The Great Debate: E-reader or Paperback?

The Great Debate: E-reader or Paperback?

Or does it need to be a debate?

This has been a asked over and over as e-readers have become more affordable and easier to gain access to. There are cheap e-readers or apps for your phone that allow you to carry as many books as you “need” wherever you go. However, there are some who hold their paperbacks (or hardbacks) close to their hearts and hold allegiance only to print books. For me, I hold allegiance to books. Period. End of story. Just read. I am an advocate for convenience, so if my Kindle is more convenient, that is what I read. If my paperback is better, that is my choice. Every day, every book is different for me.

My Kindle

I remember my first e-reader, a gift from my husband on my birthday. I was over the moon when I opened that Amazon box to see my new Kindle. It was so useful in college, I was a History major with a minor in English Literature. I always had multiple books going at one time and carting them all over campus was just painful and frustrating. I put every book, PDF, and document I could onto my Kindle.

Since then, I have upgraded to a Paperwhite and I have discovered the greatness that is borrowing ebooks from the local library. I load my Kindle up with seven books at a time, with another seven on hold, and even if I don’t read them all, I always have a book on hand.

My Kindle is great for travel, reading at night (and all light levels), and recording my thoughts while reading.

My Print Books

Even though I could go on and on about my love for my Kindle, I do love a good paperback book. There is just something different about holding a book and turning the pages. You can really get lost in the pages so much easier, blocking out all noise and everything else going on around you. For some reason, I am less distracted with a paperback book. Maybe my brain is conditioned to know that when I hold a book, that is all I know at that moment.

These books also hold memories for me. I still have a lot of the books I had growing up and looking at them on my bookshelves and holding them brings back many memories. I can’t wait to pass these books on to my daughter (who also has several very full bookshelves already!)

So, to  sum it all up, I have no stance on the “great” debate on the best way to read books. E-reader or print, just read! How do you read?

I am a middle school teacher who loves to read ALL KINDS of books. I am part of the ARC-sharing group LitReviewCrew, a co-creator for the YouTube Channel Legit KidLit and the Podcast Read to Write KidLit. Check out my Linktree for more: https://linktr.ee/Mrsbookdragon

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *