Physical books offer a more personalized experience than eBooks
The debate between physical books and eBooks has gone on for years since the first e-reader came out in 1998, however, it has never come to a clear answer as to which one is truly the better choice. Books have been around for centuries and have only evolved more and more from when they were being printed onto rocks.
Personally, physical books are much more appealing than the alternate choice. They have many more advantages than eBooks do in several ways.
In a study posted in The Guardian, they found that “readers using a kindle were significantly worse than paperback readers at recalling which events occurred in a mystery story.” As well, an article in Classical Conversations reported that physical books will more likely train you in the skill of deeper reading, giving them an upper hand to eBooks.
While owning physical copies of books may be great for all these reasons, there are some downsides to it as well. Starting off, buying physical books are extremely expensive, especially for hardcover editions. Prices for books range usually between $15 to $20, whereas buying an eBook would usually range from $3 to $10.
Though many people have resorted to downloading pdf versions of books online from free websites in order to avoid paying the fee, this takes away hard earned money from the author and publisher.
Additionally, damage can come to the physical books, whether it be from the sun or from mishandling the book and messing up the pages. eBooks can also be very fragile when handling, sometimes if you drop it only one time, they can break in an instant and these types of devices, like Kindles or Nooks, can be incredibly expensive to repair.
On the upside however, the device is small enough that makes it easy to carry around, though, it does have to be recharged every once in a while when it runs low on battery. If you are outside in the sun with the device, the light can make it somewhat difficult to read the screen. Reading on a screen has also been proven to negatively affect your sleep.
The positive aspects of reading off an eBook are that it can store a large number on a single device, as well as being able to download them in an instant. Many devices allow for you to adjust the font size and style in order to make it perfect for you.
Unlike eBooks, physical books also allow you to actually own the book instead of only owning the license to read them. They also allow you to annotate the book, making it a way to personalize your books to your own desires and even though eBooks do also allow you to annotate, you are limited on the tools to make it your own. The annotation skills on eBook devices can also sometimes be incredibly slow and take up more time than just using a simple highlighter on a physical book.
Physical books have been a staple in several homes as it can appeal to the aesthetic aspect. They allow you to create a bookshelf right in your own home, you can decorate them however you like and they are incredibly nice to look at. Many people, including myself, love the look of books on a bookshelf. Filling up the bookshelves to the highest point feels like an award every time you close a book you have finished.
Even if physical books are obviously the better choice in the debate, everyone has their own personal opinion and it really just depends on your own preference, no one else’s.