VIEW FROM HERE: IT'S DIFFICULT TO READ A PAGE-TURNER WHEN THERE ARE NO PAGES

Reading books has been one of my favorite activities for as long as I can remember.

Even before I could read myself, my mother would read to me. The warm feeling that came from cuddling next to Mom and helping turn the pages as she read was so special I've made it a priority to read to my own children.

I also remember filling the long, hot days during summer vacation with the adventures I found inside the covers of science fiction and adventure novels.

These days I rarely have a whole afternoon to devote to reading a good book. There are just too many work-, home-, child- and husband-related activities that get in the way. But I still try to reserve at least a few minutes every day to escape into the pages of a good story.

And turning the pages of a good book, be it novel, biography or non-fiction, is what I consider "real" reading. For while I read all day long, perusing newspapers, magazines, press releases, homework assignments, medicine bottles and cooking instructions, it's that feel of book in hand, the feeling I can't wait to find out what happens on the next page, that brings real pleasure.

So I read with apprehension an Associated Press story about how technology may change the manner in which we read.

Imagine stroking an illustration to hear sound effects. Or watching words flash in front of your eyes instead of following the words across a page with your eyes. Or touching a new type of punctuation mark, a triangle perhaps, that makes footnotes or more information about a topic pop up on your screen.

Those are some of the visions of a team of scientists, artists, engineers and designers studying the future of reading at the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center in California.

Ten examples of what the future of reading may hold are part of a new display at The Tech Museum of Innovation in San Jose. Among them are the "Reading Eye Dog," a metal dog outfitted with cameras in its eyes that faces a book stand holding reading materials.

Using speech-to-text software, the dog "reads" the book or business card, or newspaper, or anything else out loud.

There are also tilting tables, topped with glowing screens covered with words and images. Moving the table makes the images roll or slide, making it possible to move through a document, that if printed, would cover the floor of a large room.

According to the AP story, Peter Giles, president of The Tech, said reading, an 8,000-year-old process, is a perfect subject for a Silicon Valley museum which focuses on futuristic science.

"Our goal is to inspire the innovator in everyone and to share with visitors the many way technology touches their lives every day," he said. "Yes, reading is an old process, but it is an evolving process. We're looking at the future here."

In other words, get ready for books that aren't books. For pieces of paper between covers to be replaced by glowing images on palm-size electronic devices. For libraries to replace shelf after shelf of books with text that can be downloaded through phone lines. For Tolstoy's War and Peace to go from a three-pound book to a disk you can fit in your pocket.

I can see this sort of technology appealing to my sons, who are growing up accessing information from computer screens instead of encyclopedias and moving figures through tiny mazes on hand-held video games.

But it's hard for me to imagine the same comfort, the same pleasure from clicking a mouse that I get from snuggling under the blankets with my legs pulled up so I can prop a book open on my thighs and lose myself in turning those pages.