E-reading vs. Hardcopies: the Endless Debate

With a rise in technology use across the globe, the accessibility to reading material online has also grown immensely, but is that necessarily a good thing?

With stories, poetry, and other works suddenly becoming more and more accessible to anyone, anywhere, I thought it was time to answer once and for all which is better: e-reading or hardcopies.

E-reading: Pros and Cons

I am someone who does easily 80% of all of my reading online, whether that’s on my computer or phone through Apple Books or PDFs, or whether that’s on my Kindle. There are thousands of ways to source reading material with only a few easy clicks.

To start off, e-reading is significantly more affordable than buying physical books. For people who read books quite often, or at least regularly, buying a new physical book every time you finish an old one gets very expensive very quickly. With school resources such as the e-platform that OYIS provides, and memberships to sites such as Amazon, the expense of reading can be drastically cut down over time.

Another pro is that when you read online there is less pressure to love, or even like the book. For me, personally, whenever I buy a physical book I feel a lot of pressure to love the book so that it will be “worth my money.” Most of the time, I just end up buying physical books after I’ve already read the book and know I like it just so I can own it. However, when you read online, especially if you get the books free from an online subscription or platform, there’s no pressure to like the book; you can delete it and try something else really quickly and easily without having to finish it.

E-books are also a lot easier to carry around with you. I do most of my reading on trains and buses when commuting to school, extracurriculars, or visiting people. Therefore, carrying around books, especially if they’re very long or are hardcovers, can be an issue. E-reading allows for you to access books anytime: when you’re waiting in line for the bathroom, trying to avoid an awkward interaction with someone, or just trying to look busy. E-reading means that you can get a few extra pages in without having to get out a book. The devices you choose to read on also always give off light of some kind from the screen, which means reading in dark areas or at night is a lot easier than getting out your phone torch.

Annotating on e-books is also a lot easier. I love annotating books with little notes or thoughts while reading, and while this is a lot more fun to do in physical books, doing it online is also a lot easier and more organised. You never run out of space in the margins to write, and don’t have to worry about loads of post-it notes falling out of your book.

However, there are also some cons to e-reading that we need to address. E-reading can damage your eyesight and have some negative health side effects. “Headaches and neck pain are the biggest complaints of those who use e-readers. Eye strain and dry eyes are others. Nearly 70% of American adults show these side effects according to the ABC News report. And the concern is higher for children,” says The Publication of the Public Library Association.

Hardcopies: Pros and Cons

Owning hardcopies, especially of books you love, is a great way to start a collection that you can watch change over time. There’s something very satisfying about having a bookshelf or a stack of books.

One pro of hardcopy books is the smell. I know what you’re thinking: “The smell? Huh?” But let me tell you, there is a very specific smell to new books that you just don’t get when reading online. If I could put that smell in a candle, I would, because it’s such a nostalgic and warm smell that I can just never get enough of.

Hardcopies also let you lend your books to other people. I know many people don’t like lending books to others, but personally, I think it’s a really nice way to connect with someone who has the same interests as you. You can even let your friend or loved one annotate the book while they read it so that you can read their thoughts at the end. You can’t exactly lend someone an e-version of a book…

Hardcopies, as I mentioned before, don’t cause as much strain on your eyes either as they don’t emit any light, which makes reading for sustained periods of time a lot healthier and easier as you don’t look up from your screen after 3 hours and feel completely drained.

Shopping for hardcopies in person is also an experience I love. Browsing for books in a store means that you’re more likely to find books you wouldn’t have read otherwise as the genres are all in one place and the titles are usually organised by author and not popularity. When you look up books to read online you probably search for popular titles you’ve heard of or look up something along the lines of “best dystopian books” or “best books with dogs in them,” which means you don’t often come across smaller titles that could end up being amazing.

However, as I mentioned in my e-reading section, hardcopies are more tiresome to carry around with you to read in public, and are also not as easy, cheap, or accessible.

Concluding Thoughts

My overall opinion on which I prefer: e-reading or hardcopies changes all the time, but at the moment I think I’ve found a balance that works for me. I prefer reading online, just because it’s cheaper and I can read on the go; however, I do also own quite a few hardcopies of books as well.

I love rereading books that I like, so what I usually do is read books online and then, if I love the book enough and can find a good deal, I buy it and reread it as well as sometimes annotate it. There are some expectations to this balance, though: I will buy hardcopies if they’re by an author whose writing style I like and so know I will probably enjoy, or if they’ve got a movie adaptation that I really enjoy. Whichever you prefer, the main point is that you enjoy the story. So let me know what you prefer and if you have a balance that works for you!