One of the great debates that we had in my seventh grade English class was the debate over electronic vs. paper books, and which was better to use in general. I am a firm supporter of the paper books, that you purchase at stores, carry home in bags, and curl up with on couches. However, I can’t deny that electronic readers have their merits.
I am a pretty fast reader. If I have the opportunity, I can usually get through a book in two or three days, depending on how interesting the story is, and how much time is available throughout those days. Because of this, a constant problem for me is running out of books to read. For example, whenever we go on vacations, I usually bring plenty of books. But if I underestimate how much time I’ll spend reading, I can easily run out of books.
Obviously, this wouldn’t happen with an e-reader. If you finish a book, you can simply click on another. And if you finish that one, there are always more. I cannot deny the convenience of having a multitude of books at your fingertips.
In addition, e-readers are light. It’s like having ten books for the weight of half a book. Whenever I pack for a trip, I have to carefully consider each book, gauging how long we’ll be gone, how long it usually takes me to read the book, how much I like to read said book, and whether it will be too heavy to take in the backpack. But that wouldn’t happen with an e-reader. You drop it in your backpack and can go on your way, happily bearing the weight of that one small device, rather than the load of all the books you would have to otherwise.
But e-readers aren’t perfect. They have their flaws. One of the problems I noticed with e-readers is the confusing nature of them. Books are so simple. Open cover. Flip page. Place bookmark. Close cover. But it seems like e-readers are much more complicated than that. It could be just because I am technologically challenged, but it’s hard for me to remember how to press where to do what. Instead of simply lifting pages, you press buttons or swipe screens, and for me, that can be overwhelming.
The biggest issue I have with e-readers is an obvious one. Well, it isn’t so much an issue with e-readers, as a stubborn belief in a certain aspect of books. I like the physical shape of books. I like holding them in your hands, feeling the pages turn, and placing a bookmark in the spine. I like physically seeing how much I’ve read, marked by the progress of the bookmark. And there is something just so special about opening a new book for the first time, hearing the spine crackle as the cover is lifted, and hearing each pages crinkle as they turn. I love the new book odor that you can smell when you crack open a book. And for me, curling up with an e-reader just isn’t the same as curling up with a book in your hands.
Lastly, there is something special about books. They show the wear and tear of how they were loved. You can tell which of my books is my favorite, because the spines are creased, and the pages are bent, and the covers are permanently curved upward. Books may wear down after a while, but when they do, you can look at that book and remember all of the times you grabbed that book to avoid doing your work, or the time the power went out during the thunderstorm and you read by flashlight for hours, or the time you took the book on a trip and read it three times because you brought nothing else. You can remember the time your mom or your dad sat down with you, opened a book, and read the words aloud, trailing their fingers along the lines of script.
E-readers definitely have their perks. They weigh next to nothing, and can hold the text of countless books within them. But while e-readers hold many books, to me, books will always hold more memories. Memories of sneakily reading at night by flashlight, or reading the same book again and again because I loved it so much, or curling up with a parent on a comfortable couch to read a book that both have read before. While I love the convenience of e-readers, nothing will be able to replace the history and character that books have always held for me. See you next week!
“Reprinted from Hagel Publications, Inc. dba as Courier Newspapers”