Picture of Old Fashioned Paper and Ink

What Makes a Book?

In essence, the two formats are very similar. Both allow yous to do the most important affair - read a book. The text is the important thing, not the medium. Reading Sumerian legends on dirt tablets can experience more than "authentic", but doesn't necessarily raise your agreement of the subject thing - simply your experience.

Depending on the blazon of material you'd like to read / look at, however, ane does have advantages over the other.

PLEASE Notation: The 2012 addendum to this article you've all been request for: Ebooks vs. Newspaper Books: The Pros and Cons - 2012. The article below is all the same very valid. The 2012 version gives you (as a reader) a different perspective, and a handy guide to when yous should be buying an ebook reader.

The "Archetype" Newspaper Volume.

Paper books offering multiple advantages:

• They're hands obtainable (Bookstores are everywhere).
• They're easily portable.
• They don't normally cause significant eye-strain.
• They're cheap.

Okay, that much was obvious. Specifically, some types of content paper books are better for are:

• Textbooks (or whatsoever books which are mostly large-format).
• Picture / Photo books.

Another factor to deport in mind is that newspaper books don't demand power to function. They can exist read anywhere with sufficient light, and are perfect travelling companions for exactly this reason.

The obvious cons are:

• Paper books are beefy and heavy. Carrying more than 2-3 around tin become a chore.
• You demand a light source to read them - some other thing that you'll probably deport around.
• If you brand notes in them, those notes are there to stay (Aye, even pencil. You can always see the imprints, even if you erase every last shred of graphite).

The eBook

eBooks offer the post-obit obvious advantages (assuming you lot accept an ebook reader):

• They're easily readable. Virtually readers offering zoom functions, letter resizing, and so forth.
• They're easily portable. Y'all tin can carry multiple books on one device.
• They're much more than environmentally friendly. You don't have to kill a few trees for each book, and let'south not fifty-fifty talk about the ink. Recycling only goes so far.
• Note-taking is much more than powerful, and the notes you write can be constitute and referenced quickly and easily. And they don't have to exist permanent.
• Lighting conditions essentially become meaningless. Many readers incorporate display lighting allowing yous to read whenever and wherever you similar.

eBooks are useless without a reader. There are a few on the market, such every bit Amazon'southward Kindle, Jinke's Hanlin reader series, Sony's eReader series, and a few others. These are mentioned because they incorporate a engineering science called east-ink, which resembles paper very closely, and eliminates most centre-strain issues.

Some types of books especially suited for a reader are:

• Novels or non-fiction books without many pictures.
• Web-sites with html links and cross references.

The disadvantages of ebooks generally stem from the hardware you lot're reading them on. If it's a computer, you've got the normal computer problems which detract from your reading pleasure:

• Centre strain and RSI. Long periods spent in front of a computer are healthy for nobody.
• Power. Your average laptop has 4-half-dozen hours of battery life.
• Portability. Why lug a laptop around if yous can just comport a volume?

The cons of the reader devices are a little more than subtle:

• You still have battery life to worry nigh.
• Nasty software bugs in the reader tin can cause it to freeze up.
• They're non very robust. If you spill <insert potable of choice> on them, chances are that's the end of your reader. Not to mention scratches, dropping them, and and then on.

Scroll to Continue

In full general, ebooks suffer from other cons as well:

• They're non readily bachelor, and format wars are making the decision to buy a reader very difficult. Will you go for the Amazon ane, and buy books (only) there? Or the Sony?
• The pricing model hasn't been worked out notwithstanding, causing some major discrepancies.

And then What Do I Use?

Personally, I mix and friction match. I accept an sometime Palm pilot and an ipod touch, and read novels, websites, blogs, then along on that. The selection of novels isn't very broad, simply as I read public domain books most of the time, this doesn't really matter as I can but download them.

Paper books are still my favorite though. They don't need batteries, and I can read them just about anywhere.

