The age old debate of print books versus softcopy books is one the literary world has not been able to come to a conclusion on.
On one hand, citing reasons like affordability, space-saving, accessibility and ease of transmission, the millennials support E-books but books, real books, are magical portals that will forever be better than some tiny pages on your Adobe or E-book Reader.
1. Better for your Eyes
No squinting. No harsh lights. No extraordinarily sharp color inside them.
As opposed to E-books, print books are safe spaces that thrill you and don’t jeopardize your eyesight. For those that don’t like small or medium print books, larger prints are always available.
2. Don’t Affect your Sleep
E-books are read on phones or other gadgets. These gadgets affect your circadian rhythm and your sleep through by interrupting the body’s internal mechanics.
Physical books on the other hand, aid a blissful pre-sleep process.
3. That Glorious Smell of Print
Inhale. Exhale. Read.
This is a critical ritual that every bookworm worth his or her salt knows. Books are love and they smell heavenly. E-books on the other smell of discharging batteries, pending updates and un-replied chats.
4. Aid Focus
With E-books one has to battle the incessant inflow of updates, notifications and messages. This can really make it hard for one to stay focused on the storyline. One minute you’re reading a non-sequitur turn of events in the book, the next you’re on WhatsApp consoling a friend that just broke up. Tiring and disconcerting to say the least.
Also, physical books don’t depend on your battery life, data connection, phone signals or updates.
5. Makes the Experience More Tangible
There is something different and oddly gratifying about reading a physical book; of thumbing furiously through the pages of the book as the tension and excitement mounts. This is one thing an E-book can never give. With E-books, the experience is so bland, lackluster and unsatisfying.
6. Don’t Aid Intellectual Theft
Thanks to E-books, writers don’t make profit from book sales as the product of their finger-numbing work is just a Bluetooth (Xender) share away.
The ease of access and obtainability associated with E-books is proving to be more and more detrimental to writers, especially in societies like Nigeria where no laws are put in place to fight against the illegal obtainment of media and literary materials.
7. Theft-Proof
This has to be one of my best. No one steals books especially here in Nigeria. Time no dey for that one. The only people that can do that are bookworms and they have more self-respect than that.
E-books on the other hand are lost immediately someone swipes your fancy smartphone or tablet or when you have to do a factory reset.
8. Shame Reading
Every reader’s pain. While E-books are just expendable and random documents hidden in a folder, real books have spirits, tangibility and a voice that keeps taunting you for leaving them unread for so long.
Ever had that feeling of slight sadness when you pass a stack of your unread books? Yup, that’s your books shaming you, buddy.
9. Serve as Heirlooms and Artifacts
Real books have memories etched into every page, dog ear, scribbled note and scratch. They tell a story even before you get lost in their pages. This is what makes them beautiful memory curators. Ever had that feeling of overpowering nostalgia when you open an old book of a late loved one only to see a short note scribbled in their writing? That is something E-books with their “accessibility” and “versatility” can’t give you.