed or otherwise) and all that.