Kindle vs. real books – which option is better?
No one reads real books anymore.
Admit it, you’ve heard these sentences once or twice before. Hey, maybe you’ve even said the second one to someone, especially if you’re the kind of person that’s adamant on “hating“ technology.
Try as we might, we simply cannot hate technology, at least not all of it, because as much as we try to convince ourselves, it makes our lives easier, even for a short time.
But what about books – can they be made simpler than they already are?
When looked at from afar, it’s literally a bunch of paper pages glued together, with text printed on them. However, the complex process that actually goes into gluing those pages and printing the text makes them anything but simple. In fact, I think it makes them one of the most interesting things to ever exist on this world.
So when and why did people decide that they don’t want to read “real“ books anymore?
We cannot really pinpoint the exact time and place. It just… happened. One day, eReaders simply appeared on the market, advertising “every book at the palm of your hand“ and what not.
That being said, let’s dive into the eternal Kindle vs. real books debate, shall we?
THE PROS AND CONS OF KINDLE AND BOOKS
KINDLE PROS:
- Saves space – no more chunky books taking up most of the suitcase or nearly tearing your arm off from carrying them up the stairs
- Good for late-night reading – before you come at me with “but it’s the same as staring into your phone!“, let me stop you right there: while phones and TVs emit a blue light that negatively affects us in more ways than one, Kindle emits a softer white light that’s easy on the eyes, and it also has various options for changing the text size and spacing
- Waterproof – ever wanted to read your favorite book while taking a bubble bath? Well, with certain editions of Kindle that are waterproof, you can do just that.
KINDLE CONS:
- Price – While books are frequently on a discount or under a special promotion (hello, book fairs!), Kindle and other eReaders are not as fortunate and people are often selling them at their original, and dare I say, high price.
- Book ownership – yes, you heard it right. With physical books, you are the sole owner of the book and are at liberty to do anything you want with it. With Kindle eBooks, you don’t own the book but rather the license for it, which basically means that the actual owner can revoke your rights to that eBook at any time. Yikes!
- Realness – simply put, the feeling is different. I find comfort in holding a book and physically turning its pages, and I believe that mechanical swiping and clicking would quickly ruin my mood and turn me away from reading.
BOOK PROS:
- Variety – from hardcopy to paperback versions, monochromatic to multicolored front pages, with illustrations or text-only… the possibilities are endless.
- Immersion – reading a book is an experience, to say the least. More than once I found myself imagining the scenes in my head right as I was reading them. With eBooks? Never happened to me, not even once.
- Personal touch – dog ears, scribbled notes on the margins, highlighted quotes… and last but not least, the smell of a new book. No Kindle can and will ever beat that.
BOOK CONS:
- Takes up space – correlating with the first pro of Kindle, one of the shortcomings of books is the space. But did that stop me from carrying at least two 500-pages books to the seaside every summer? Nope.
- Health risk – it can be taxing on the eyes, especially if you’re reading in low light and the book has small print. I would know, I’ve been wearing glasses for the past 10 years.
- Inconsistency – book stores and/or libraries cannot always guarantee when and if a particular book will be in stock, which can result in long lines just to read that one book.
WHAT’S THE VERDICT?
The jury is still out, I can tell you that much.
Or rather, the Kindle vs. real books debate ends with a tie.
There is no right or wrong answer when it comes to which one is better, because everyone has different preferences. I still stand by the fact that I prefer paper books, but that’s no guarantee that I’ll never switch to e-books in the future. Reading is what interests me, not the medium in which it’s done. Whether it’s on a book, a computer screen, or a phone, I’m happy as long as I can escape into the story.
