In today's digital revolution, we are finding that paper books are no longer at the centre of our culture; they are being replaced by electronic versions. Scientists in varying fields have studied how interacting with ebooks affects our sensory response, our immersion in the text and our comprehension of the content, finding that readers' experience of ebooks conflict with their expectations, creating a 'haptic dissonance' or sensory discomfort. Ebooks are lacking the fundamental tactile and material qualities that are so satisfying in paper books. 

 

'To Have and To Hold' is a conceptually designed book that addresses the sensory gap between print and digital, exploring the qualities of paper books that are lost when digitalised, and how the presentation of an ebook effects our understanding of the content. This highlights to an audience of e-reader and book lovers alike that the sensory power of paper books is still relevant and important in our increasingly screen centric world.