Earlier quoted context omitted.
First - the publishers are profit maximizing, and they would prevent you from lending your physical books if they could. (In fact, they weren't big fans of Public Libraries when they first started springing up) Second - The difference between a physical book and a eBook is that (A) you carry your _entire_ library with you all of the time and (B) your books are never lost/damaged. I'm one of the 5% outliers who actual…
Problem I have with that is that they may be more useful... right up until version X of some new reader comes out that, Oh I'm sorry, doesn't support the older DRM encumbered eBooks so you can just buy them again if you ever want a newer device. Not really a problem with physical books.
Paper books only come on the original device and can't be upgraded for free as printing technology improves. No backup. I'm pretty sure most tablets (and many phones) that emerge in the next year will have a Kindle app.