10 Reasons To Use An E-Reader & 10 Reasons To Stick To Books
Print or Digital?
Many people assumed print books would die when the e-reader was introduced. However, they’re still going strong, and in recent years, sales of printed books have even gone up. Ironically, physical books are still more popular among younger readers, but what’s their appeal? Here are ten reasons to use an e-reader and ten reasons to stick to the old-fashioned book.
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1. You Can Enlarge the Text
If you’re over a certain age, chances are you know the feeling of squinting at pages of text, straining your eyes to decipher those tiny, blurry characters. With e-readers, you can simply enlarge the text with your fingers, letting your eyes breathe a sigh of relief.
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2. More Portable
Perhaps the most obvious benefit of an e-reader is that it’s much more portable than carrying a stack of books. You can travel with a whole library on a small piece of plastic.
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3. Doesn’t Waste Paper
Although there’s an environmental cost to manufacturing e-books, they're usually much greener than printed books. This is because there’s no need to cut down trees to make paper.
4. Can Be More Cost Effective
Buying e-books is often much cheaper than buying printed books; you can even find some for free. That being said, there's an upfront cost of the e-reader itself, but it should pay for itself with the money saved in the price of books.
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5. More Shareable
With your friends and family at the click of a button, you can more easily share what you’re reading. You don’t even have to physically see them, although some people might see that as a downside.
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6. Never Run Out of Space
While your e-book can carry a huge library of books, you only have so much shelf space in your home. It would be impossible for some of us to reasonably fit all the books we read on our e-books in bookshelves.
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7. Interactive
E-books have interactive elements you just don’t get with a physical book. For example, language-learning apps integrated into the e-book can help you with your comprehension while you read and save the words you don’t know so you can refresh your memory later.
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8. Instant
No more waiting in line at the bookstore for the next volume of your favorite series. You can just order it online in a few clicks and instantly have it at your fingertips.
9. Built-In Dictionary
Who wants to travel with a book and a dictionary? E-books have it integrated into one so if you don’t know a word, it’s easy to look it up without distracting you from your reading.
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10. Search Function
Want to find a passage but can’t remember where it was? E-books have a search function so you can easily find what you’re looking for without aimlessly flipping through pages.
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Now that we've gone over the benefits of e-books, let's give printed books their due.
1. Better Sleep
You’ve probably heard that you aren’t supposed to look at screens before bed. Well, this applies to e-books too. Meanwhile, reading from printed pages before bed can benefit your sleep.
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2. Make You Look Smarter
Have you ever felt instantly impressed after seeing someone reading a well-used copy of something like War and Peace on a crowded subway? Well, that could be you! It draws people’s eyes and makes you look dignified.
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3. Less Distractions
Although certain interactive elements of e-books are extremely cool and can be excellent tools, sometimes simplicity is better. Having nothing but a book with you makes you really absorb yourself into it.
4. Better Learning
When it comes to learning and retaining information it seems our brains still prefer physical books. Studies have shown that children reading e-books had a lower comprehension of texts than those reading printed versions.
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5. More Joy
Studies have shown that people experience more pleasure and are more emotionally connected when they read printed books. This likely has to do with the highly satisfying tactile experience of flipping through pages.
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6. Easier on Eyes
Although you can indeed enlarge the text on an e-book making it easier to read for the far-sighted, many people find their eyes get sensitive after looking at a screen for a long time. This is where paper books are still superior in that they’re gentler on the eyes.
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7. Totally Wireless and Battery Free
Say you want to get lost in the woods and hunker down against a big oak tree with a good book but–oh no! Your e-book is low on battery. With a paper book, this isn’t an issue. You can read to your heart’s content.
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8. Sense of Progression
Although there are page numbers, an arrow that allows you to “flip” the page, and a meter that tells you what percentage of the book you’ve read, it just doesn’t feel the same as a paper book. It’s that sense of progression with paper books that comes whenever you place the bookmark in a new spot.
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9. Bookshops Are Fun
There’s something special about going to the local bookshop, leafing through the books, and finding treasures. Some of them are well used and have a story of their own with inscriptions on the sleeve or weird old photographs stuck between the pages.
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10. Collectable
It’s nice to have books in your home. Not only is it fun to look at them and flood yourself with nostalgia, but they also act as an interactive decoration that guests can leaf through when they come over. They’re also good conversation starters and make you look smart.
