Yes, I have found great convenience in the changing digital trend of having the ability to carry and access a nearly unlimited number of books on my devices (currently an iPad). When I travel I can read multiple book simultaneously (not at the exact same time) and don’t have to carry the bulk and be limited by choice. However, there comes a time when still picking up a book or magazine allows me to concentrate on topic at hand and relax more effectively.
The Web. I find that I have shifted most of my news reading to the web where I can browse and search for items I find most relevant. The web and various news aggregator sites provide me the ability to refine the news channels I am most interested in.
Digital books. Most of the books I purchase digitally are biographies and fiction reading for pleasure. Often I like to read and bounce between a few books while reading them and when I travel I can bring any number of books to keep my interest depending on my mood. Another unique feature of digital books is that I can share with my partner our collection and she can read the same book on her kindle as I am reading on the iPad kindle app. This becomes useful because we don’t need to know “who has it” to make the sharing work. Additionally as noted above searching has become a very convenient feature that has increased productivity and effectiveness as I can search quickly for a key paragraph, excerpt or quote.
Hard copies. There are still some items that I prefer the analog version. Textbooks especially those dealing with resources and web development I find particularly useful to have a copy I can lay on my desk and refer as it is easier for reference and concentration. Additionally I do enjoy our local paper in hard copy while I sit nostalgically (I’d like to think) reading while waiting for lunch to arrive but more importantly I am unplugging. When I want to relax a component of that is finding stimulation from non-tech items so my brain can think differently.
What I see happening as things continue to evolve is that our childrens children will find ways to evolve their learning and cognition to make better use of the digital media provided for them. However, I do not see the art of picking up an (actual) book, magazine or newspaper going the way of the vinyl record being squeezed into obscurity but complementing the future offerings.