[icoder]

If you extrapolate those criteria further; less nice, less transport and storage and more inventory you end up with e-books. But I absolutely understand that your personal preference is somewhere in the middle (while mine is at the end).

[globular-toast]

Almost every book I read nowadays that isn't a textbook is read on my Kobo. (Is there a word for that kind of book? The type you read through once from beginning to end.)

But for textbooks and other reference materials, a paper book (or just stapled papers) is by far the best technology available. The speed of information retrieval is unparalleled, especially once you become familiar with the layout. Flipping backwards and forwards between pages and thumbing to the correct place by memory is common. Not to mention that you have as much "screen" space as desk space, and you can even pile them on top of each other if that's not enough.

[bowsamic]

There are many kinds of books that are very difficult to read as ebooks