It’s the age-old question that many of us book lovers have faced in the 21st century: which do you prefer, print books or e-books? We could have this argument for weeks but let us try to narrow it down to the finer points for this week’s discussion.
When digital books start emerging, I didn’t really see the appeal of them. I mean, I have been reading print books all my life, why change a good thing? I even worked in Barnes and Noble at e-books popularity and still didn’t feel it was right for me.
Then, as a Christmas Gift, my mom gave me a Nook. Suddenly, I fell for the excitement of e-books. With an e-reader, I have easier access to books at my 
fingertips. E-books were at lower prices compared to print books. I could borrow e-books from my public library. I didn’t have to carry heavy books around anymore. I was finally starting to see the joy of an e-reader.
But then, I started seeing my reading habits started to change. For some reason I wasn’t reading as much as I use to. Compared to reading print books, I wasn’t concentrating or focused on what I was reading as much. E-book prices were increasingly becoming closer to printed book prices. And then I switched to a Samsung Tablet which meant a lot more functions and use, not entirely for reading which I purposely bought it for. The brightness would sometimes hurt my eyes and even decreasing the light, I couldn’t read for long periods of time.
The point I’m trying to make is this: I love to read. And I welcome any form of medium that encourages me to do that, i.e. e-books. I’ll admit e-books do have their advantages. They come in handy especially if you have to carry a 1000 page novel in your bag. But I don’t know about you but there is no other feeling than having a physical book in you hand, the smell of it, thumbing through real pages that a digital book can never give you. I have always carried a book in either my hand or in my bag ever since I was a little girl and even if I’m reading an e-book, I always have a printed book in my hand because I just feel naked without one.
Like, I said in the beginning, this debate of which is better can and will go on for years. So instead of having this constant battle, I’ll just say this: I will always prefer and love to read in print. However, that doesn’t mean I will totally disregard the positives in reading in digital format. So in my opinion they both can work hand in hand. It is not up to big name publishers or survey companies which format would be better for us. You are the reader. Choose what is comfortable for you. I am just not as quick to declare the demise of print, as others predicted. Even in this advanced digital age, print is will always be around, even when e-books start to lose their “shine” and popularity.
If you like to see the differences between both look at this interesting infographic I found:
Which format do you guys prefer to read in: print or e-books? Post your answer in the comments below.
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You have some really valid points, but I actually had the opposite experience. I’d ALWAYS been a big reader, but my first year of college I hardly read a thing (and not because I didn’t have time for it). I finally ended up buying myself a Kindle and that’s what got me reading again. I definitely still love print books, but the convenience of an e-reader is unparalleled in my mind.
Reblogged this on Concierge Librarian.
I guess it depends on what you have to offer. Sometimes it might be worth it to do a bit of both.
I prefer the physical copy. I’m more attentive to the story when reading a print copy. Also, I constantly flip to the cover while reading so print is better for that. I thought I would like e-readers but I didn’t like my Nook Color much when I got it; though, now I don’t mind reading on my Ipad. If I’m not sure that I’ll like a particular book, then I’ll get the e-book for it. Otherwise I prefer to read articles on my Ipad.
And yea the lower prices and easy access make e-books more appealing.
I was reluctant to try ebooks. My spouse purchased me a Kindle and I said “I don’t need that!” Then I used it and fell in love! I suspect I have arthritis in my hands/wrists, so the weight of an e-reader is much more comfortable for me to hold. The only thing I miss about physical books is being able to see my progress through a story by looking at the silhouette of my bookmark sticking out of the side of a physical book: the % read/% left isn’t as meaningful of a metric for me.