Discussion post: Print vs digital books

Printed books have been around for thousands and thousands of years. People love them, in all shapes and sizes! People still read books but isn’t it better to use an e-book reader instead? How do people feel about that? I, for months have injured judgy eyes from the mother whenever I talk about reading on a kindle. She is a bit old fashioned (not in many things) with books, it must be made of paper. That is all. I completely agree. There is nothing quite like opening the first page of a brand new book, from the bottom of the pile! But, I can see the arguments for e-books also, I would never use one exclusively though! I have made a pro & con list for both versions of reads to help you come to the ultimate decision; print or e-book?

Print

♥ Always available at a moments notice.
♥ Smell wonderful
♥ The feel of starting a new physical book
♥ Can carry anywhere without needing to be charged
♥ The beautiful covers! #shelfie

× Has to wait for delivery, although sometimes this could be a positive; anticipation and excitement!
× Losing your bookmark / page, the struggle is real! You could spend forever reading to realise that you’ve already read that part!
× Inability to adjust small writing
× Takes up a lot of space depending on the size of your book collection (*cough* TBR pile)× Can’t read very well in badly light areas
× More expensive that e-books, if they’re good books then they’re worth it, if they are DNF then boo!
× Over time the print will fade and damages may appear (especially with toddlers touching them with grubby little person hands!)

Digital

♥ The ability to change font size and read in a poorly lit / dark room
♥ Environmentally friendly (paper wise)
♥ Can hold one-handed
♥ Immediate delivery
♥ Can’t lose a bookmark (see above print point)
♥ A toddler can’t damage an e-book, well unless he drops it from the top of the stairs..
♥ 1000’s of books at the tip of your fingers.
♥ Netgalley
♥ Some books are free, other books in the charts are sometimes offered for 99p, cheaper than a cheeseburger!
♥ Can be easily hidden from the suspicious glance of a spouse.

× ‘Out of sight, out of mind’ I get so excited seeing / reading my printed books so much that I do tend to neglect e-books, I am trying to be better!
× Needs charging at what feels like every pivotal moment of a storyline!
× If reading in the dark, it tends to make me have ‘stingy eyes’ and feel tired more that I would when reading a print.
× Not all published books are available in this format
× Textbooks in this format can be just as expensive as print copy, so print copy wins.
× The formatting (grr), also being told how long the book will take to finish…. I don’t really want to know that?
× A case of sleep deprivation due to the ability to read in the dark.
× You can delete a e-book forever…. duh duh dum….

All in all, both are great reading materials. Whether or not you’re completely against one or the other you can definitely see how people are drawn to either or. As a constant reader I love the option of both. I just wish that when you buy the book you got the free e-book, Ii would get so many books read that way! Plus i’m too cheap to buy both. Although, on the other hand, if you presented me with either having a book in print or the same book in digital form, I would always choose print. Just because digital is easier at times, the feel of a kindle isn’t quite the same as the feel of a book!

I have tried to cover all the points that I can think of, but if you have an opinion on the matter or if you think that I’ve missed out a very important argument comment. Let me know what type of reader you are!

Whatever way you do it…..