Printed Books VS EReaders

I love reading. It doesn’t matter if it’s printed books or e-books – as long as I get to read and the pages are complete, I really don’t care. The end point will still be reading. But some people could not get over this argument.

Well, after almost a month long of hiatus and occasional reading, I’m back writing again and the sound of tapping keyboard is music to my ears. I’ll start with this one first. I am a lover of books. My shelves are filled with it: from young adult novels to regency romance and some nonfiction. Then I discovered Kindle – an E-Book reader sold by Amazon. I was instantly hooked to it. But don’t get me wrong, I still adore printed books and did not clear out my shelf.

Now, here are the reasons why I love my Kindle and E-books:

•  I can have E-books almost immediately. I really don’t have to wait before our local book shop can have a copy as soon as the book is released. I can buy easily at Amazon on the same day that it came out of the market. No need to fall in line since purchases and download of a brand new book is done within minutes or seconds (all depending on the file size of the book)
• I can carry more than a hundred books with me all the time! Of course, I carry around my charger just in case my bat gets empty. E-readers like Kindle weigh less than one pound and no matter how many pages there is in one book – it doesn’t get heavy.
• I help saving trees! Paper books are made of trees. They are printed utilizing an assembly-line system that involves a lot of toxic chemicals. Not to mention, it needs to be delivered to a bookstore for customers to buy them.
• They’re user-friendly. Most ereaders has zoom built-in functions as well as letter resizing.
• Note-taking friendly. You can write notes but you can erase them as well.

But, let us not forget the disadvantages:

• Since I am reading on my Kindle, portable book light is needed when it becomes dark.
• For people who are using their computer to read ebooks – EYE STRAIN is your main problem. Good thing Kindle is similar to a paperback. Eye strain problem due to glare is minimized.
• Battery life – that is why I carry around my charger
• Software bugs/virus in ereaders can be a very big problem
• If you spill something on it, drop it – pray that it will still work. 

For the Printed Books

• I started reading my cousin’s paperback novels – because E-reader was not that popular eons ago and if ever it exists, I could not afford it. What I like about a printed book is that
•  I can find them at the bookstore
• They’re portable (compared to a laptop)
• No eyestrain 
• They’re cheaper – especially if you’re going to buy in secondhand book shops or over the internet.
• There is a distinct smell in paperbacks that makes me sigh in contentment.

 BUT….

• They’re heavy and bulky. I cannot and would not normally carry 2-3 books (unless on a shopping)
•  I need a light source to read them
• Note taking is a confusing task – would I or would I not write a note? Since inks are permanent and even in pencils, imprints are visible. For an obsessive-compulsive person, notes on my books are simply a no-no.

Me?

As I have said on my opening paragraph, as long as I can read the books that I want to read, it doesn’t really matter. 

good thing I'm careful with my Kindle