This discussion comes up more often now that I have books for sale in both formats: do you prefer e-ink or paper? For me, it’s not an either/or situation. I love my paper books, the way they smell, the heft of them, the feel of paper. I love beautiful cover art and the way books look on a bookshelf, enticing and ready to pluck like ripe fruit.
My e-reader has earned my affection as well, but for different reasons. It’s lightweight and easier to travel with. If I wake in the night, I can open my e-reader and neither its light nor the rustling of paper will wake the Cave Master, and if I fall asleep reading, it won’t break my nose. And I love that I can touch a word and instantly get a definition. It’s lazy, I know, but you can’t deny the convenience, and with an e-reader, you never need to worry that someone is peering at your book cover and judging you by your reading choices.
Pros and cons for both formats
You can underline passages in your paper book, but if you’re anything like me, you’d never put a mark in your beloved book, let alone dog-ear a page. E-readers make it easy to bookmark and find passages.
As an author, I can sign a paper copy of my book, and I get a thrill each time someone asks. That’s not something I do with my ebooks, though I know the technology is out there.
The author in me also likes that readers who don’t know my work might take a chance on me and buy the less-expensive ebook format. That’s not a bad thing—I do it myself all the time. And, if you aren’t familiar with the publishing business, you might be surprised to learn that I earn more on a $5.99 ebook sale than I do on a $24.99 trade paperback.
But regardless of its conveniences, E-ink will never replace paper books, at least in my world. In fact, I just purchased a brand new hardcover of Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander, a book I’ve already read twice in paperback. I don’t even have the bookshelf space for it, but when I love a book, I want to hold it, smell it, caress its cover and feel the paper beneath my fingers.
If you’d like to add to your ebook collection, you can download a copy of Secret Sky with one simple click here. Buckle up…your adventure awaits. (And if kindle or eBooks aren’t your preference, click on the bookstore tab for other purchase options, or just click on the covers below.)
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I’m glad it was helpful. Thanks for your comment.
I hhave been surfing on-linemore than three hours nowadays,
but I by no means found any attention-grabbing article
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than ever before.
Thanks for your comment. I’m glad you found the post interesting. E-ink or paper is a topic that comes up a lot these days.
I prefer real. I love the smell of real books! Living in singapore for a few years though, I don’t want to have to ship a bunch of books home so e-books it is. Interesting to know the comparable profits though!
Yes, shipping books can get very expensive. I imagine it’s prohibitive from Singapore. You’ll have to save your paper purchases until you return home. Thanks for your thoughts.
I love my paper books, too. But as Stephen King says, the book is here to stay, the difference today is we have all these choices. Even audible books. 🙂
Choices make me happy!
Just wondering if you piled those books up on purpose for the picture, or if that pile of books is part of the every day décor??? lol
Sad to say, but that pile wasn’t staged. It’s in the corner of the dining room because we don’t have any more shelf space. I need a new decorator!