In Which I Compare eBooks To Books

6:46:00 PM


Today I was confused. I had no idea what kind of post I was going to write. I just new that I was in the mood to right one. For some reason I felt like I was neglecting my blog for the past few days, I had a spike in the amount of views I got one day *flails* and then I got a VERY small amount the next couple days, that is not okay. One of my resolutions was to try and balance out my views. So I decided today I was going to write a new post. Then I realized that I had no idea what to write about. My tiny brain went into overdrive. I just NEEDED a something to post. Plus I wanted to join the January Discussion Challenge (which you should check out!)Then my slightly singed brain came up with the wonderful idea to write about books. Wow, how original. But no. What my brain thought up of was to literally talk about books. Books themselves. Well specifically eBooks vs. regular books. 

So today marks the day of a great battle, the battle between eBooks and plain old regular books. What are the benefits to each? What are the cons? 

Let us first talk about benefits. So I know present to you, the benefits of books:

They are beautiful there is no denying that books are beautiful. Bookstagram, and book photography proves this. So do the covers of the most shiny books on your bookshelf. Does it not please your soul, to simply look at books, to admire their covers, their textures, and the exquisite artwork that lays upon them. Even the most ugly stories can have beautiful covers.

Simply touching a book is pleasing. Tracing its cover, flipping through the pages, feeling its unique texture. Its all so perfect. Its a feeling you cant describe, I hope I am not the only one who experiences it. Do you ever go to your bookshelf and slide your fingers along the spines of your books, and just take them in? Just take a moment to appreciate them?

Bookshelves are only perfect when they are full one thing that I think every-single book blogger desires, is a full bookshelf. Do you not feel the joys of adding a new book to your collection? Do you not feel happiness from the depths of your heart gazing upon a full shelf of your favorite books? If you don't, are you sure?Are you mentally sound?

Reading an actual book is more enjoyable I think we have all said or heard someone say that reading an actual book is more pleasing, more delightful. It is an entirely different experience. Flipping actual pages, feeling the actual book in your hands, seeing actual text that is printed in. It is simply, better. One cannot describe the feeling, it is just thereand it isn't going to budge.

Authors are our idols, getting their signatures is like winning the lottery you cant autograph an eBook let us say your favorite author is Jennifer L. Armentrout pshhhhhhh this is clearly random, I am not simply using her because she is my favorite author, no waaaaaaaay! Anyhow, Jennifer decides to do a book signing where you live PLEASE MAKE THIS HAPPEN And you squeal, you freak out, you cry from the joy. The BAM. You realize you have nothing for her to sign, only an eBook, which isn't possible. If however you had the actual book, imagine the joy, the joy of having a book signed by your favorite author! That would be amazing!

Now we shall wander over to the benefits of eBooks:

More portable this is an obvious one. You can take hundreds of eBooks and only carry the weight of your eReader. Whereas if you took a hundred books, you would probably die or is it just me? eBooks can go everywhere.

Cheaper Money is something I don't have, and 2 out of 3 of you don't have either obviously this is real, would I ever just make this up, whaaaaat no. This number is 100000% real. Or is it... Despite this however, we still demand books that we cant afford. Solution? Well you can embark on the treacherous journey to the library, or stay at home and buy eBooks.

More comfortable...? I find when I am using my eReader to read it is easier to find a comfortable position in which I can lay down. When I am reading a normal book, I am always fidgeting for one of these reasons a) I can't flip the pages the way I am laying, b) the book is heavy and is hurting me, or c) I am trying to hold it above me and it keeps falling on my face. You might be thinking, Maya why don't you just sit not lay down? Never.

Okay so now that we have listed the benefits for each, here is a quick list of cons, starting with books:

  • Expensive
  • Not so portable
  • eBooks are just easier to hold, tell me you understand what I mean??
Here my people, is a list of cons for eBooks:
  • Not as prettythis is a real con, I swear
  • You don't experience the same joy of looking at themalso 100% logical, tell me you get it!!
  • They aren't as fun to collect
  • Reading a book is more fun
As you can hopefully see, there is clear benefits to each of them. Although I am your Queen I can't decide which one you prefersadly  You can choose to read whatever you like! Maybe eBooks are more in your budget! Or maybe you prefer books because they simply look betterif so, you are my twin Whatever you choose to read doesn't matter, whether it's paper or digital, it is still the same story! 

So, What do you prefer? Books? Or eBooks? Or are you stuck in the middle?
Tell me below!

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21 comments

  1. I actually wrote a post about this recently too - it's such an interesting comparison! I agree with you 100% that real books are prettier and better to look at. :D
    I definitely prefer paper copies over ebooks because there is just something about holding a book that you don't get from a device! I do use my Kindle for traveling though, and it definitely helps to lighten my backpack.

    Katie / http://www.storiesandsnapshots.com

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    1. Im glad you agree! And Ill have to check out your post to see what you said about them!

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  2. I also find physical books nice to read, I really like feeling the paper and turning the pages for some reason. But yeah, ebooks are easy to maneuver when you're reading in bed and such. But have their merits, but if I had to pick I would probably pick physical copies.

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    1. I totally agree! There is just something better about them! It cannot be explained!!! Although ebooks totally have benefits, I just cant bring myself to love them!

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  3. I AM STUCK. Because the pros and cons are so soooo REAL. XD And evenly balanced?! I read ebooks on my iPod so the screen is suckily small, but it's comfortable. And portable. And convenient. But what's a book photographer to do with just EBOOKS?!?! It's a crying shame I tell you. Also ebooks collections are personal and no one else sees them, whereas bookshelves are a public statement of bookworm status. XD If I had to choose, I'd go physical book, but I won't ever deny how much I love my ebooks!

