There are a bunch of reasons.

I like the restrictions that physical books place on me:

• I can’t read them all the time (forces me to be alone with my thoughts more),
• Can’t highlight too many things,
• Can’t download 1,000s of books and jump back and fourth between books (I only own one book that I haven’t read at a time, this helps me focus on one thing).

And the things I like about them:

• I own them,
• No one can edit or change them without my consent,
• I have a physical library that my kids can look at,
• My kids can see that I am reading a book when I am reading a book,
• I can see my reading spot and where highlights are easier (with sticky tabs),
• I can go browse the books store and meet new people, conversations are started more when people can see what I am reading,
• I like the asthetic of bookshelves,
• I get to escape from technology (I work on and tinker with technology all day for work).
• Format stays consistent.

I get the technological conveniences and perceived benefits of ebooks, they are just negatives for how I want to live me life. I have done a great deal of thinking about this.

I do also understand that this way of doing things wouldn’t be optimal for everyone. I just find that the simpler I make things and the less I rely on technology, the happier I am.

If it was good enough for people 2,000 years ago then it’s good enough for me now.