Ebooks Vs. Paper Books: The Pros and Cons
83What Makes a Book?
In essence, the two formats are very similar. Both allow you to do the most important thing - read a book. The text is the important thing, not the medium. Reading Sumerian legends on clay tablets can feel more "authentic", but doesn't necessarily enhance your understanding of the subject matter - just your experience.
Depending on the type of material you'd like to read / look at, however, one does have advantages over the other.
The "Classic" Paper Book.
Paper books offer multiple advantages:
- They're easily obtainable (Bookstores are everywhere).
- They're easily portable.
- They don't normally cause significant eye-strain.
- They're cheap.
Okay, that much was obvious. Specifically, some types of content paper books are better for are:
- Textbooks (or any books which are generally large-format).
- Picture / Photo books.
Another factor to bear in mind is that paper books don't need power to function. They can be read anywhere with sufficient light, and are perfect travelling companions for exactly this reason.
The obvious cons are:
- Paper books are bulky and heavy. Carrying more than 2-3 around can become a chore.
- You need a light source to read them - another thing that you'll probably carry around.
- If you make notes in them, those notes are there to stay (Yes, even pencil. You can always see the imprints, even if you erase every last shred of graphite).
The eBook
eBooks offer the following obvious advantages (assuming you have an ebook reader):
- They're easily readable. Most readers offer zoom functions, letter resizing, and so forth.
- They're easily portable. You can carry multiple books on one device.
- They're much more environmentally friendly. You don't have to kill a few trees for each book, and let's not even talk about the ink. Recycling only goes so far.
- Note-taking is much more powerful, and the notes you write can be found and referenced quickly and easily. And they don't have to be permanent.
- Lighting conditions essentially become meaningless. Many readers incorporate display lighting allowing you to read whenever and whereever you like.
eBooks are useless without a reader. There are a few on the market, such as Amazon's Kindle, Jinke's Hanlin reader series, Sony's eReader series, and a few others. These are mentioned because they incorporate a technology called e-ink, which resembles paper very closely, and eliminates most eye-strain issues.
Some types of books especially suited for a reader are:
- Novels or non-fiction books without many pictures.
- Web-sites with html links and cross references.
The disadvantages of ebooks generally stem from the hardware you're reading them on. If it's a computer, you've got the normal computer problems which detract from your reading pleasure:
- Eye strain and RSI. Long periods spent in front of a computer are healthy for nobody.
- Power. Your average laptop has 4-6 hours of battery life.
- Portability. Why lug a laptop around if you can simply carry a book?
The cons of the reader devices are a little more subtle:
- You still have battery life to worry about.
- Nasty software bugs in the reader can cause it to freeze up.
- They're not very robust. If you spill <insert beverage of choice> on them, chances are that's the end of your reader. Not to mention scratches, dropping them, and so on.
In general, ebooks suffer from other cons as well:
- They're not readily available, and format wars are making the decision to buy a reader very difficult. Will you go for the Amazon one, and buy books (only) there? Or the Sony?
- The pricing model hasn't been worked out yet, causing some major discrepancies.
So What Do I Use?
Personally, I mix and match. I have an old Palm pilot and an ipod touch, and read novels, websites, blogs, and so forth on that. The selection of novels isn't very broad, but as I read public domain books most of the time, this doesn't really matter as I can simply download them.
Paper books are still my favorite though. They don't need batteries, and I can read them just about anywhere.
Time will tell whether ebooks are a viable alternative. At the moment, the whole thing is still in it's infancy, and a decent solution has yet to appear.
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Thank you for that. Very kind. This is my first hub, and I hope it helps!
Thanks for the great information. Why not add the IGroup10Enterprises Project http://hubpages.com/hub/Help-getting-published-as-
Darien: I had a look at your hub, and I think it's a great idea. Do you have a website or something where I can have a closer look at this?
At the moment, I think the best place for writers to publish first works is in magazines or online. The first gives them the opportunity to 'pitch' their writing to an established base of readers, and the second allows them to grow this group from scratch.
Once again, I'd love to hear more on this.
Another thing is that when you live abroad and don't know the lanuage you can't get books... A reader is like having a book store in you pocket... I miss public libraries.
thank you but were could you buy them and could you tell more info
you welcome
Coeus, great info on the pros and cons of paper vs. ebooks. Thanks for the highlights of different ebook readers. I would enjoy a review of the different readers and learning more about e-ink if you have time for another hub on this topic.
