Week 11 Prompt: eBooks vs Physical Books

 I, like several others based on the posts I’ve read so far, used to be a bit of a book snob when it came to eBooks. I was dedicated to physical copies above all else, and if given the option, most of the time I still will opt for a physical copy of a book – but is one really better than the other? Physical books have the appeal of being tactile, something that you can feel, hold, and manually progress through by flipping pages. Many books, also, are formatted by their author with the intent of being in print, so some design elements or stylistic choices may not translate as well on an eReader –I’ve found this to be the case with poetry. When reading an eBook, a wonky looking line (meant to emphasize or stand out in print) might be all it takes to draw me out of a book and start thinking about the structure instead of the story.

With that said, eBooks have their own set of appeals, mainly relating to convenience and accessibility. Nearly everybody has a phone or portable computer today, so reading on a device takes up less space than handling a physical copy, and it eliminates concerns of travelling to a library to get/return books. With (most) e-readers as well, readers are no longer subject to constraints like proper lighting or book-safe locations (I couldn’t tell you why, but I am much more comfortable bringing my phone on a boat than a book). eBook options of upping font size, changing to more dyslexia-friendly fonts, etc. also offer opportunity for more patrons to enjoy the content – a large print physical copy of a less known book may be hard to come by, but an eBook can easily change to suit individual needs.

I don’t believe that reading in one format over the other makes you more of an expert of the genre, though I can see how that might be the case in the eyes of the public – I find myself thinking of it like music’s vinyl vs CD audio debate; there are pros and cons to each but in the end you’re still listening to the same album. That tactile element present in both of these (books and records) is very important to some people, so I can see why some people are still so against digital media! One study I pulled sought to examine any differences in reading comprehension between print books and eBooks. They found that “on most tests subjects performed identically” regardless of the reading medium, but that “on measures related to chronology and temporality, those who had read in the print pocket book, performed better than those who had read on a Kindle,” hypothesizing that the kinesthetic (tactile) feedback of reading and manipulating a printed book helps with these measures (Mangen et al., 2019, pg. 1). So there may be some merit in reading a physical copy over a digital one in some cases, but if the reading is being done for enjoyment this may not matter to the reader as much. Still, this is interesting to see! I imagine more research regarding any longterm affects of eBooks (and screen usage in general) will come forward as time passes as well, but for now my conclusion is "to each their own;" I'll be happy to see someone is reading at all, regardless of their medium of choice!

Reference:

Mangen, A., Olivier, G., & Velay, J.-L. (2019). Comparing comprehension of a long text read in print book and on Kindle: Where in the text and when in the story? Frontiers in Psychology, 10. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00038 

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