June 16, 2012

E-books vs. print books (or, how I read)

There's no question that e-books are here to stay. Last year, Amazon reported that they sold more e-books than print books. This has led to a religious war about which is better for readers, e-books or print books. E-book supporters point to the convenience of carrying many e-books on one device and their (sometimes) lower cost. Those who prefer print books cite that print books feel better and they're easier to share.

Where do I stand on the e-books vs. print books debate? Honestly, I like both. It may sound like a cop-out, but I like having both formats and would be sad if one of them went away.

When I have at least half an hour to read, I prefer print books. There's nothing better than curling up with a paperback in bed before I go to sleep. I'm in the camp that believes that print books feel better. I like the feel of the pages between my fingers, sometimes even the smell of paper. Also, dropping a paperback on my face when I fall asleep hurts less than when I drop my Kindle reader. :-)

On the other hand, during the day, it's inconvenient to carry a print book around with me, but I always have my phone, on which I installed the Kindle app. So during the day, whenever I have a few free minutes, I whip out my phone and read.

In the end, on any given day, I'll be spending time reading a print book and an e-book. I've been doing this for several months now, and it seems to be working out pretty well. I wind up reading about 4 print books and 2 or 3 e-books each month. Nowadays, I can't imagine having just e-books or just print books to read.

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