This week's book chat is discussing the merits of eReaders vs. Printed Books, and I thought I'd weigh in with my opinion. They both have their pros and cons.
+ lightweight, easy to carry, hold, and turn the page
+ can purchase books from home (or almost anywhere)
+ built-in features like dictionary and highlighting
+ can change font, color, size, orientation, etc.
+ iPad has backlighting for night-time reading
- when browsing to purchase, you can't "flip through" the pages
- not a great idea to bring to the beach or poolside
- have to be charged occasionally
- have to buy the eReader device plus books
nothing beats the feeling of holding, smelling & flipping through a loved book +
can be easier to scan multiple pages to find & re-read a passage +
have beautiful covers that can be displayed in your home +
easy to pass on to friends and family members +
books can be heavy & hard to carry -
often carry a slightly higher price tag per book -
Are eReaders truly more "on the go" than printed books?
Is it really easier to share a book online than handing a friend a paperback copy?
I'm not sure.
What I do know is that I prefer each for different circumstances. It's so nice to be able to read in bed at night with the lights off, knowing that I'm not keeping Chris up. And it's really convenient to be able to find books online from home & start reading them in under 2 minutes. However, while I love how easy it is turn pages on an eReader there is no way I'd ever take my iPad to the beach. I even had a hard time bringing my kindle near the water because accidents happen (to me).
As a lifelong reader I never thought I'd enjoy reading from a screen. I bought a Kindle two years ago when I learned we'd be moving to an island that had zero bookstores. I discovered that it wasn't that big of a jump from the printed word to the Kindle's screen. My biggest challenge was finding inexpensive books online, as I'd always been a used-book-store type of gal. Then I discovered Calibre and how easy it is to share books with friends.
When I got an iPad last summer from my mom, I thought I'd never like reading a pixelated screen. Wrong again! I was shocked at how beautiful the screen was, and loved the backlighting and ability to change the size, font, and color of the text.
What's the verdict? As much as I love paperback books, I think if I could only choose one option I'd have to pick the iPad. Although it's an expensive little toy to carry around on a day to day basis, most of the time I read at home in bed and I love how easy it is to do that with my iPad and iBooks. In fact, I ended up trading my Kindle to a friend on the island and haven't really missed it.
