Audio cassettes vs. the ghost inside the computer

The medium might be the message but some media contain within themselves the ability to damage the message or a not insignificant part thereof. You can read a book even if a page is damaged. You can usually enjoy an LP even if there is a scratch. You can even enjoy a specially-recorded 16-2/3 or 8-1/3 rpm talking book with a scratch. Even CDs can be played; but let an NLS cassette break and you've lost nearly 6 hours of story! And yet I still like this medium. It's portable, easy to use, and what I'm used to. CDs seem a little invisible and intangible. I don't drop the record arm with its cartridge onto a certain groove. When I turn off the player I use, my place is lost. (I understand that newer machines book mark things for you.) Downloadable books, very interesting concept, seem like having a ghost in my computer. The book, while interesting, seems somehow less real, less tangible.