More and more Web-users are catching on to a new technological gadget called the Amazon Kindle, which Internet juggernaut Amazon.com welcomed it's growing empire in 2006. The Kindle, a new wireless reading device, provides users with access to more than 110,000 books from www.Amazon.com for a mere $10 per book. The Kindle features an electronic paper display that reads like "real paper," free wireless access to Wikipedia and the capability to hold more than 200 digitalized books at any time.

Though the device sells for a hefty $400, the popularity of the Kindle has gone far beyond Amazon's expectations. Soon after its release, Amazon executives were forced to post a message on their Web site's main page explaining that manufacturing would take several weeks longer due to an overwhelming customer response.

Why should the Kindle be of concern UT students? These and similar wireless reading devices threaten to transform the one tool that students have thrived on for millennia - the book - into an extinct piece of facet of history. Imagine the day when students preparing for a discussion in American Literature all pull out a little digitized version of a book.

The introduction of this type of device means students can store hundreds of American classics without taking up room in a backpack. Students typically carry the equivalent of a quarter of their body weight in backpacks, which can lead to back pain and poor posture, according to The American Chiropractic Association. Using a digital reader could dramatically reduce the burden on our weary shoulders, and marketing teams have used this information to promote wireless reading devices throughout the country, emphasizing the convenience of having just one device hold all of students' reading material.

However, this benign yet beneficial phenomenon that is winning over so many customers is also destroying thousands of years of literary tradition and heritage. Despite their convenience, wireless reading devices should never replace books. Whether you love them or hate them, books have been a part of our lives since we were children, and party of our culture for eras. We can all go back to the time when a favorite storybook character made us laugh.

There's a certain magical aura that surrounds the book, even if that 10-pound American literature compilation is not your best friend right now. Having a book with real paper and ink between your fingers, and knowing that long ago someone wrote the words that you can physically touch creates a connection to the past. Reading books allow us to feel a connection with readers who lived 300 years ago, as we are human beings affected similarly by the same words in the same manner. Digital reading devices cannot replace the feeling of anticipation that comes while turning a page, nor can they capture a book's unique connection to the past.

Books emanate romanticism and possess the ability to create a stronger social community. Local bookstores are breeding grounds of positivity, thought and creativity. In Austin, we can frequent BookPeople, Austin Books or Monkeywrench Books in Austin to get away from the everyday stresses of life, either to sit down with the latest Grisham novel or to chill with a cup of coffee and listen to a new beat. Bookstores are artistic havens for individuals to outsource their creative energy. Digital books just can't provide this same type of community outreach, and if more people continue to replace books with convenient digital versions, small community bookstores may suffer or eventually die off.

The Amazon Kindle is just one of the many wireless reading devices that will keep cropping up in years to come, seducing buyers with the notion of convenience. But as we gain convenience, we lose so much more. Though we continue to make great strides along the path of technology, let's savor our past by supporting institutions that fight to keep our literary traditions alive.

Patterson is a French senior.

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