Super wrap up of the two kinds. I've written my own book on Ankle Injuries - completely researched and experienced as a physiotherapist for 9 years with a Masters degree in Sports Physiotherapy, but I didn't publish it because most information is free on the topic anyway. I think I'll release it to a free ebook site, and assess the response. I also recently launched a site selling both ebooks and paperback. If you're interested its http://wfm.ebookvendingmachine.com
eBooks are great for non fiction informational materials. Good comparison :)
Thank you very much. I just saw the ereader on tv and was not sure what it was. Now I know. I love to read books and wanted to know if the ereader would be cost effectiv than paper back. You helped me with my decision on buying one. I think I'll wait and see if the price will go down enough for me to buy an ereader.
what will be the next level to this ebook?i would like to know the next level technology to this ebook
good advice on the cons i was working on a project and it helped
i have in ebook sony pocket edition and every thing you said does match up
i have in ebook sony pocket edition and every thing you said does match up
A very nice article. I would like to point out that textbooks and picture/photo books are not necessarily better on paper unless we allow that ebooks must be straight reproductions of printed matter. If not then the multimedia nature of ebooks will make them the option of choice for textbook and picture/photo book publishers.
Your comment that the permanence of notes in paper books is a con seems to me inappropriate. Many people put notes in books, as I do, in the sure knowledge that 10, 15, or 20 years from now when I pick up that book to re-read it, I will be able to see what I was thinking at an early stage of my life. If the notes were easily lost, or erased by an "upgrade" it would be a tragedy.
The statement: "They're easily readable. Most readers offer zoom functions, letter resizing, and so forth." also gives me pause. If a paper book is well designed it is, at least for the moment, always more easily readable than a ebook. As for "zoom functions, letter resizing, and so fourth", these things are a crutch that is implemented because of the current state of ebooks. Eventually the market will settle on a or a few preferred screen sizes for reading devices (be they tablets or eInk readers). Therefore I see in the future buying ebooks based on the screen size for which they are formatted or in "large print" if that is more preferable. Or, in which publishers package multiple "versions" formatted for different screen sizes/reader capabilities, in one package.
As for myself, at the moment I am still a dedicated print book reader. The fact that each one comes with its own "screen" sized specifically for the content, is a large part of that. And a well designed book is a thing of great beauty.
However, after seeing the iPad version of Theodore Gray's book "The Elements" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nHiEqf5wb3g) I can't feel my resistance to giving up my paper books crumbling.
A good article. Both formats certainly have their pros and cons, although I am definitely a printed book girl. I don't just love reading, I love books. I want to be able to hold them in my hand and display them on my shelf, you know. And as a writer I definitely want to be able to hold my own book in my hands - seeing it on an e-reader screen isn't much different than seeing it on my word processor. Ebooks I think are actually better for information books where your main goal is to spread knowledge quickly. I have my own article on this subject on Squidoo.
An excellent debate - any views regarding texts books will be welcome as I am just considering what would be welcomed by students
Printed books must always remain. Ebooks are OK, but should never take over the industry from printed books. Think of the logging industry. Paper items would soar in price(paper towels, toilet tissue,other.
This has helped me immensely- I was doing a research paper on this exact topic and your article has given me great insight. Thank you!
P.S. Paper books for life! ;)
i think this is a very wonderful web site!!!!!! i will use this on a lot of stuff!!!!(: i hope all of the schools will get technology for everyone that would be AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!(: i hope everyone has a wonderful day at school, work, and home!!!!!! love to all, unknown
I currently download eBooks onto my smartphone and also still buy paperbooks. I am holding off buying an eBook reader since i can read ebooks on my phone.
Useful hub. Thanks for sharing
It is a major advantage to be able to change the font size. I have some old classics that have a tiny font on yellowing paper, and it is hard to read. But on the e-book, it is easy to read. OTOH, if bookstores go away, that is a loss, but they are already being driven out by Barnes and Noble and Borders. If paper books go away, reading could go from being a cheap hobby to being an expensive luxury. Right now, you can read for free by borrowing books from the library, or you can pick up used books for a dollar or even less. But if all that is available is ebooks, you have the up-front cost of the reader, and if you are low-income, you may not be able to afford it. One of the major upsides of a paper book is that paper stays written. In principle, e-books could be sanitized and the original sent down the memory hole. On the other hand (there are a lot of hands) old obscure books that were once hard to find are now easy to find in e-book format.
