Before the emergence of electronic reading devices like the Kindle or iPad, the practice of reading a printed book was a deeply ingrained habit that crossed boundaries dividing cultures, time periods, and places. Books were subject to local variation, of course, but they shared many features in common, including a repertoire of bodily motions and gestures related to their reading and handling. Although new habits form very quickly, digital reading lacks the near-global commonality of holding a book in the hands, feeling the sharp or subtle edges of the pages, hearing the rustle of each leaf as it is turned, smelling the scents of paper and ink, even tasting the book by touching tongue to finger and finger to page and back again. Gazing at a screen is not the same as looking at a book. The reading device itself never changes; book after book is called to the screen,...
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