So we all know that digital books have come along and basically “destroyed” the print book market.  While this might be an assumption that most of us in 2016 take to be a fact, the statistics don’t necessarily support it.  According to studies the majority of readers still read print books with older groups of people insisting on only reading print books.

While digital books provide ease of access and ultimate convenience, Hylas Publishing believes that books will always have a place in people’s hearts and souls. The feeling of holding a book in your hand bring something timeless that is hard to replicate. Perhaps this is base stated via a recent Mashable article about books ”

“But there’s something about print that I can’t give up. There’s something about holding a book in your hand and the visceral act of physically turning a page that, for me at least, can’t be matched with pixels on a screen.

Yet the writing appears to be on the wall: E-books are slowly subsuming the printed format as the preferred vehicle on which people read books. E-books topped print sales for the first time in 2011, a trend that continued into 2012. Just this month, Bexar County, Texas announced plans for the nation’s first electronic-only library. A recent study from Scholasticfound that the percentage of children who have read an e-book has nearly doubled since 2010 to almost half of all kids aged 9 to 17, while the number who say they’ll continue to read books in print instead of electronically declined from 66% to 58%.”

While E-readers are becoming prolific and some experts believe that our bodies and minds were never even made to read E-books.  Experts are universities throughout the US have posited several ideas based on evolutionary science that humans lack the ability to concentrate properly when reading electronic books.

“Our brains were not designed for reading. Human beings don’t have pre-programmed genes for reading, like there are for vision and language.

Thanks to Egyptian hieroglyphics, the Phoenician alphabet, Chinese paper, and the Gutenberg press we’ve adapted and created new circuits in our brains in order to understand texts and letters.

Prior to the emergence of the Internet, our brains read predominately in linear ways, reading one page at a time before moving on to the next page. Distractions were minimal.

When we read text using e-book devices, tablets, laptops or desktop computers we must juggle multiple distractions (hypertext, e-mails, videos, and pop-up advertisements). In addition, a simple movement like swiping a finger on the screen or readjusting the mouse leads to moving our attention away from what’s being read. These interruptions may seem minor, but they nonetheless adversely affect our comprehension, reading speed, and accuracy.”

Perhaps the evolution to more physical books lies in using better quality material that is resistant to water, damage and the wear and tear of time.  Paper manufacturers throughout the world have looked to Tyvek Based materials and replacements for a paper replacement.

Ebooks might be popular but as readers and lovers of books we hope and know that paper books aren’t going anywhere anytime soon.