I’ve often read arguments about how either electronic books are better than physical copies or the opposite. People get quite passionate about their books, and I don’t blame them. Personally I tend to live in the middle ground, where e-books on my Kindle and my bookshelf full of paperbacks and hardbacks are living contently together.
I’ve tended to have more E-books Books lately because I wanted to read something right away, or move on to a sequel but didn’t have the time to get the paperback. Occasionally it was simply because I don’t have the room…at the moment. I’m the type of person who has stacks of books everywhere. Some are read, some aren’t. I always plan on reading them, but I also have the OOOH SHINEY feeling when it comes to my books.
Physical books are an expeirance. Perhaps it is because I trained to be in a field where paper is part of communication, but having the physical book in hand is great. The feel of the paper, the neat lines of ink. The Book Covers and Dustjackets. It appeals to the senses with touch, and the contrast between the ink and paper. It has a smell, different as it ages. A used book store smells different than a new book store. The ones with collectable and hard to find ones have a smell all of their own too. So picking up a paperback is a experience that involves all your senses. Used books have a history too, so in a sense you are sharing it with someone else.
That’s not to say I don’t like my e-books. They are good too. They fed my need to consume a story. They are easier to read when traveling because you don’t have the weight of all those books. They last longer because they don’t get affected by the environment. Well, within reason. Killing your e-reader will affect them. They can be interactive, with many e-readers now having a way to share quotes and notes from your readings to your friends on social media. It can make its own expeirance.
So I think in the end, the argument is a silly one. They are all books, waiting for us to morph into the story, and find enjoyment. There are so many adventures out there to enjoy, don’t waste time fighting over how you got there.
What do you think?
Sokorra Lewis 
I love paper books, but I also have a Kindle, and on occasion read e-books. I like e-books first and foremost because they are cheaper than real books, but also because I can get them faster than paper books; all it takes is a click of a button, literally. However, for some unfounded reason, I find it somewhat harder to concentrate on what I’m reading if it’s an e-book. Also, though technology has made it easier now to go back and forth between “pages” of an e-book, for me, flipping through actual pages is still preferable.
I love paper books, because, well, they feel better “physically,” and I can focus more on the story compared to when reading an e-book.
My general rule is usually if I have an e-book, I also have (or will have) the paper version of that book; so if I bought an e-book because it was more convenient at the time, if I like the book, I will go out and buy the actual paper book when it becomes available to me. Or sometimes, I have the actual paper book, but it’s a bit inconvenient to carry around because of its thickness, etc. (ex: Anna Karenina), so I get an e-book version which I can carry and bring with me, while I leave the paper version at home and read it there.
Sorry..didn’t mean to write so much 😛
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