I hope I don't miss books.

I feel I must preface this by stating that I am not a total Luddite and can recognize the benefit that is possible in technology like e-readers. I fear, however, the loss of an experience by the constant advancement of higher technology into our lower technologies.
It is particularly strange to me given that when I was in high school I had to do research exclusively in - gasp - books when writing a paper. During my high school years the internet began to gain more of a following and use but we had only just begun using email. The internet for better or for worse was not a tool for education when I was younger. It is strange to me even now while reading a book to be able to access Google simultaneously on my computer and get background and biographical information, translations, definitions, critical essays, and literary analysis just by typing in the title as a search term. I can only imagine how this instant search-ability will develop in e-reading. I don't know if they can do this now but I foresee interactive text with the ability to tap and define words. There is a possibility in wifi enabled devices like the ipad to provide footnotes that take the reader to the original source material they cite. It would be incredible to be able to translate a text simply by the push of a button. The possibilities, as they say, are endless.
But what is the cost in human experience? There is something personal and treasured about opening up a well worn copy of your favorite book. I don't think powering up the e-reader to find your oldest download will compare. Also, I cannot tell you how many times someone has loaned or gifted me a book. How impersonal to receive an email containing a gift credit at Amazon.com instead of a heartfelt and thought through gift of a book. Let's say I read an e-book that I really like. Let's say it is a Metallica biography that I wanted to give to my friend (sorry if Napster is before your time). Will e-books allow me to loan it to them? Will they only have a limited time to read it? How will this work? This brings me to the final troubling aspect that I've been thinking e-readers have. Books are absolutely portable. Probably the most portable medium we have. They require no equipment to enjoy them. No batteries, no TV, no headphones. I have, as I'm sure many of you have, often taken my book and a blanket and sat in a park for hours reading. Or stuck a small paperback in my pocket to read on the bus. Or brought a book camping. E-reading takes reading and grounds it. You must plug in, at least occasionally, to READ A BOOK. That seems to me incongruous with the nature of books. Books are by their nature infinitely portable and transferable. E-books are limited in both of these qualities.
I am fascinated by e-reading and the possibilities and innovations it may entail. I look forward to our further exploration of this burgeoning media. However, for the time being I am choosing to keep a healthy skepticism about it. I miss getting letters in the mail. I hope I don't end up missing dog-eared paperbacks.