Body Quote by Adam Kirsch
“The unadmitted reason why traditional readers are hostile to e-books is that we still hold the superstitious idea that a book is like a soul, and that every soul should have its own body.”
About This Quote
Source Essay: The New Yorker, “The Digital Book”, 2010
People resist e‑books because they view physical books as embodying a soul, and they fear losing that intimacy when the book becomes digital.
In simple terms: Readers see books as souls, fearing loss in digital form.
Key Takeaway
Acknowledge the feeling, then value content over format.
Themes
tradition
technology
identity
culture
media
Mood
nostalgic
reflective
Type
observational
critical
When to use this quote
- publishing industry
- library collections
- personal reading habits
- educational curricula
Key Concepts
materialism
symbolism
digital vs analog
Questions to Reflect On
- Do you feel a book’s “soul” is tied to its physical form?
- How can digital formats honor that sense of soul?
A Different Perspective
The metaphor may overstate emotional attachment; many readers adapt easily.
![“In the 1970s, for example, I found myself learning to relish the poetry of Andrew Marvell and Sir Thomas Wyatt, and getting a handle on poetry of plainer speech than I had dwelt with heretofore. Which led me into a new appreciation of middle [William Butler ] Yeats, of the short three-beat line…” quote by Adam Kirsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/3dc/adam-kirsch-38562_andrew_in-the-1970s-for-example-i-found-myself_1542775.jpg)
![“I've used the Phoenix Centrifuge to replicate what the body's going to go through on the flight up. I've also done some gravity tests with ZERO-G [a charter-flight service in Arlington, Va., that uses modified Boeing 727s to simulate weightlessness], which went great.” quote by Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/aa1/richard-branson-256_adventure_i-ve-used-the-phoenix-centrifuge-to-repl_903.jpg)
