1. Who can turn away the smell of a new book?

It may sound weird but my favorite part about buying a new book is that new book smell. There is nothing like that smell that wafts off of the pages the first time you flip through the book. If I could bottle up new book smell and use it as an air freshener, I would. A Kindle or any electronic device can never replace the smell of a new book.

2. Wouldn't you rather hold a book over a Kindle?

There is just something extremely satisfying about holding a physical book in my hands. It is far more engaging. Flipping the pages of a book keeps a reader constantly engaged in the story because it always brings us back to words on the page. Sure, Kindles allow you to "turn the page" by swiping the screen from the corner but is it really the same? I love the moment when I finish a book and close the cover. It means more than simply closing out that book electronically.

3. You can resist the temptation to look up all the answers online

Every once and a while we run into words that are unfamiliar to us. On an electronic device, it is so easy to cheat and look up the definition right away. I find it more challenging and interesting to try to use context clues first. And before we had the internet, we simply had to look in another book to find the words anyways.

4. Reading a book online just does not allow you to fully immerse yourself in the story

Electronics are full of distractions. Notifications are constantly popping up from social media and various apps. It is extremely easy to just wander onto a different app and completely forget about the book. With a physical book, it is just you and the words on the pages. It is far more easier to get lost in the story with a physical book.

5. Physical books are a great keepsake

Remember that spaghetti stain on your copy of Charlotte's Web? Every time you read page 52 it brings you back to the day you just could not put the book down and brought it to the dinner table. Mom warned you that the spaghetti would get on the book somehow but you refused to listen to her. Those kinds of memories just do not stick with the online version of a book. I love looking through my bookcase at all the titles I have read in the past, thinking about the specific moments in my life in which I had read each book. Books are full of memories. That is lost with electronic books.

Books can also be passed down through generations. The wear and tear of a book, as the years pass, makes them all the more special. I am keeping all of my books from my childhood so I can someday pass them on to my own children.

6. Keep book stores alive

There is nothing I love more than walking into a bookstore whether it be a used bookstore or a bookstore like Barnes & Noble. When all the local bookstores in my town went out of business, I was devastated. I could not imagine a world without bookstores or libraries. Unfortunately, as electronic books grow more popular, bookstores struggle to survive. I am busy buying enough books to stock my own personal library to save bookstores or at least keep physical books alive.

7. Save your eyes

Electronic devices give off a glow whether we are looking at a cell phone or an electronic book reader like a Kindle. Sometimes, I can spend hours at one time reading a book. That alone can strain your eyes. But, staring at a screen for that long is sure to hurt your eyes. In the long run, it might be better to pick up a physical book and put down the electronics.