Physical Books or E-books?

It’s a debate that’s been running now ever since books began to be available digitally. Some said that e-books would kill off paperback sales, and others said that e-books wouldn’t last. I doubt that either is right. Just as television didn’t kill off radio, and both exist side by side, I think that both e-books and physical books have a place for all of us now and in the future.

I sell my books on Amazon, and most of my sales are e-books, with an occasional paperback sale thrown in. This might seem to suggest that in general e-books are more popular these days – but then my books are not for sale in bookshops, and Amazon is the biggest seller of e-books, so it’s not a fair comparison.

If you look at general sales revenues, it would seem that physical books are doing much better than e-books. But again, this is not a true comparison because physical books tend to cost around three or four times more than e-books.

But that raises an interesting point, in my view. The fact that people still buy physical books, even though they are more expensive than e-books, tells me that many people still prefer to read an actual book they can hold in their hands, and that preference outweighs the lower cost of downloading e-books.

So what’s my view? Well, though I sell my own books mostly digitally, my preference when reading is very much in the physical book camp. That does not mean that I don’t use e-books. I actually have a Kindle reader, and I do read some books on this, often for research purposes, but for my main novel-reading enjoyment – I prefer – and probably always will do – to read a book with pages. In fact, if I buy books on Amazon, I will usually get the physical book even if I an get it cheaper digitally.

Why? OK – here’s my own list of advantages of both physical books and Kindle books – and you will see that the first list is a much longer one!

Physical Books

• It may be because it’s what I’m used to, but I just love the feel of a proper book in my hand, where I can look at the cover, read the blurb on the back, and actually physically turn the pages.
• I love being surrounded by books, and my book-cases full of books are the favourite bits of furniture in my house. I like to possess the books I’ve enjoyed, so I can refer to them, or even read them again, whenever I want to.
• There is something very comforting about snuggling up with a good book. Whoever heard of snuggling up with an e-reader?
• I can read physical books in the bath, and if it gets wet it’s not the end of the world.
• I love going to someone’s house and viewing their bookshelves. You can learn a lot about someone from what they read. Conversely, I love showing off my own reading preferences by having books on display. You can’t do either of these with e-readers.
• I love the look of books – the different covers, the different colours parading along my bookshelves. Ever since I was a child, the sight of books has always given me joy

E-Readers

• They are easier and lighter to carry around with you than physical books.
• You can download many books onto one device – whereas physical books take up a lot of space.

So there you have it! I admit that my reasons for preferring physical books are more to do with the emotional and the aesthetic, rather than the practical, but there’s nothing wrong with that! These things feed our souls, and while the practicalities of e-readers are certainly useful and allow some people to read more (and I’m certainly all for that!), I believe that the physical book is in no danger of dying out. Thank goodness.

What’s your view? Do feel free to leave a comment, and which you prefer!