Ah, the age-old discussion of which is better: hard copies or online copies.
Everyone has his or her preference, of course. Some people like having the physical copy to hold and display proudly on their shelf once they have completed it, like it’s a literary trophy. Others like the convenience of having twenty books stored in an online library that you can pull up with the touch of a button and you don’t have to cart around a heavy hardback in your purse.
In the grand scheme of things, I think both are acceptable mediums. I don’t think that eBooks are going to make physical copies obsolete, though there certainly are people out there who think that.
I do personally prefer the physical copy of the book because it looks pretty on my shelf, and there is always something so wonderful about actually turning a page instead of swiping on a screen. Hey, that’s just me.
Also, it’s kind of hard to get the smell of the book from an eReader. That should be the next feature for eReaders: a little euphoria jet that sprays the scent of the paper and the ink.
I never really wanted a Kindle or a Nook when they first came out. I think that if I had been introduced to them at an earlier age I would have saved my money for one or asked it as a big gift for Christmas or my birthday, but by the time they had been released on the market, I was too attached to the physical copies and didn’t see too much of a point. I did get the Kindle app on my phone a few years ago (because it was free) in order to have a few books accessible at all times. You never know when you are going to have some time to kill.
Like I said, I prefer the physical books. However eBooks certainly have their pros.
Obviously, convenience is the big thing. You can pull out your eReader or your phone and pull up a novel no problem whether you are in line at the post office or waiting for a class to start. They are also great when you want to read in the car when it’s dark outside.
My favorite thing about having a Kindle or a Nook is that you can usually access a book that is no longer in print. There have been a few books on my To Be Bought list that were taken off the market, and I wasn’t willing to pay fifty dollars for a 250-page mass market paperback from some independent seller on Amazon. The books in question, though, were available fairly cheap as eBooks so I went ahead and bought them. Would I have rather had the actual paperback? Sure. But for five dollars or less, I have no complaints with having the eBook.
So which do you prefer: Real Books or eBooks? Feel free to let me know in the comments below!
