17 Pictures That Prove Real Books Are More Powerful Than E-Books

Compared with a solid binding, e-readers fall flat. (Literally).

1. These A Song of Fire and Ice Novels tabbed with every single death

David Stall / Via imgur.com

Q: Could an e-reader show all the carnage in one glance?

A: No.

2. This sculpture of books about Abraham Lincoln

Washington Post / Via washingtonpost.com

Q: How would a stack of e-readers convey the enormity of Lincoln's influence?

A: Digital biographies would fall short.

3. This secret door in a 17th century library

National Trust Images/David Kirkham / Via nationaltrust.org.uk

Q: How cool would it be to have a secret library door outfitted with gray tablets?

A: Not cool.

4. This body painting of a bookstore owner

Bill Wadman Photo / Via billwadman.com

Q: Would this body painting look just as good if the books were Kindles?

A: This body painting done with gray tablets everywhere would suck more than the writing in 50 Shades of Gray.

Complete photo (perhaps a tad NSFW) is here.

5. This open book sculpture at the Temple of Literature in Hanoi

Yuan NeethaYuan Neetha / Via Flickr: yuan_neetha

Q: What would this sign of welcome look like as an e-book?

A: E-book floral sculpture = random flower bed.

6. This book with names of holocaust victims

Janek Skarzynski/Agence France-Presse - Getty Images / Via nytimes.com

Q: Would a single screen of scrolling names be as powerful?

A: A digital rendering just couldn't convey the tragic weight of the genocide like the imposing physicality of pages upon pages filling a room.

7. This bible which saved a soldier's life

Via hawthornehotelblog.com

Q: Would an e-book stop a musket ball?

A: Don't know, and don't want to find out.

8. This soft bunny shape inside Pat the Bunny

Daniel Friedman / Via raisingarizonakids.com

Q: What would patting a glass bunny be like for a child?

A: Patting a smooth-as-glass bunny is the stuff of nightmares.

9. This Dreamy Anthropologie Display

Anthropologie/runs with scissors in suburbia / Via barbaradunbar.blogspot.com

Q: A bed built from e-readers?

A: No thanks, not cool.

10. This Emma Watson photo shoot

Lorenzo Agius/PARADE Magazine / Via shore-215.blogspot.com

Q: Would the magical star look so amazing surrounded by Kindles and Nooks?

A: Absolutely not.

11. This sixfold dos-à-dos binding

National Library of Sweden / Via Flickr: 25300312@N08

Q: Could you switch between 6 different e-books easily?

A: Yes, but it would not be as insanely awesome.

12. This striking design for Fahrenheit 451

Elizabeth Perez / Via barnesandnoble.com

Q: Could you turn a Kindle into a matchbook?

A: Yes. Yes, you could, and it would be a disaster, (not a design masterpiece).

13. This page-turning book fountain in Budapest

Chicago Public Library / Via chicagopubliclibrary.tumblr.com

Q: Could a fountain of swiping a page on a tablet look so awesome?

A: No.

14. This Snoop Dogg Smokable Songbook

Time / Via newsfeed.time.com

Q: You can smoke an e-cigarette, but could you smoke an e-book?

A: Nope.

15. This personal book collection of Henry Rollins

Chapman Baehler / Via arthousegoon.wordpress.com

Q: How badass would his home library be as a couple glass and plastic tablets?

A: Not badass.

16. This wedding cake

Offbeat Bride / Via offbeatbride.com

Q: How would a stack of e-books look as a wedding cake?

A: Like a stack of stale, rectangular flapjacks. (A divorce would be imminent).

17. This book-browsing sensation on your fingertips

20th Century Fox / Via tumblr.com

Swiping a glass screen seriously cannot compare.