Time will tell whether ebooks are a feasible alternative. At the moment, the whole thing is still in it'southward infancy, and a decent solution has yet to appear.

Hayden on April 22, 2019:

Indeed interesting! However, it helped my schoolwork ^_^

Ashley on March 23, 2019:

Cheers for helping my homework!

Harold on March 22, 2019:

Thanks. It is and then interesting

jennifer on November 17, 2018:

thanks so much

leigh on Dec 26, 2016:

Give thanks for the useful info!

Emerge on May 05, 2015:

I don't call up that classic books are easily obtainable , easily portable or cheap. Because all of the paper books that you buy add up to the price that you could buy an Ipad. And you lot can't just discover bookstores anywhere but with Ipads all you need is wifi and you can purchase books at home. And I think that Ipads are easily portable because for case if yous are going to a sleepover you could fit 10 books, youtube, facebook and instagram and even more in just a Ipad.

Those were just my opionins :)

theBAT on Feb nineteen, 2014:

I think ebooks are slowly changing the mode we read. Information technology may be a thing of time that paper books are no longer seen in libraries and carried by students. Yet no thing what, having a existent book and having it signed by the author is way much better than an ebook.

Levy Tate from California, Us on November 26, 2013:

It's the sound of the paper as you flip through, the progress you realise as you read on, and just having a collection of physical books etc.

Thanks for writing this hub, pal! Voted up :)

YoungMistake on July twenty, 2013:

A well-done comparison and contrast! What I honey nigh books are their scents and papers. On the other hand, I dearest the built-in dictionary in the eReaders. I, equally well, mix and match simply I still prefer books.

Kumi0429 on June 25, 2013:

Hello. It's very useful to accept my students read this essay of Ebooks VS Paper Books. (I'grand an English teacher in Japan) May I use this essay as a reading material for my TESOL students? If it'due south OK, can I revise information technology easier about several words for them?

Matto on Apr 22, 2013:

E books are better

iheartbooks on Apr 08, 2013:

The pros and cons of both items are both helpful in the process of purchasing either ebooks or paper books.

hi on April 08, 2013:

i heart books

Bearding on Dec 11, 2012:

The betoken about power needed for due east-books is a good point. If the power of the device runs out while reading, that would be very frustrating.

Eve Ainsworth on Nov 16, 2012:

As a reader I enjoy both. I love existence able to download samples at a click of a push button. Read on holiday. It's so piece of cake and flexible.

But I still love going into a bookshop and belongings a book.

Equally a writer, The Blog of Maisy Malone http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Blog-Maisy-Malone-eboo... works well on a kindle format and I'm hoping will entreatment to readers. For that reason, I think ebooks are great for getting certain books to market that traditional publishing might miss.

vrishti kaushik on October 17, 2012:

information technology was very nice whatever y'all wrote was wonderfull

Jessica Kim on September 22, 2012:

Thanks! I'm a students. I using this folio as prove. Information technology is a nice Hub!

★★★★★

eric-mikols on June 05, 2012:

Nice Hub. I do both but you practice a skilful task of laying out the pros and cons. I agree that the ereaders are a little iffy only I think they're making a strong augment for themselves.

Archit Jain on May 05, 2012:

Cheers to the sight. Information technology helped in my school's group word

KANISHK GAUR on April nineteen, 2012:

ITS FANTASTIC At present I Tin can Fix FOR MY Fence COMPETION

cat on Apr xvi, 2012:

thnx! this really helped a lot

anne on March 25, 2012:

i concord with your debate and i do adopt a book myself

Catherine on March 18, 2012:

Hi this site heped me with my argue at school.Thanks a lot......Hope to see more:P

kate on March 18, 2012:

I like information technology a lot .Lots of data .Cheers

____ on March 06, 2012:

:)Good:)

cassandra carter on March 01, 2012:

helped*

cassandra carter on February 21, 2012:

I've been doing a debate in schoolhouse and my topic is; books are merely every bit important as electronics. And im affermative,so this data really,really elped me cheers soo much.

