Features | Paper books vs Kindles

Features | Paper books vs Kindles

• Thursday, 7 May 2015

Before I start, I just wanted to introduce myself. My name is Katie, and I am the new features writer for Bloggers Bookshelf. From now on I will be posting a book related feature every other Thursday, so I hope you enjoy reading them!

For ages I was convinced I would never be convert to ebooks. Although friends gushed about how much they loved their e readers, I was sure it could never replace the feeling of reading a real book. That was up until I received a e reader for my birthday. I’m now fully converted. Truth be told, I can’t even remember the last time that I read a paper book. Since I know a lot of people are still not convinced that e readers are the way forward, I thought about the reasons that I love mine.

1) More comfortable to read

We are all familiar with the feeling of trying to get comfortable lying down in bed with a book. If it’s a heavy hard back, you pretty much have to accept that its just not going to happen without your arms aching or the book falling on your face. E readers are a lot lighter and smaller than a paper book, so it’s much easier to hold. It can also be read one handed which is useful if you’re trying to eat and read at the same time (please tell me I’m not the only one that does this). You can also adjust the font size to suit your eyesight.

2) Easier to buy books

The frustration that ensues when you realise you’ve finished a book, have nothing to read and you’re miles away from the nearest book doesn’t exist anymore. Wherever you have internet connection, you can buy books. The only downside of this is it’s probably not great for your bank balance.

3) More convenient for travelling

You no longer have to take an entire suitcase of books with you on holiday – one small device can hold an entire library. It’s also much lighter for carrying around with you during the day.

4) No losing your place

I’m the kind of person that can never find a bookmark, so I usually resort to folding the corners of books (I’m sorry booklovers, please don’t hate me). With a Kindle, it automatically saves your place, so you can easily resume where you left off.

5) Cost of books

Books tend to be much cheaper as ebooks than as paper books. This may however be offset by the fact that you have to purchase the e reader in the first place. They are not expensive as some electronic gadgets (I think my Kindle was around £50) but they are still fairly pricey.

I do see that there are some disadvantages to e readers. You don’t get to support local bookshops, they don’t smell as nice and you can’t read them in the bath. (Well I still do but it’s not advisable). You also have the issue of charging them, although I wouldn’t let this be a deciding factor as you can easily get through 2 books without having to charge it. At the end of the day, some people get on with them and some people don’t. Just keep an open mind – you might be surprised by how much you like them.
Katie x