E-reader vs. paperback is probably one of the most talked about topics in the book world. There are those that are anti e-reader, those that no longer read paperback and those that are happy to use both so I thought I’d write a blog post about my feelings towards the two.
When the dawn of the kindle arrived I was irate. Why did we need to have electronic books? What was wrong with a paperback? I refused to buy one, I didn’t want to use one and I disliked everyone that bought one, they were letting the book lovers down! Technology can be fantastic but why fix something that ain’t broke? I couldn’t imagine the older generations settling down to read with a kindle, they would still want their traditional paperback. Wasn’t the e-reader just encouraging children to be more technology addicted and stopping them from enjoying the pleasure of something you didn’t need to plug in and charge?
However my opinion has changed massively over the last year or so and I’d like to explain why.
After a period of sitting and refusing to buy an e-reader I decided to stop being so stuck up and give it a go, how can you really have a valid opinion on something if you’ve never even tried it out? I went onto the internet and did a little research and found that WHSmith had an offer on their e-readers called Kobo so I purchased one of those for about £70 (I think it was around that mark).
It arrived and I secretly was excited to try it out. For a short while it was a novelty and I wanted to read everything on it but then reality struck and I realised buying e-books was quite expensive! There’s no ‘second hand’ e-book shop with books for 40p like a charity shop or second hand shop. So that was the first problem I encountered. 1-0 to the paperback.
The second problem I encountered was that I am no technology geek so when it stopped working I didn’t know what to do! The worst thing ever is reading an e-book and you’re just getting to the good part when it runs out of battery or decides to stop working. Nothing like that happens with a paperback; the pages don’t refuse to turn and they don’t need to take a break to charge themselves up again. 2-0 to the paperback.
The next challenge comes when you’re clumsy like me and accidently drop the e-reader causing a tiny bit of the screen to be a continual black dot meaning you sometimes have to guess the word you are reading. Again, paperbacks don’t have this problem! 3-0 paperback.
But, wait. E-readers also have their strong points. If you want to go on holiday and take a massive bundle of books with you, add them all to your e-reader and instead of having an overweight bag, you’ve got plenty of room for an extra pair of shoes and handbag. 3-1 paperback. Also, what about if you like to read on the commute in the mornings but don’t like carrying around a hefty book all day? Simple, throw your e-reader in the bag and you can read to your heart’s content. 3-2 paperback. Lastly, e-readers help those that may struggle to hold and read a paperback. Some paperbacks can be really heavy so can be a nightmare to try and hold for the whole time you are reading them. 3-3, it’s a tie!
So far there are advantages and disadvantages of both methods of reading but when it comes down to it, does it REALLY matter how we read books?
I have an extremely strong love for books and I think it is important that every child grows up loving to read and I think all adults should be encouraged to read more too. Surely it’s a good thing that the world of books is keeping up with technology? I’d much rather see a child staring at the screen of an e-reader than shooting people on the Xbox or Nintendo (or whatever they play these days). Our children will inevitably grow up in a world where technology will continue to evolve and whilst they should be able to enjoy the pleasures of a paperback, it is important that they are literate in technology too.
Obviously there are still weaknesses to technology, the fact it can be unreliable, the cost etc but they’re helping to reduce the amount of paper used to print books, they’re giving more people the chance to read, you don’t have to wait ages for a book to arrive in the post, you can download and be reading in seconds, you don’t have to have a massive bookcase to store them all etc.
At the end of the day, to me, the most important thing is that people enjoy reading. Whether they find that joy through a paperback or e-reader is un-important. If e-readers encourage younger generations to read or make it easier for some to access books then I am all for them. Plus, no one is forcing you to buy an e-reader. Paperbacks are still in massive demand so you still have the choice to decide which you read. I’m an e-reader convert and whilst I still enjoy a good old paperback, I also enjoy reading electronically. Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it!
I carried out a very unscientific piece of research on twitter to find out the general opinion about which they prefer. Paperback was the clear winner but there were still some good votes for e-reader and a high proportion of people said that they enjoy both. So it looks like we’re still a split community but hey, we all read, we all love books so we should be able to enjoy them in the way we want to!