Ami on February 10, 2012:

To J Eastward Gilbertson:

As much equally I love my eReader and use my computer and email, I still write letters by hand and mail them to people via the post when acceptable and needed. I also take some books that are but not as satisfying to read equally an eastward-file and my bookshelves at home are filled to the brim with printed books I've had for years. Anyway, believe me, y'all are not the just 1 who nevertheless writes letters past hand amidst reading an eBook or email-reading/writing world.

~Ami

cassandra carter on January 26, 2012:

this helped sooo much!!:) thx so much,i have to do a debate at skool and this was my topic thanks to this i got a 100% in the contend:D

J E Gilbertson on January 15, 2012:

It would suspension my heart o run into an terminate to published paper books. I don't want them to become the mode of the mitt written letter. An e volume can never be a emblem. The reader can not feel the paper or the weightiness of the e book. I don't desire applied science to rule every precious thing.

Collin on January 01, 2012:

Am doing an article for my school newspaper and this helped

sarah on December 21, 2011:

you wont desire to utilize your ereader in the tub, but you tin can with a existent book. If you happen to drop it in, most likely it will nonetheless be legible, or yous only accept to supervene upon that i book and not the whole system.

jesse on November 29, 2011:

laptop are meliorate than books by far

Abdi on Nov 29, 2011:

i like laptop better than anything

Hunter on Nov 29, 2011:

I like textbooks bett

kcyow on November fourteen, 2011:

Coeus, 3 more than important/crucial points that you've missed in your comparison:-

01. How sorry or frustrated would yous feel if you lose paper book every bit compared to losing your east-reader?

02. Hence, would you bring your e-reader *everywhere* you get or put/leave them in *whatever place* such as the side of a pool or on the beach?

03. Full text search office of ebooks is *invaluable*, especially for people who are "working" on information/knowledge!!!

I've to stress again here that zooming is a VERY important role of e-reader! You'll actually appreciate it when y'all're old, OR, after reading on your computer screen for many many years! So, never read/stare at your computer screen for long hour(s), remember to have breaks/rests in between!!!

kcyow on Nov 14, 2011:

Coeus, how long do you think the batteries and the eastward-readers can/volition last? Do you think they tin can last for more than 5 or even iii years? Do you recall the disposal or re-cycling of them are piece of cake, inexpensive or harmless?

Coeus (author) from All over the world then some. on October 27, 2011:

photomass - that's true to a sure degree. However, how many books can you carry on the ereader? The environmental price of processing the paper alone far outweighs that of an ereader'south whole life-span.

photomass on October 27, 2011:

requite me a paper book any 24-hour interval! This commodity besides conveniently ignored the cost to environment in terms of the metals and plastics used in production of kindles etc. paper is and tin be recycled more and inks can be much more than environmentally friendly. E-books take a place, but essentially it is motivated by profit!

cale27 on September 25, 2011:

i was doing a speech communication for school, this really helped!!!

Cheap Nursing Textbooks on July 27, 2011:

I find note taking to be rather cumbersome on eReaders. I accept owned a Nook (older version) and a Kindle 3. The Kindle is easier to notate, but certainly no easier than using a piece of paper and a highlighter. I'm a fan of permanence, I guess :)

Snuffles on April 17, 2011:

Don't fool yourself..Ebooks means they tin resell you the same content over and over again..Plus you don't own the book either..you lot only license it. Then soon they tin can delete it whenever they want. Come across the example of how amazon remotely deleted copies of a book which people had purchased.

M.Yard.BHATIA on March 13, 2011:

Innovations will go on bringing changes merely they cannt alter Wife-Hubby relations. Printed Books are just similar wives or vice-versa. You beloved them, keep them close to your heart, open them every bit many times as yous can, kiss them, experience proud to have them in your bag. They are the truthful friends whom you feel proud to keep in your reading room or bedroom. No comparison. Printing Books will never fade away.

