I do miss books a bit. I've been careful to ensure that there were large research libraries nearby, whatever the nature of the times. Given the peregrinations, though, everything's on the glowing screen of the foldable panopticon.
On the other hand, I've been equally frustrated with the conditions of the books on occasion. The other side of the fence is no idyll, just a marginal improvement, all told.
An ebook reader large enough to handle PDFs might be a marginal improvement, but those are still a bit pricey, and I'm wary of carrying expensive things around. Inexpensive, interoperable, and easily replaced technology has been the watchword on these trips, and that approach seems to have worked well so far.