Used to be a stickler for the tactile sensation of the real thing, but the utility of have 1000's of books and comics on my tablet won out over time. Then of course was the epic pain in the ass of deciding what to do with all of my physical books when I was moving from Alberta to Ontario a few years ago. You can only start your collection from scratch so many times before you say **** it and move on.
For me its two seperate experiences.....I'll read my Grantland, Vice, reddit, guardian.uk, nytimes, etc all digitally.....as well as about 75-80% of my comics books. But I find that kind of reading to be purely entertainment and a little more passive in how I consume it.
If I want to really dive into something and savour it (for lack of a better term)......I prefer to own a physical copy of it......specifically im thinking of things like Absolute Editions of my comic books, or Omnibuses....Sandman, Invisibles, Dark Knight Returns, Watchmen, Parker, etc.....a leatherbound copy of Sherlock Holmes, or physical copies of Dostoyevsky, Tolstoy, Cervantes, etc....or even a just a physical copy of a monthly comic.
When I read digitally I find that I'm exponentially less focused and more easily distracted.....also far more likely to stop and check Twitter mid read, or FI, or email, or iMessages, etc......with the stuff I genuinely care about though, I sit down in my leather chair to read the physical copy of, and that's the only thing I'm gonna be doing for the next hour or so. They're just two completely different experiences for me. It's not a either/or for me....it's just each one has its own specific purpose/value to me.
Or in the case of GQ......I also like having a quick easy read, while on the throne.
