EBooks or PaperBacks?

When I asked ACW members in a Twitter (X) poll (because it was I asking that question on Twitter (X) that day), 80% of you said you preferred to read fiction in a paper-based book, rather than using an e-reader.  

Me myself, I devour books electronically, generally on my iPad, and occasionally on my phone, mostly through the Kindle app, sometimes using Libby (the library app) and occasionally files which have been sent to me in .pdf.   ‘Oh, but I love the feel of a book… and the smell of a book,’ you say.  Let me list the benefits of ebooks:

My husband has a bag with ‘My Book & My Lunch’ printed on it.  Nice bag, but, if you read electronically, you don’t need to carry a heavy book about with you, or risk scuffing the cover (and possibly smearing your lunch on it).  You always have access to your ebook.  It’s not ideal reading on the Kindle app on your phone, because of the size of the screen, but it’ll do in an emergency, when you find yourself with an unexpected free half hour - and you can sync to the last page read when you return to your normal reading device.

• I love to read on holiday, but paperbacks are heavy.  The luggage scale protests and so do the airlines.  You can never carry enough books to feed your habit, so you have to ration your reading… with swimming or something.  On your tablet or Kindle,  you have dozens of books to read, provided you remember to download them before you leave home and your usual wifi .  Internet signals on beaches tend to be patchy.
• eBooks don’t occupy physical space.  How many bookshelves do you have in your home crammed with paperbacks you read ten years ago and will never read again?  
• eBooks are generally cheaper than paperbacks and often free, or accessible through a cheap subscription (such as Kindle Unlimited).
• Electronic library books don’t need to be collected from the library (or taken back) – a game-changer if you live in the sticks.
• eBooks are more comfortable to read.  I’ve just finished reading Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn (which I wholeheartedly recommend) in a paperback with a stiff binding, which I had to hold open by pressing down on it with my fist, and the typeface was too small for my poor eyesight.  On an e-reader, you don’t need to prize open pages, and you can adjust the font size as required.

What about the dreaded blue light, you ask?  Kindle devices (if you have one) are front-lit, not back-lit, which takes away that problem.  If you’re using an iPad or another tablet, just lower the brightness setting as bedtime approaches. 

But what about the workers?  The writers, I mean?   Royalties on eBooks tend to be lower than for printed books.  Yes, I know.  Nothing is perfect.

So, please, do  give eBooks another go.   They are really better for the environment. 

Rosemary Johnson is author of Wodka, or Tea with Milk a historical novel set during the Solidarity years in Poland, and of many short stories and flash.  Rosemary is also the ACW Webmaster.  In real life, she is a retired IT lecturer, living in Essex with her husband.