Maybe it is the classic wrestling match between old technology versus new technology.
Maybe it is the stereotypical old guy shouting from his front porch, “Get off my lawn!”
But maybe, just maybe, choosing a paper book is better than an ebook?
Let’s look closer:
[Click for Larger]
I like paper books.
I get it, really, I do.
But as my family prepares to move and we begin boxing up books, I am reminded at the ease of ebooks. And while I agree with some of these paper book aspects listed in the infographic, I can’t say I completely agree. Ebooks are still paper books in an electronic format, but the longer we have ebooks the more they will become robust and find their own way as a medium. Like the children’s book that includes 3D printables, ebooks will begin to include more and more content that paper books simply can not provide.
Apples & Oranges
I believe the comparison between paper books and ebooks will increasingly become a comparison of apples and oranges. Much like radio was compared to television and television compared to film, all three mediums still remain with us, so I don’t see paper books and printing becoming an extinct medium any time soon.
What do you think?
When it comes to books, paper or plastic?
[via The Digital Reader | Image via the bbp via Compfight cc]
Bob Miller says
I agree. I love ebooks for certain things but you gotta use paper books sometimes. For travel or keeping a lot of them available with you (novels, reference books, etc), there’s nothing like it. But when you need to do hardcore studying or want to lend the book out to different people, paper all the way. I think your analogy of radio/television/movies all playing a long term role together is perfect.
Eric Dye says
I’m with you, Bob. And whenever I take a paper book with me I think, “Well, no need to worry about battery-life — bah-dum-DISH!” (Yes, I say bah-dum-DISH in my head). 😀
Rachel Blom says
I love the smell and feel of books. Yes, I’m one of those people who opens a new book and deeply inhales the smell of ink 🙂 But I love ebooks as well, they’re just more practical in some cases, like when you travel a lot like I do. I tend to buy fiction as a ‘real’ book and non fiction as ebooks, because it’s easier to highlight and make notes, something I hate to do in real books. One thing that I’m still wondering is if my reading speed is different for real books and ebooks, haven’t truly tested that…but once I’m reading, I’m just as captured by an ebook as by a real book!