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    1. oooooo those are some good points, I didn't even think of them XD ebooks are actually quite fabulous and I totally understand why you love them! I never though of an ebook collection like that! It is true though, its like your secret collection of books that you quietly devour when no one is looking...

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  4. I'm going to fence sit for this one, because I enjoy both. I love having physical books, and if I read an e-book and it becomes one of my favourites, then I will purchase a physical copy as well. But ebooks are (usually) much friendlier on the budget, and like you said, portable. So I try to keep a balance between the two.

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    1. I totally agree, I too usually read the ebook first, if it is a book Im not particularly sure about, and dont want to spend my incredibly limited amount of money buying... Then if a fall madly and deeply in love with it, I snatch it up from the book store and embrace it lovingly!

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  5. This is a never-ending debate for me!!! I basically ran out of room in my studio apartment so I started buying more ebooks but I'm slightly uncomfortable with it becuase what if my tablet breaks?!? I have a nook full of ebooks but the charger cord broke and now I can't charge it therefore I have a dead nook full of ebooks I can't read! But ebooks are cheaper like you said!! Ahhhh such a struggle!!!

    Melanie | Blog: Toots + Dill

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    1. NOOOOO buy a charger immediately! One should never be separated from their ebooks!! That is such a good point though! The chances of a great fire coming and burning all of your beautiful books (I cant even bear to think of this happening) is probably less likely to happen than your ereader slightly rampaging and... sadly... destroying itself in a sizzling pile of metal... this is a sad reality. But ebooks are just sooooo great! The struggle is truly real.

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  6. I used to be a firm believer that regular books were far superior to ebooks. I mean, the experience just isn't the same with an ebook! But I have to say that I've been swayed somewhat. Sure, I still want pretty books to grace my shelves and sometimes I still NEED the experience of just picking up a book and turning those pages, but ebooks definitely have their perks. The convenience factor is HUGE. Oh, and another benefit for me - if I want to read until 2am and my husband is sleeping, I don't need the light on! :-)

    Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction

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    1. Lights are a big and very annoying thing that you need when it comes to reading! I hate secretly reading at night, because its just not so secret! But ebooks are great for some night time reading! Which I think we can admit happens often, when you just can't put a book down!!

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  7. Personally, I feel that there is nothing like feeling the pages of a book in your hands. Even the smell is wonderful... and you can easily see how much of the book you have left. The problem is, my tall, 1/3 of a wall bookshelf is jam packed. So I've had to use my e-reader more. If I had to choose, I like the original book format.

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    1. BOOKS SMELL DELICIOUS!!!! I totally get it!!! They are just, amazing to the nose...xD I admit, as soon as I get new books, I smell the pages to see which one smells the best... how could I give up that, I cant exactly smell my ereader...

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  8. I prefer physical books--I always have, and I feel like I will for a long time. Physical books are easier to flip through: to reread favorite passages, to flip forward to see how many pages are left in the given chapter, or to reference other areas (good for both textbooks and fiction). It's also been shown that people reading a physical book are better able to chronologically reconstruct events because reading is a multisensory experience: we see the pages, but we also feel the adjustments of weight as we read. Reading physical books is also not as eye-straining for me; reading off my phone, table, or computer gives me a headache if I do it for too long.

    For me, personally, it's a competition in which ebooks don't even properly have a chance xD

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    1. YESSSS! i 100% completely understand you!! Everything you said I agree with! You make some fabulous points, I wish I had thought of them when I was writing this post *facepalm*

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  9. I never thought I would get into ebooks until my parents gave me a Kobo. To me the advantage is its lightness and portability. The disadvantage is that the books are more ephemeral, and so is the reading experience -- if I want to seriously read and remember something, I prefer paper. I don't BUY ebooks -- if I'm going to spend money on a book I want an actual physical object. But it's fabulous to be able to download them from the library instantly at any time of day or night.

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    1. I usually dont buy ebooks either! For me though the experience of getting an ereader was totally different... I though I was going to love it but, I just found it, meh. I do find myself using it for traveling and such, because lets be real, I'm not dragging around a billion books, I am weak.

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  10. I LOVE HARD BACK BOOKS OR JUST PHYSICAL COPIES BECAUSE I LIKE TO HOLD THEM AND THEY ARE AESTHETICALLY PLEASING *heart eyes*. But I can read ebooks faster, and then there's that whole thing with them being easier to read in a lounging/potato-esq position. Really, this is a wonderful post. We're matchy matchy on opinions 100% xD

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  11. Before I downloaded the Kindle app, I had no idea I could appreciate ebooks. I would tell people I couldn't imagine not having a physical book in my hands to touch and sniff (oh, that new book smell is intoxicating!) And now that I own a Kindle, I found it VERY difficult to walk through Barnes and Nobles! I very much wanted to spend a gift card I'd gotten a while back, but I couldn't do it. I kept thinking, "I'll just get it online as an ebook. It'll be cheaper. It'll be easier to read everywhere. It'll be easier to store as data than paper," and so on! I still love my real books, and would never get rid of my loved copies, but I honestly think I've reached a point where I don't want to get any more like them. I've always loved fancy covers and spines, but as a rule, I never used to buy hardcovers anyway (too annoyingly heavy for me), so I guess there's not much to lose on my side. It still seems a strange choice to me, but I can't help how my preferences changes so dramatically!

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  12. I have always dreamed of owning tons of books that my house would be adorned with so many bookshelves that I could stare at forever. Unfortunately though, I usually don't have that much money for paperbacks so I presently have more ebooks than physical books. If only I had enough money all the time, sigh...

    (P.S.: YOU CAN SMELL PHYSICAL BOOKS, BUT EBOOKS? MEH.)

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