Ebooks will never provide that kind of experience.
Oh, I do like ebooks. I've been reading them for years on my computer, long before the word Kindle meant anything. But, even overlooking the emotional aspect of real books, another thing about them is that they're yours forever. Or close enough. The hard cover sitting on your shelf will still be readable a decade from now. Or two decades. Or three. A little musty by then, maybe, it's pages more beige than white, maybe even tan along the edges. But the story you loved enough to hang on to for all those years will still be there for you to read. Or your kids. Or your grandkids.
But what about ebooks?
Ask yourself a question: do you or your parents still have any 8 track tapes stuffed away in a box somewhere in the attic? How about Atari game cartridges? Computer floppy disks? Remember how much you used to enjoy them? What can you do with them now? Well, floppy disks make fairly good coasters, I have to admit. But whatever data or images you put on them way back when is no longer accessible unless you have a computer with a floppy drive. Does anyone anymore? I know I haven't seen one in years. Ditto for the Atari games and the music that played on 8-track players. It's all still there, stored inside those tapes and cartridges and disks. But the technological world moved on, leaving them behind. If there are still old machines around to play them, they're few and far between. Eventually, they'll all be gone. So what about ebooks? Suddenly, they're popular, with expensive ebook readers selling like crazy, and okay, I have to admit, I'd love to have one. But mostly because I love gadgets. And the idea of carrying a few HUNDRED books around with me in a smallish, flat doohickey seems pretty cool. But even if the battle over ebook formats is resolved, I can't help wondering if an ebook you buy today will be as useless as an old 8-track tape, years in the future.
Like I said, I love real books. The only reader required is your eyes.