I agree! my favourite are plain paper books although i still like eReaders or downloading books on my laptop.
it was very detailed and described both sides of each topic thoroughly. Congratulations.
Either I mis-typed or the machine did not pick up all that I typed of my name. Please revise it to Carol Smiles.
I have self published 3 books and now have PublishAmerica marketing a 4th book. I had thought to cut out the middle-man and start an e-book business of my own, but am not encouraged to do so after reading this site. However, I am also discouraged from continuing to try to find a publisher to print and market the other books I have ready, due to the fact that so many publishers will not accept manuscripts from unknown authors. Others put you on hold for years and don't even bother to send rejection slips if they actually do read a manuscript or portion submitted for their perusal. The whole "getting published and having the public read your work" process is frustrating and very discouraging for new authors.
Thanks for the info Coeus!
Hi there! Your hub is very useful for this topic. I actually wrote an editorial about this topic also and used quotes and references from this. Of course, appropriate credit goes to you. :) Kudos!
Innovations will go on bringing changes but they cannt change Wife-Husband relations. Printed Books are just like wives or vice-versa. You love them, keep them close to your heart, open them as many times as you can, kiss them, feel proud to have them in your bag. They are the true friends whom you feel proud to keep in your reading room or bedroom. No comparison. Printing Books will never fade away.
Don't fool yourself..Ebooks means they can resell you the same content over and over again..Plus you don't own the book either..you only license it. So soon they can delete it whenever they want. See the example of how amazon remotely deleted copies of a book which people had purchased.
Some inetersting thoughts on paperback/ebook comparison. Even though I find reading ebooks very convenient at times I still prefer the good old fashion way of digesting my reading material!
I find note taking to be rather cumbersome on eReaders. I have owned a Nook (older version) and a Kindle 3. The Kindle is easier to notate, but certainly no easier than using a piece of paper and a highlighter. I'm a fan of permanence, I guess :)
i was doing a speech for school, this really helped!!!
give me a paper book any day! This article also conveniently ignored the cost to environment in terms of the metals and plastics used in production of kindles etc. paper is and can be recycled more and inks can be much more environmentally friendly. E-books have a place, but essentially it is motivated by profit!
photomass - that's true to a certain degree. However, how many books can you carry on the ereader? The environmental cost of processing the paper alone far outweighs that of an ereader's whole life-span.
Coeus, how long do you think the batteries and the e-readers can/will last? Do you think they can last for more than 5 or even 3 years? Do you think the disposal or re-cycling of them are easy, cheap or harmless?
Coeus, 3 more important/crucial points that you've missed in your comparison:-
01. How sad or frustrated would you feel if you lose paper book as compared to losing your e-reader?
02. Hence, would you bring your e-reader *everywhere* you go or put/leave them in *any place* such as the side of a pool or on the beach?
03. Full text search function of ebooks is *invaluable*, especially for people who are "working" on information/knowledge!!!
I've to stress again here that zooming is a VERY important function of e-reader! You'll really appreciate it when you're old, OR, after reading on your computer screen for many many years! So, never read/stare at your computer screen for long hour(s), remember to have breaks/rests in between!!!
I like textbooks bett
i like laptop better than anything
laptop are better than books by far
you wont want to use your ereader in the tub, but you can with a real book. If you happen to drop it in, most likely it will still be legible, or you only have to replace that one book and not the whole system.
Am doing an article for my school newspaper and this helped
It would break my heart o see an end to published paper books. I don't want them to go the way of the hand written letter. An e book can never be a keepsake. The reader can not feel the paper or the weightiness of the e book. I don't want technology to rule every precious thing.
this helped sooo much!!:) thx so much,i have to do a debate at skool and this was my topic thanks to this i got a 100% in the debate:D
To J E Gilbertson:
As much as I love my eReader and use my computer and email, I still write letters by hand and mail them to people via the postal service when acceptable and needed. I also have some books that are just not as satisfying to read as an e-file and my bookshelves at home are filled to the brim with printed books I've had for years. Anyway, believe me, you are not the only one who still writes letters by hand amidst reading an eBook or email-reading/writing world.
~Ami
thooghun 4 years ago
Very nice repsonse! I noticed the request but didn't think I could make a good hub of it. Just goes to show. My hat off to you sir!
THoog.