Anj on March 13, 2011:

Hi there! Your hub is very useful for this topic. I actually wrote an editorial about this topic as well and used quotes and references from this. Of course, appropriate credit goes to y'all. :) Kudos!

yoman1701 on March 01, 2011:

Cheers for the info Coeus!

Carol Siles on February 23, 2011:

I accept cocky published 3 books and now accept PublishAmerica marketing a 4th volume. I had thought to cutting out the center-homo and start an e-volume business of my own, but am not encouraged to practice and so afterwards reading this site. However, I am also discouraged from continuing to endeavour to detect a publisher to print and market place the other books I have ready, due to the fact that and then many publishers will non accept manuscripts from unknown authors. Others put you on agree for years and don't even bother to ship rejection slips if they actually do read a manuscript or portion submitted for their perusal. The whole "getting published and having the public read your work" process is frustrating and very discouraging for new authors.

Carol Siles on February 23, 2011:

Either I mis-typed or the automobile did not pick upwards all that I typed of my name. Please revise it to Ballad Smiles.

bearding on February 17, 2011:

it was very detailed and described both sides of each topic thoroughly. Congratulations.

Rachel on January 31, 2011:

I concord! my favourite are evidently paper books although i still similar eReaders or downloading books on my laptop.

Robert on January 17, 2011:

It is a major advantage to be able to change the font size. I take some old classics that have a tiny font on yellowing paper, and it is hard to read. Just on the e-book, it is easy to read. OTOH, if bookstores get away, that is a loss, just they are already being driven out past Barnes and Noble and Borders. If paper books go away, reading could become from beingness a cheap hobby to being an expensive luxury. Correct now, you tin can read for free by borrowing books from the library, or yous can pick up used books for a dollar or fifty-fifty less. Only if all that is available is ebooks, y'all have the up-front cost of the reader, and if you are low-income, y'all may not be able to afford it. One of the major upsides of a newspaper book is that paper stays written. In principle, due east-books could exist sanitized and the original sent down the memory pigsty. On the other hand (there are a lot of hands) onetime obscure books that were once difficult to find are now easy to observe in e-book format.

kirutaye from London, UK on December 26, 2010:

I currently download eBooks onto my smartphone and also yet buy paperbooks. I am holding off ownership an eBook reader since i can read ebooks on my phone.

Useful hub. Thanks for sharing

unknown on September 21, 2010:

i remember this is a very wonderful spider web site!!!!!! i will apply this on a lot of stuff!!!!(: i promise all of the schools will get applied science for everyone that would exist AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!(: i hope everyone has a wonderful day at school, work, and abode!!!!!! dear to all, unknown

MrsJones on September 20, 2010:

This has helped me immensely- I was doing a research paper on this exact topic and your article has given me great insight. Thank you!

P.S. Paper books for life! ;)

charles toftoy on August 22, 2010:

Printed books must always remain. Ebooks are OK, merely should never take over the industry from printed books. Think of the logging industry. Paper items would soar in price(paper towels, toilet tissue,other.

labon on June 21, 2010:

An excellent debate - any views regarding texts books volition be welcome every bit I am just considering what would exist welcomed by students

Liz on May 13, 2010:

A good article. Both formats certainly have their pros and cons, although I am definitely a printed volume girl. I don't but love reading, I love books. I desire to be able to hold them in my hand and display them on my shelf, you know. And as a writer I definitely want to exist able to concord my own book in my easily - seeing it on an e-reader screen isn't much different than seeing it on my word processor. Ebooks I think are actually better for data books where your main goal is to spread knowledge apace. I have my ain article on this subject on Squidoo.

Michael on April 21, 2010:

A very dainty article. I would like to bespeak out that textbooks and pic/photograph books are not necessarily better on paper unless we allow that ebooks must be directly reproductions of printed matter. If not and so the multimedia nature of ebooks volition make them the option of pick for textbook and pic/photo book publishers.

