A thousand ebooks can fit onto a giveaway USB drive, or sync with iCloud iBooks and Dropbox and whatever else you find convenient to use. You get used to reading on a screen, and Kindle Paperwhites are also nice to read on. It won't be exactly like paper, but I find that the convenience (searchability is a big one for me) trumps the feel of a "real" book. I also don't mind it much for fiction. Having stuff to read on my phone which is always with me is pretty tough to beat. I can pull out Cryptonomicon and read a few pages waiting in line at Safeway, in the restroom, during lunch, on a walk, in a Lyft, etc. You can definitely take books with you similarly, but then it's another physical thing to forget / stuff into a backpack / whatever.

Edit: there's also the potential benefit to you of "trying before buying" pretty much anything you want. Just remember to actually support the authors if you value the continued creation of content. I've sent a few bottles of scotch which have been well-received :)