I’ve been told that a book is not just its contents. That the weight, the smell, the feel of the paper is something that adds to the whole experience. That filling the bookshelf with books and showing it off to impress friends is important. While I don’t actually disagree with any of these statements, I’ve tried the future and liked it too much to go back.

Goodbye to the paper.

Goodbye to the piles of magazines filling your hallway. Goodbye to the endless rows of books gathering dust, fading pages. Goodbye to curled page corners and bookmarks lost in your bedsheets. Goodbye to splashes of food and drink on the pages.

Digital books and magazines are nothing new but reading them by sitting in front of a computer always felt awkward. Maybe it’s because I’ve never been the one to read sitting in a chair.

My first positive experience with a digital book came just a year ago when I ended up buying Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman from Amazon Kindle to my phone. At first the higher price compared to the paperback version and the small, under 4-inch display felt discouraging but this feeling faded quick enough.

One of the most memorable experiences with a digital book was when I was eating in Subway and waiting for an hour for my friend. Being bored I wished that I’d brought something entertaining with me until I remembered that I indeed had. After balancing the phone on the edge of the tray I found the clock racing as I flipped through pages. Eating and reading have always been two of my favorite things to combine and by going digital it became much easier.

The full-on revolution started after I bought a tablet. The bigger screen and better reading software were a big plus. Even bigger ones were the easy availability of good magazines such as Time and Wired. Living in Finland makes ordering these foreign magazines a tad difficult but having them delivered to my tablet as soon as I they became available made the reading so much easier.

Here’s a thought for those who resist the idea of switching to digital books: imagine yourself in your bed, a bit tired but wanting to starting some new book but not having anything in your bookshelf. How about if you could have one in your hands in less than a minute? Today, there’s no longer nothing stopping you.