Your comment that the permanence of notes in paper books is a con seems to me inappropriate. Many people put notes in books, as I practise, in the sure knowledge that 10, xv, or 20 years from now when I option up that book to re-read it, I will be able to come across what I was thinking at an early stage of my life. If the notes were easily lost, or erased by an "upgrade" it would exist a tragedy.

The argument: "They're easily readable. Most readers offer zoom functions, letter resizing, and and then forth." also gives me intermission. If a paper book is well designed it is, at least for the moment, ever more easily readable than a ebook. As for "zoom functions, letter resizing, and so fourth", these things are a crutch that is implemented because of the current state of ebooks. Eventually the market will settle on a or a few preferred screen sizes for reading devices (be they tablets or eInk readers). Therefore I meet in the future ownership ebooks based on the screen size for which they are formatted or in "large print" if that is more than preferable. Or, in which publishers package multiple "versions" formatted for different screen sizes/reader capabilities, in one parcel.

Every bit for myself, at the moment I am still a defended impress book reader. The fact that each one comes with its own "screen" sized specifically for the content, is a large part of that. And a well designed book is a thing of great dazzler.

Even so, after seeing the iPad version of Theodore Gray's book "The Elements" (http://www.youtube.com/sentinel?five=nHiEqf5wb3g) I can't feel my resistance to giving up my paper books crumbling.

alex on March 25, 2010:

i have in ebook sony pocket edition and every matter you said does match upwards

alex on March 25, 2010:

i take in ebook sony pocket edition and every thing you said does friction match up

bre on February 06, 2010:

adept advice on the cons i was working on a project and it helped

isha on December 28, 2009:

what will exist the next level to this ebook?i would like to know the next level technology to this ebook

Louise on December 22, 2009:

Thank you very much. I simply saw the ereader on tv and was not sure what it was. At present I know. I love to read books and wanted to know if the ereader would be price effectiv than paper dorsum. You lot helped me with my conclusion on buying one. I think I'll wait and see if the cost will go down plenty for me to purchase an ereader.

Judy Cullins from La Mesa, CA on August 15, 2009:

eBooks are great for not fiction informational materials. Skillful comparison :)

GregDea from Darwin, Australia on May 22, 2009:

Super wrap up of the two kinds. I've written my own volume on Talocrural joint Injuries - completely researched and experienced every bit a physiotherapist for nine years with a Masters degree in Sports Physiotherapy, but I didn't publish information technology because about information is complimentary on the topic anyway. I think I'll release information technology to a free ebook site, and assess the response. I also recently launched a site selling both ebooks and paperback. If you're interested its http://wfm.ebookvendingmachine.com

Stephen Beck on Apr 29, 2009:

Coeus, great info on the pros and cons of newspaper vs. ebooks. Thank you for the highlights of different ebook readers. I would bask a review of the different readers and learning more nigh e-ink if you take time for another hub on this topic.

Belal on February 08, 2009:

thank you just were could you purchase them and could you tell more info

you welcome

automated ebook software on Nov 27, 2008:

Another thing is that when you live abroad and don't know the lanuage y'all can't get books... A reader is like having a book store in you pocket... I miss public libraries.

Coeus (writer) from All over the world and then some. on January 18, 2008:

Darien: I had a look at your hub, and I think it's a great idea. Do you have a website or something where I can have a closer await at this?

At the moment, I retrieve the best identify for writers to publish first works is in magazines or online. The beginning gives them the opportunity to 'pitch' their writing to an established base of readers, and the second allows them to grow this group from scratch.

Once more, I'd love to hear more on this.

Coeus (writer) from All over the world and so some. on January 06, 2008:

Thanks for that. Very kind. This is my outset hub, and I promise information technology helps!

James Nelmondo from Rome, Italy on January 06, 2008:

Very nice repsonse! I noticed the request but didn't call back I could make a good hub of it. Just goes to evidence. My chapeau off to you sir!

THoog.

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