I am not an avid reader of literature but this documentary does make me wonder what life would be like without bound books. We live in a world where technology has taken a grasp on making everyday life simpler for everyone.  The new e-reader technology makes it easier for people who lead very busy lives to purchase and download books at the click of a mouse. Because of this, digital copies of literature have altered the state of a bound book; leaving it to be text on a back-lit screen. This in a sense takes away the essence of what printed literature is all about.

Everything from the cover pages to the text pages give the book a “personality” that e-readers are unable to portray. The design and the texture of the cover pages give it a unique quality that sets it apart from all of the other books on the bookshelf.  As portrayed in the film, the sense of smell is now disregarded with books that are used on e-readers. It isn’t imperative to have the ability to smell the literature, but it takes away from the experience of picking up a bound book and enlightening yourself with knowledge.

I feel that it is safe to say local bookstores should be more worried about wholesale book sellers such as Barnes & Noble before having to worry about e-readers.