an e-reader is a wonderful object
an e-reader is a wonderful object that can hold hundreds of books, and can be said to provide infinitely more. This is a fine thing, and I rely on mine constantly, but this bounty is illusory and temporary. A paper book a) can better withstand tumbling around in a backpack or a drop from a table, b) be easily given as a gift, then bought again, c) does not require electricity, the internet, or a credit card, and finally, d) unlike an e-reader, which is a computer under the control of a major corporation temporarily pretending to be a book, a paper book does not and cannot change into something that it is not. It will not spy on you, advertise to you, bother you with irrelevancies (unless it is written that way), or edit or delete itself.
I have a nice little e-reader that should last me until its non-replaceable battery can no longer hold a charge, so maybe around 3-5 more years, optimistically. At that point, or until an over-the-air update makes its "user experience" intolerable, it becomes a piece of hazardous waste.
But I have books from my childhood, and every single physical book I own will last until my death, and sometime longer if anyone else wants to read them. I suppose everything runs out eventually. Like my body, the paper can degrade and be made use of by hungry plants.