Pages

Sunday, October 23, 2011

E-books vs. Paper Books: The Conflict (guest post)


With the ongoing trend of using the internet and digital objects right now, e-books or electronic books also became widely popular. Electronic books, as what its name say, are books that could be viewed through electronic devices. However, as these e-books became popular, the traditional paper copy books, which we could see, feel and touch, start to slowly fade away and lose its power. But if we compare these two kinds of book, which do you think is much better?

E-books vs. Paper book: what’s the difference?

Both e-books and traditional printed books have pros and cons. As mentioned earlier, e-books became widely popular because of the trend in using electronic devices and internet. E-books provide venue for readers to read efficiently as most e-books offer zoom functions, letter resizing and etc. Moreover, e-books are also more portable than paper books because with just one device, you can store a big number of e-books. In addition to this, e-books are more environment-friendly as compared to traditional paper printed books. As it is electronic, there is no need to use hundreds of trees to produce the material needed to print the books.

On the other hand, traditional paper printed books are also easily portable. Although it’s quite a task for you to bring a heavy load, paper printed books are much accessible since there is no battery or electricity needed to read a single chapter. It has been said that it is a much better traveling companion compared to e-books. Moreover, it has also been shown that traditional paper printed books do not cause significant eye strain compared to e-books. This is perhaps because of the time spent using the device which may eventually lead to a strain to the muscles of the eye.

Which is which?

One of the best things to do in dealing with this conflict is to simply mix and match. The use of e-books and paper printed books could vary depending on the area you want to read a book and your personal preference, of course. For example, if you will go to a place where finding a source for electricity is difficult, then it is much better to bring a paper printed book. And, if you go to an area where bringing books is quite a tedious task, then e-books are a much better option.

Then again, you should remember that it doesn’t really matter whether it is a paper printed book or an e-book you are reading. As long as you are able to sit down, take a break and read a few lines from your favorite book, whichever medium you use will be a helpful tool.

About the guest blogger: Jenny Parker is a writer who enjoys covering topics for an expat community blog that provides internet phone carda and Swiss calling cards for international travelers. Take an additional 10% off with coupon code "acc10".

Photo: John Blyberg

3 comments:

Shah Wharton said...

I couldn't do without my Kindle now. If i began a series I liked paper-copy - True Blood and Vampires Diaries for example, then I'll complete the set in paper. But I won't start a series or generally buy paper copies now. Trads may moan, but it makes sense on so many levels. I miss colour covers, but I'm thinking of updating to Kindle Fire over Christmas so won't have that issue anymore.

Shah. X

Erin O'Riordan said...

I have not yet had the pleasure of owning an e-reader myself. I used to enjoy reading ebooks on my tiny HP Mini, but my husband killed it. I'm pretty much stuck with paper books and Adobe Acrobat on my giant Dell laptop now.

Unknown said...

Both, eBooks and paper books have their advantages and disadvantages. But it doesn't matter how we read as long we enjoy this activity. Personally, I love to use my e-Reader, because I can find eBooks more easily , whenever I want... at any time. I downloaded many of these from All You Can Books for free so I don't have to go to the library.