--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: But what is a book? And what will change…" description: "\"“But what is a book? And what will change if we read onscreen rather than by turning the pages of a physical object? What will we gain, and more import..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d30/jean-philippe-de-tonnac-136495_book_but-what-is-a-book-and-what-will-change_1172580.jpg" --- # But what is a book? And what will change if we read… ![“But what is a book? And what will change if we read onscreen rather than by turning the pages of a physical object? What will we gain, and more importantly, what will we lose? Old-fashioned habits, perhaps. A certain sense of the sacred that has surrounded the book in a civilisation that has made…” quote by Jean-Philippe de Tonnac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d30/jean-philippe-de-tonnac-136495_book_but-what-is-a-book-and-what-will-change_1172580.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d30/jean-philippe-de-tonnac-136495_book_but-what-is-a-book-and-what-will-change_1172580.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d30/jean-philippe-de-tonnac-136495_book_but-what-is-a-book-and-what-will-change_1172580.jpg) > ““But what is a book? And what will change if we read onscreen rather than by turning the pages of a physical object? What will we gain, and more importantly, what will we lose? Old-fashioned habits, perhaps. A certain sense of the sacred that has surrounded the book in a civilisation that has made it our holy of holies. A peculiar intimacy between the author and reader, which the context of hypertextuality is bound to damage. A sense of existing in a self-contained world that the book and, along with it, certain ways of reading used to represent.”” [Jean-Philippe de Tonnac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-philippe-de-tonnac/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Reading physical books offers a sacred, intimate experience that may be lost with digital screens, affecting habits, reverence, and the depth of author‑reader connection. **In simple terms:** Books provide a unique, sacred experience. Key Takeaway Value tactile reading. Themes reading books habits technology culture Mood nostalgic thoughtful Type Book:1 Books:1 Habits:1 Reading:1 Writer:0 Sense Sacred:1 Book Civilisation:0 Context Hypertextuality:0 Reader Context:0 Reading Used:0 When to use this quote - educational curricula Key Concepts library visits digital detox literary analysis Questions to Reflect On - What do you miss most about physical books? - Can digital formats ever replicate the book’s sacred feel? A Different Perspective Digital reading can increase accessibility despite loss of intimacy. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Book Civilisation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book-civilisation-3406205/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Context Hypertextuality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/context-hypertextuality-3406206/) [Habits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/habits/) [Reader Context](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reader-context-3406207/) [Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading/) [Reading Used](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading-used-3406208/) [Sense Sacred](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sense-sacred-668356/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [I'm an English teacher, so I'm used to reading and I'm used to reading out loud.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-biden/i-m-an-english-teacher-so-i-m-used-to-reading-and-i-m-used-to-reading/) [Jill Biden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-biden/) > [I'm reading more than ever. I used to find it tedious, but now it's like my little friend - it takes my mind off…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billie-piper/i-m-reading-more-than-ever-i-used-to-find-it-tedious-but-now-it-s/) [Billie Piper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billie-piper/) > [Wisdom consists in doing the next thing that you have to do, doing it with your whole heart and finding delight in it —…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-m-luke/wisdom-consists-in-doing-the-next-thing-that-you-have-to-do-doing-it/) [Helen M. Luke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-m-luke/) > [Once you know about these things, you will also love them, because you will see that without a sense of the sacred, you are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-yellowtail/once-you-know-about-these-things-you-will-also-love-them-because-you/) [Thomas Yellowtail](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-yellowtail/) > [“A sense of the sacred is inseparable from a sense of radical discontinuity, be it temporal, rational, experiential, or a combination of the three.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-a-eliason/a-sense-of-the-sacred-is-inseparable-from-a-sense-of-radical/) [Eric A. Eliason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-a-eliason/) > [The poignancy of a photograph comes from looking back to a fleeting moment in a floating world. 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Schumacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-f-schumacher/) > [Anything that we can destroy but are unable to make is, in a sense sacred, and all our 'explanations' of it do not really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/anything-that-we-can-destroy-but-are-unable-to-make-is-in-a-sense-2/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Auschwitz was a dark epiphany, providing us with a terrible vision of what life is like when all sense of the sacred is lost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-armstrong/auschwitz-was-a-dark-epiphany-providing-us-with-a-terrible-vision-of/) [Karen Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-armstrong/) > [The purpose of daily prayer is the cultivation of a sense of the sacred. Sacred energy renews us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/the-purpose-of-daily-prayer-is-the-cultivation-of-a-sense-of-the/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [We have to shift our attitude of ownership of nature to relationship with nature. The moment you change from ownership to relationship, you create…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/satish-kumar/we-have-to-shift-our-attitude-of-ownership-of-nature-to-relationship/) [Satish Kumar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/satish-kumar/) > [Until we can sense a sacred quality in time we will not begin to have a fuller understanding of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-fagg/until-we-can-sense-a-sacred-quality-in-time-we-will-not-begin-to-have/) [Lawrence Fagg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-fagg/) > [If individuals start to walk on the path of spirit and feel a sense of the sacred connectedness, then social, economic and political problems…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/satish-kumar/if-individuals-start-to-walk-on-the-path-of-spirit-and-feel-a-sense/) [Satish Kumar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/satish-kumar/) > [On the other hand, with a sense of the sacred, one grows in understanding and truth. The Holy Spirit becomes his frequent and then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-todd-christofferson/on-the-other-hand-with-a-sense-of-the-sacred-one-grows-in/) [D. Todd Christofferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-todd-christofferson/) > [“Malchut is also the Alma D’Itgalya, “the Revealed World.” Here our latent potential is actualized through behavior and expression.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laibl-wolf/malchut-is-also-the-alma-d-itgalya-the-revealed-world-here-our-latent/) [Laibl Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laibl-wolf/) ## More Book quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! 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