To eBook or not to eBook
Venturing into eBooks can be fraught with all types of confusion. Firstly, there are a range of services and readers available – depending upon which country you live in (Amazon Kindle
- You can read the books purchased on so many devices using their software (i.e., iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, Mac, PC, Kindle Reader, Android Phone etc.) whereas the other options (e.g., Apple eBooks) are very limited.
- It provides you with the choice to read on either an eInk screen (a technology that is very energy efficient, has crisp text, is similar to your eyes as reading from paper, but is limited for other purposes) or a typical LCD (like a laptop).
- Amazon has by far the largest library available.
- Amazon has a device that has international coverage and availability.
Most eReaders offer similar features that are very helpful in the reading experience, including:
- Bookmarking;
- Highlighting (although Amazon allows you to easily access these online);
- Note-taking;
- Built-in dictionary for word-lookup; and
- Searchable text.
I think the real question however does not relate to which service or device might be suitable, but how eBooks rate (for you) across several important reading ‘criteria’. Personally, I went through this process before embarking upon buying eBooks, so thought I would share my comparison below. To keep things simple, I’ve restricted most comparisons to the kindle service (although most points will be typical of other services as well). Where I’ve indicated the ‘winner’ for each criteria, this is for my needs – the outcome might be different for you.
| CRITERIA | BOOK | EBOOK | WINNER |
|---|---|---|---|
| A) AVAILABILITY | |||
| Size of library | Extensive | Growing, but not as big as the traditional book market. | Book |
| Ease of book purchase | Physical bookstore/online order. | Immediate download with internet connection. | eBook (but depends upon how connected you are) |
| Regional Markets | Saturated | Limitations | Book |
| Borrowing Books | Easy borrowing from a range of sources. | Yes (there are a range of emerging services). | Book (but eBooks are getting better) |
| B) PORTABILITY | |||
| Ease of transportation | Easy to transport. | Can transport entire library. | eBook |
| Ease of access | Easy, if you remembered. | Very easy, if you charged your device. | eBook |
| C) ANNOTATION & MARKUP | |||
| Highlight | Yes | Yes | Neutral |
| Notes | Yes | Yes | Neutral |
| Access to markup | Manual | Export all notes & highlights. | eBook |
| D) TRANSFERABILITY | |||
| Ownership transfer | Yes | No (and usually not between services). | Book |
| Loaning of Books | Yes | No | Book |
| E) READABILITY & AESTHETICS | |||
| Holding Physical | Comfortable, although the bigger the book, the less comortable it is. | Readers such as the Kindle or iPad are quite comfortable. | Neutral |
| Suitable Environments | Great in all environments, but in low lighting requires an external light source. | Suitable in all environments, however, if eInk: needs lighting if in dark environment, if LCD: no lighting in dark environment, but difficult to read in bright environments. | Neutral |
| Eye Strain | Minimal | eInk has minimal eye strain (very similar to paper), I find LCD on iPad (with brightness down) very similar to paper. | Neutral |
| Change Text Size | No, large print editions might be available. | Has the advantage of being able to change the size of text. eReaders often also allow the text to be read aloud. | eBook |
| Searchable | No | Yes | eBook |
| Built-in Dictionary | No | Yes | eBook |
| F) COST | |||
| Book | Cheap, available on special. | Slightly cheaper or same price (typically). | Neutral |
| Setup | Very cheap - none needed! | Readers are available cheaply, but you would have to read a lot of books to offset this cost. If you have a device like an iPad, then this may be a moot point. | Neutral |
| Second-hand books | Yes | No | Book |
A big concern for me – and an obvious, but intentional, omission – is an environmental criteria. At first thought eReaders seem like a great option, however, I think it is far more complex than this. For example, books may use paper from renewable forests that actually are helping the environment, paper books may have a longer life-cycle and be read by multiple people, you need to know how much power is needed to read one book on an eReader, and the life-cycle of an eReading device must be assessed, etc. Because of this, I’ll leave that more complex analysis to others with more appropriate expertise.
That all said, with the few caveats discussed above, eBooks seem like a good option to me. Whilst these electronic variants lack the tactility and transferability of their paper counterparts, the advantages of accessibility (i.e., having my library wherever I go) and mark-up (especially being able to batch export highlights and notes) win me over. If these aren’t important features to you, and you prefer buying second-hand books and/or touching the physical paper, then eBooks might not be the best choice. If however you normally travel with a lot of books and/or would benefit from being able to increase the size of the text, then eBooks might be worth considering.
Bottom line: eBooks aren’t going to be for everyone. There are plenty of advantages, but it all depends which of the criteria are more important to you.
Personally, whilst I will not choose eBooks every time (partly because of the availability of some titles), I will choose them regularly. For books that I will re-use and refer to often (or are just beautiful and can’t be fully replicated electronically), then nothing will be beat the hard copy. Long-term, I’m hoping that over time (just like MP3s and the music industry) eBooks open up and become more compatible with different readers (i.e., not locked into one platform). In the meantime, it’s also not a bad mechanism to help resist the temptation of gloriously lining bookshelves incessantly.
@adammlowe re eBooks-Agreed! Lining the bookshelves can be addictive pastime! eBooks great but nothing beats feel and smell of real thing!
I love to read and I use both books and ebooks. I own a kindle (thanks mum) and have an Ipod touch. I find myself moving more and more into ebooks simply because if I find myself bored waiting somewhere, I always have my book. I used to carry a book in my handbag but it was sometimes hard to explain at bag checks in the shops because I forgot to take them out before getting out of the car. Also I damaged a few books in my bag which I hate. Anyway, as I said, I use both books and ebooks. I have to admit I use my ipod more than my kindle as it’s smaller and fits in my pocket, however, my kindle is nicer to read from. Borders Australia has also brought out a kindle type devise called a KoBo and it’s pretty neat too. (and cheaper). My only issue with ebooks is that in Australia we are still restricted in what ebooks are available to us. I find some ebooks available to the USA is not allowed to be sold here while the book copy is. Hopefully that will change…..ok there’s my thoughts LOL
Thanks Lyndall – that’s really helpful! My sister-in-law reminded me that I should have commented (under usability) that if you read in the bath, eBooks are somewhat problematic! And @markgladman, I do miss the smell of the book!