To Örebro University

While one cannot deny that electronic books have brought a host of benefits to readers, there is one thing that they cannot do: trace the life history of the people who owned them. Electronic books lack that human flawed quality that comes with physical copies, whether that be their highlighted words, creased spines or folded page corners. But even more importantly, they lack the material presence of the owner, that emotional immediacy, the ability to be inscribed.