eBooks vs. Books

Hello again! For those who don't know who I am, and lets be frank that's probably most of you, my name is Zoe! I am the 13 year old daughter of Jana. I have written one full blog post before and part of another. Today, I am back for my second full post!

A lot of people seem to assume that teenagers are obsessed with technology, and for the most part they are probably right. I love playing video games, surfing the internet, and my phone is essential to life. What about eBooks you ask? Yeah, I'll pass. Maybe its the fact that I grew up a librarian's daughter with the library being home as much as my house; but I am not a big fan of Nooks, Kindles, eBooks, and other stuff like that. I much prefer reading a printed book. Not saying that I straight-up despise eBooks, they just aren't as good as the real thing. Most of my bookworm friends also agree with me on this matter.

EBooks can be pretty convenient, though. You can carry hundreds of books with you on a tablet. If it wasn't for my Nook when my family went to Mackinac and especially Disney World with it's almost full-day drive, my bag would have been filled completely with books. Instead of lugging around a bag heavy enough to break the Mackinac Bridge, I could take about 20 books that I wanted to read on my nook. Also if you need a new book quick all you need is an internet connection and a paypal account. After I read The Hunger Games I couldn't take that cliffhanger and almost immediately bought Catching Fire on my nook instead of waiting to check out the actual book from the library. Or how about how Nooks are back lit? That certainly helps when you wake up at 5am on a car ride to Disney and its still pitch black outside.

Despite all of the conveniences of eBooks, nothing compares to a physical book with real paper pages. I don't like reading on tablets as much as I like actually reading the book. Sure, on some devices and apps they made it look like you're turning a page, but you aren't. Its so much more satisfying to spread the book across your lap and feel the paper in your hands. Also, you can't get an eBook signed. I have several signed books which I am very proud of. Let's see you get Jonathan Rand to sign your eBook. Tell me how it works out, okay? Also, I don't know about you, but if I read on a nook for a long time, it hurts my head and eyes more than when I read a normal book for a long time. There's some scientific explanation for this that I don't know, but that's definitely a lost point for eBooks.

Of course, there is one way that books will always trump eBooks: They don't require charging!  Also, I have dropped a book in the bath tub and I could still read it. I don't think that would happen with a tablet. That brings us to the cost factor. If I ruin my book I can buy another. If  I ruin my tablet my Mom and Dad will kill me.






So there you have it. Reading on a tablet can sometimes be convenient, but the real thing will always, always be better.