Let’s talk. Both you and I know that this topic is a very hot one amongst book lovers and everyone alike. You may be thinking “I can’t believe you even want to talk about this…” Well you best believe it! Because it is happening! Right now! Lol.
Just keep in mind that this is all based on my personal preference! I will be listing the pros and cons of each; for eBooks and for physical books. But, before I begin, I want to mention one thing. I used to be on one side of the spectrum and one side only. I was unwavering. There was nothing you could do to even move me slightly over to the other side. I believed I was never going to be convinced to love eBooks. Oh no…no thank you! And then something happened… I don’t know exactly what, but…something definitely must have happened at one point 😛 because I’ve definitely shifted on the spectrum! I would say I’m actually in the middle now. Or maybe still more so on the physical books side of the spectrum, if we’re being completely honest with each other. So, just read on!
I’m going to start with eBooks.
Pros of eBooks:
(I only have an iPad. I don’t have a kindle. So some of these may not apply to you and your beloved ereader.)
- Convenient! I can read late at night without having to worry about having any of my lights on.
- Multitasking! This is a huge plus for me. I can finally read and eat at the same time without having to worry about how the heck I’m going to turn the page with greasy fingers! I can just use my knuckles. Thanks, knuckles.
- Portable! You can have a whole library in your hands, at your convenience. It makes it a lot easier for those who love to travel a lot, or are always on the go. Talk about some sort of wizardry. Amirite?
- Private! This isn’t so much of a concern to me, personally. But I do know some people like to keep what they’re reading private. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. And eBooks makes that preference super easy! You can read on without having to worry about what other people are thinking about the book you are reading.
- Free books! Did you guys know that there is a huge selection of free books on the iBooks app?! Yup. If you search hard enough, you may find books that you’ve been wanting for a long time…completely for free! There are a lot of classic books that are for free on iBooks. You’re welcome 😉
- Cheaper! Not only do you get a huge selection of free books on iBooks, they also tend to be cheaper than physical copies sometimes. Instead of paying around $12 for a physical copy, you can get the eBook version for maybe $4-5 dollars if you get lucky! (I personally would never spend more than $6-7 on an eBook. If it passes that, I’d rather get the physical copy.)
- Easier to take notes! If you’re like me and like to keep the pages of your physical books nice and clean, then you’d know how amazing it is to take notes on an ereader if you have one. It makes highlighting and taking notes absolutely convenient! Another plus is that you’re able to look up definitions for words easily.
Cons of eBooks:
- Distracting. Personally, I have a very short attention span. This may not apply to you if you have a kindle where you don’t necessarily have access to a web browser or any other distracting apps. Since I use my iPad, it can get really distracting when all social media links are easily accessible. To eliminate this problem though, I have deleted all social media apps on my iPad (Twitter, Facebook, etc.) I only kept YouTube, but even that can still be very distracting to me.
- Not the same. Nope, not at all. It just doesn’t feel the same as holding a beautiful physical book in your hands. You don’t get the same pleasure of actually sitting down with a good book, and feeling the pages in between your fingers when you turn them. That’s one of the many points that makes a reading experience incredible.
- Not good on the eyes. I know kindles are meant to look like they’re actually pages of physical books, so they don’t have the LED light that’s bad for your eyes. iPads, however, aren’t like that. So when you read for too long on the iPad, it can hurt the eyes. Not very good in the long run.
- Not pretty on a bookshelf. I mean…you can’t (or probably don’t want to) really display your ereader on your bookshelf. You can’t really display them and show them off along with your other pretty physical books. And that kinda sucks.
Now, let’s move on to physical books!
Pros of physical books:
- Shopping experience! No matter how much I love the selection of free eBooks, nothing beats the exhilarating experience you get when you browse through a bookstore. Whether or not you end up purchasing a book on your way out.
- The smell! Come on, be honest. I know you smell your books too. And isn’t it great?! I love the smell of books. I don’t even care how strange that sounds. I know we’re all in this together, people.
- Pretty! Unlike ebooks, you can proudly display your physical books on your bookshelf. You can show them off, do what you may with them on your bookshelf! You don’t get that luxury with eBooks, unfortunately.
- Better for your eyes! As much as I love being able to read really late at night without any of my lights on, I can’t deny that it’s really bad for my eyes. So, ultimately physical books are a lot better—obviously—for the eyes in general.
- Easy to donate! Or even sell. You can’t really do this with eBooks. (Maybe you can, I don’t know. I’m pretty sure that would be illegal, lol) You can also easily lend them to friends or family if you have a physical copy!
- Sentimental! You can pass physical books down to generations after generations and they become a lot more sentimental and valuable that way. You don’t get this at all with eBooks. They’re not the same.
- Being able to see how beautiful they get overtime! If you own a book that is 10 or over years old, you know exactly what I’m talking about. I’m talking about when the pages are no longer white and pristine…when the pages have started to curl… I think this gives a book character.
Cons of physical books:
- Not cheap. Physical books can be really expensive…sometimes even irrationally expensive. We all know this struggle.
- Not as portable. This may not necessarily apply to you if you don’t travel a lot. But if you do, it may be of inconvenience to have to bring more than one book at a time. So sometimes you’re forced to just bring one book.
- Can be inconvenient at night time. You’d have to either use a reading light or the good old fashion flashlight under the blankets if you want to read late into the night.
In conclusion, I think we can all agree that physical books will always be better. We all saw that one coming, though, didn’t we?
But then, at the same time, you might actually be someone who prefer eBooks a lot more over physical books. And you know what, all power to you, my friend! Like I’ve mentioned before, it’s really all about preference. I’m not one to judge. Hey, as long as you’re getting some reading done, right? I don’t think it matters where or how you read 😉 Read on!
leslie's library 