Battle of the Books: Physical Books vs. E-Readers

PHYSICAL BOOKS:

When you think of curling up with a good book, it’s drab to picture anything but a physical book. Not a phone, laptop or any kind of e-reader. 

Real books have been around for much of human history. The first surviving piece of literature was a short text of writing from ancient Mesopotamia, and the first lengthy composition was “The Epic of Gilgamesh,” according to Britannica. This presents us with the rich history, literally and metaphorically, of physical stories. 

And frankly put, it’s because they’re better than any form of electronic reading. 

A 2022 worldwide survey by Printing Impressions found 65% of people preferred physical books over audio and e-books. 

Paper books are something you can hold in your hands and leaf through, facilitating an intimacy between reader and story that’s lost with electronic reading. 

The emotional aspect of reading is essential. Acts as small as smelling the book are sentimental. 

There’s nothing better than unsheathing a pen and writing in the margins of a book, especially with poetry and plays, where writing down thoughts can help clarify complex metaphors. 

When buying an annotated second-hand book or borrowing from a friend, there’s something intimate about knowing someone else held it in their hands, flipped through the pages and noted their every thought and feeling. 

Digitalization has crept into seemingly every aspect of the contemporary world. It breaks my heart to watch books succumb to digital depersonalization. 

When someone is on their laptop or phone, there’s no way to see what they’re doing — no one even knows they’re reading something. They just look glued to the online world. 

Physical books, however, can spark a conversation. If you see someone reading your favorite book, it’s possible to giddily ask them their thoughts.

Paper books carry a deep history, being passed down for generations and holding stories beyond their own. I once received a well-loved copy of “The Great Gatsby” that belonged to my great-grandfather, and I still treasure it dearly — because I know he did as well, and I can’t wait for my grandchildren to do the same. 

The materiality of real books also denotes how they’ve been loved. Dog-eared pages, a creased spine and worn covers all mean people have passed it around. They wanted to share something they loved with others because it meant so much to them — a love made obvious by the physical copy. 

Physical books are special. Hold onto their particular beauty. 

E-READERS:

When coming to college, there was a big debate with my dad over what physical books I could lug to school. After narrowing down the stack, I was unable to bring all the copies I wanted to read because they couldn’t fit in my suitcase, so I turned to e-books. 

As college students, we don’t have a plethora of money sitting around to buy a hardcover book. E-books offer us the same stories at a cheaper price. Consuming books online offers these economic advantages. The lack of physical production costs, need for storage and materials can make a digital library more cost effective, according to Investopedia. 

The electronic reading game changed when Amazon released the first “Kindle” in November 2007. Kindles have many benefits, including an unlimited supply of books at the tap of a finger, a built-in dictionary and the ability to highlight and annotate the text, according to Medium. 

Accessibility is another key factor of e-books, there are tons of books available electronically through libraries like Libby. Reading them online saves a trip and makes returns stress free — giving us college kids more time to read. 

There are also subscriptions for online reading, giving e-books another level of accessibility and affordability. Kindle Unlimited allows subscribers to access a large variety of texts for free, with no return date — and even more for a discounted price, according to Amazon. 

Convenience when traveling is a huge perk of e-books. When on vacation, there’s a limited amount of extra space for books, making electronic reading a perfect solution. There’s no need to bring an extra book out of worry you’ll finish the first, they are both conveniently saved electronically.

Many prefer e-readers because of the ability to adjust the display light depending on the time of day, according to Tom’s Guide. Most e-readers have a night mode which omits the blue light, according to HuffPost — making for a better night’s sleep. 

Even if a Kindle isn’t one’s preferred choice of e-reading, there are other choices including reading on an iPad or a Barnes & Noble NOOK. The possibilities are seemingly endless. 

There’s also a sustainable advantage to electronic reading since its paperless form saves trees, pulping and shipping — reading e-books saves an estimated 2.3 metric tons of carbon emissions over two years, according to NPR.

One tree can create just under 100 books, according to Commercial Waste — think about how many trees are cut down to fill a single Barnes & Noble. 

The choice is simple. Electronic reading is more convenient, affordable and sustainable. Rather than spending all your savings on a few hardback books, make the investment in an e-reader and help both your bank account and your carbon footprint.