I may be the last person on the planet to enter in on the e-reader debate, and am certainly the last avid reader to not own an e-reader. But as my life is changing, I’m an on-the-go, fast-paced person who has recently vowed to read even more, the time has come where I must decide: e-reader or hard-copy book.
Over the past few years, I never dabbled in e-readers, like Kindle or Nook. To me they were a waste of money. The device costs over a hundred dollars and books were only slightly cheaper. I also found it intensely gratifying to have a solid book in my hands. Recently, as it came time to purchase another mountain of textbooks and required readings, I was intrigued by the significantly cheaper option of e-books. With the option of reading e-books through the Kindle app on both my Macbook Air and iPhone for free, I was forced to finally delve into the e-reader debate. So what follows is a culmination of the pros and cons, for me, of e-readers.
First, there is nothing, I repeat nothing like the smell of books. Old, new, it doesn’t really matter they all smell good to me. I am one of those weird people who picks up a book, flips right to the middle and takes a whiff. Nothing compares to picking up one of my most beloved books off my shelf and giving it a sniff. If e-readers somehow could emit a book scent, I think I would be sold at this point. For me, the cost is still a little steep. Amazon’s Kindle books and Barnes and Nobles’ Nook books are generally only a few dollars less then a hard copy of the book and a decent e-reader runs about $100-$200. In general, it would take about 20-30 book purchases (If you save $2-$3 a book) to make the device worth the cost and only after that would you really start saving money. For the rate I have been reading books that is about 8-12 months worth of books. So eventually the outright cost of the device will save you money, but not for some time. Finally, the last downside to an e-reader is the fact that not all books can be found in e-book format. At the current stage of my life 80% of the reading I do is required for my classes. For the current term, only about half of my required books could be found as e-books, and only a quarter of them were the least expensive option (versus renting used books). This is probably the biggest roadblock for me jumping on the e-reader train. While the number of e-book options has grown in the past few years, the current options are not quite satisfactory enough to make the decision easy.
Originally, I had thought the feel of an e-reader in my hand would be uncomfortable. But after my roommate kindly allowed me to test out her Kindle Fire I found that this was not the case. E-readers are generally light and to me felt like a book with the front cover bent back to read a single page, except no awkwardly bent covers and the ability to hold with it just one hand. On the same note, I loved that I could set the Kindle on the table while I ate without needing to hold it down with whatever small random object I can find or crease the spine so it would stay open. The lightness and thinness of an e-reader makes it easy to carry around in my already heavy bag. By far though, my favorite feature of the e-reader is the ability to look up words, highlight, and make notes. Nothing is more annoying when you have a pile of reading to do than pulling out a dictionary and looking up a word every 10 minutes. The fact that the dictionary is built in allows for smooth, seamless reading and is a huge selling point. For school purposes, having all of my notes in one place and not scattered between several notebooks and various post-it notes is vital. And the biggest bonus is not having a book marked up with highlights and handwritten notes.
In general, I have been very skeptical of jumping on the e-reader bandwagon but after weighing the positives and negatives it seems logical that an e-reader would be a good option for me. The portability and built-in dictionary are simply leagues above the hard-copy book. If e-readers could simply start emitting this book-scented perfume, investing in an one would simply be a no-brainer.