When the dawn of the kindle arrived I was irate. Why did we need to have electronic books? What was wrong with a paperback? I refused to buy one, I didn’t want to use one and I disliked everyone that bought one, they were letting the book lovers down! Technology can be fantastic but why fix something that ain’t broke? I couldn’t imagine the older generations settling down to read with a kindle, they would still want their traditional paperback. Wasn’t the e-reader just encouraging children to be more technology addicted and stopping them from enjoying the pleasure of something you didn’t need to plug in and charge?
However my opinion has changed massively over the last year or so and I’d like to explain why.
After a period of sitting and refusing to buy an e-reader I decided to stop being so stuck up and give it a go, how can you really have a valid opinion on something if you’ve never even tried it out? I went onto the internet and did a little research and found that WHSmith had an offer on their e-readers called Kobo so I purchased one of those for about £70 (I think it was around that mark).
It arrived and I secretly was excited to try it out. For a short while it was a novelty and I wanted to read everything on it but then reality struck and I realised buying e-books was quite expensive! There’s no ‘second hand’ e-book shop with books for 40p like a charity shop or second hand shop. So that was the first problem I encountered. 1-0 to the paperback.
The second problem I encountered was that I am no technology geek so when it stopped working I didn’t know what to do! The worst thing ever is reading an e-book and you’re just getting to the good part when it runs out of battery or decides to stop working. Nothing like that happens with a paperback; the pages don’t refuse to turn and they don’t need to take a break to charge themselves up again. 2-0 to the paperback.
The next challenge comes when you’re clumsy like me and accidently drop the e-reader causing a tiny bit of the screen to be a continual black dot meaning you sometimes have to guess the word you are reading. Again, paperbacks don’t have this problem! 3-0 paperback.
But, wait. E-readers also have their strong points. If you want to go on holiday and take a massive bundle of books with you, add them all to your e-reader and instead of having an overweight bag, you’ve got plenty of room for an extra pair of shoes and handbag. 3-1 paperback. Also, what about if you like to read on the commute in the mornings but don’t like carrying around a hefty book all day? Simple, throw your e-reader in the bag and you can read to your heart’s content. 3-2 paperback. Lastly, e-readers help those that may struggle to hold and read a paperback. Some paperbacks can be really heavy so can be a nightmare to try and hold for the whole time you are reading them. 3-3, it’s a tie!
So far there are advantages and disadvantages of both methods of reading but when it comes down to it, does it REALLY matter how we read books?
I have an extremely strong love for books and I think it is important that every child grows up loving to read and I think all adults should be encouraged to read more too. Surely it’s a good thing that the world of books is keeping up with technology? I’d much rather see a child staring at the screen of an e-reader than shooting people on the Xbox or Nintendo (or whatever they play these days). Our children will inevitably grow up in a world where technology will continue to evolve and whilst they should be able to enjoy the pleasures of a paperback, it is important that they are literate in technology too.
Obviously there are still weaknesses to technology, the fact it can be unreliable, the cost etc but they’re helping to reduce the amount of paper used to print books, they’re giving more people the chance to read, you don’t have to wait ages for a book to arrive in the post, you can download and be reading in seconds, you don’t have to have a massive bookcase to store them all etc.
At the end of the day, to me, the most important thing is that people enjoy reading. Whether they find that joy through a paperback or e-reader is un-important. If e-readers encourage younger generations to read or make it easier for some to access books then I am all for them. Plus, no one is forcing you to buy an e-reader. Paperbacks are still in massive demand so you still have the choice to decide which you read. I’m an e-reader convert and whilst I still enjoy a good old paperback, I also enjoy reading electronically. Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it!
I carried out a very unscientific piece of research on twitter to find out the general opinion about which they prefer. Paperback was the clear winner but there were still some good votes for e-reader and a high proportion of people said that they enjoy both. So it looks like we’re still a split community but hey, we all read, we all love books so we should be able to enjoy them in the way we want to!