With the advance of smartphones and tablets and they being quite affordable these days, e-books and e-readers have become quite a popular standard for reading. With dedicated e-reader, you can easily download and buy new titles. You can store thousands of books on a single SD card and read them in the dark without an external light. Still, there is something about the feelings you get while reading a book from the old-fashioned paper.
In this post, we’ll look at which is better- reading a paper book the old traditional way or an e-book.
Reading a Paper Book
1. Traditional Books or Paper Books are More Tactile
Clearly, the traditional books or paper books are more tactile in nature. They have a heft in the hand that feels entirely different compared to holding an e-reader. There’s a certain feeling that comes with smelling the paper in the books, turning pages, and seeing permanent words emblazoned on pages. Basically, the paper books feel good for those readers who enjoy physically collecting things or prefer a more sensory experience.
Paper books aren’t just tools that help you to access information, but they are also decorative objects. Who hasn’t been warmed by a home full of booklined shelves? If you are still curious about my blog, check out What is Nyasa's Book Shelf.
Being around your favorite volumes invite you to go grab them and browse through the pages. It is so easy to get lose in the world of book if they are all around you.
2. You Learn More Easily with the Printed Books
Retaining information can be quite easier with paper books. As per a Norwegian study that tested a group of readers on Amazon Kindle and another group that read the traditional paper-bound book, when both were quizzed post reading those who read the paper book fared better.
This is because there is a sort of feeling that comes while reading paper books which actually fire a different set of synapses in our brains. Moreover, we are so accustomed to skim-reading the digital media that it’s hard to read with the same focus while we read from the paper books.
3. Reading a Paper Back Wins Over E-Book When It Comes to Lighting
Another possible negative experience from reading from tablets or smartphones is linked to their lighting strength and power. Though they boast of strong backlights, this high level of screen luminosity sometimes convinces your eyes that it’s daylight outside which may keep you awake all through the night for unnecessary amounts of time. The artificial light exposure causes a lot of sleep scientists and doctors to recommend reading from regular paper books over digital books.
4. Some Readers Prefer the Feel and Utility of Paper Books
When it comes to reading experience, I personally think the weight and feel of a paper book is hard to beat most of the time. Most people are still used to read the traditional books are they are a total paper book lover. It’s so satisfying to curl up with a book, the smell of the pages and the heft of the book. Also, it allows us to see immediately how far we are really in a book. Whereas, in case of e-book it may still show that we have read 84% of the book when the book ended as the remaining 16% are excerpts from the author’s other books, his/her interview and a discussion guide.
5. Some Readers are Just Nostalgic Reading from Paper Books
I may be one of those weirdos that likes the smell of a paper in a traditional book. But not everyone thinks the same way. The feel of the book is an advantage for some readers as we have been used to read the paper books.
Reading an E-book
1) E-books are Great for Reading on The Go
A significant benefit of reading e-books is their small form factor along with their ability to store them without needing bookshelves. Whether you are a minimalist or a traveler, e-books are the ultimate portable way to enjoy reading. It needs not be filled in your suitcase as with a dozen heavy hardcovers. Simply slip your Kindle in your bag and you can have thousands of books on tap.
2) Search and Navigation is Simplified with E-books
With e-books search is super-simple, you can scroll the text with your finger to navigate easily through the texts. Eminently, e-books shareable; you can email an e-book to yourself or a friend easily. Not to mention storing e-book is a breeze.
With e-books you can perform a text search within every single book in your e-library. Try doing that with traditional books! You’d have to first have every page scanned and put into a database before being interpreted. The chances of that happening is quite slim unless you are at a high-end research facility or a University library.
3) E-books Have Visual Benefits
E-books can be awesome for people with poor eyesight and who are dyslexic. This is because of all the e-readers or tablets have the ability to change the size of the text that makes it easier to read. You also have the option to change the brightness levels which not only alleviates the problems of screens being too bright at nighttime but also allows for easy reading in bright environments.
4) E-books Have Audio Options
E-books can be easily synced to the audiobooks which allows you to enjoy your favorite stories and volumes in the care or while you walk back and forth to your work. I must say listening to audiobooks is an all-together different experience but can be quite valuable, especially when you are listening to them as a way to make use of the time spent commuting to work. In my next post, I’m going to discuss about Reading a Book Vs. Listening to an Audiobook: Which is Better? So, don’t forget to subscribe to my blog.
5) Easy to Publish E-books and are More Affordable Than Paper Book
Another important factor in the debate of e-book versus paper books concerns publishing. It is rudimentary and sometimes free to publish your book in the digital formats. This means you don’t need to find an agent to secure a book deal with a publisher.
Whereas, if you want to self-publish a traditional book it may not be particularly as cheap as publishing an e-book. This limits the release of information in traditional media to people with money and resources for such an undertaking.
Conclusion: Which is Better?
To wrap it up, there’s not really any need to choose which is better between reading a paper book and e-book these days. As we have already discussed about both the pros and cons with reading a paperbacks and digital form of books such as Kindle, deciding which is better will differ as per the reader’s choice. Not many people start reading e-books and turn their back completely on their beloved, dog-eared paper books.
It is better to consider both forms of reading have their own advantages and drawbacks, which is why can’t we just enjoy both of these forms.
So, read on and enjoy!
What do you prefer? Reading from a paperback or an e-book. Leave in your comments.
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