When I got my first Android smartphone, the Samsung Vibrant, back in 2010, one of the things I was most excited for was the inclusion of the Amazon Kindle app. I had never owned an eReader before, but this app meant that I would probably never have to own one. I could read entire books right from my phone. It was an amazing concept to me, and one that I immediately took advantage of. The first thing I did was re-read my favorite series of books as a kid – Harry Potter.
It was extremely convenient, I’ll give it that. Knowing that I had access to a nearly infinite amount of books in something as weightless as my phone was incredible. But as time went on and I added more books to my library, something felt like it was missing. Did I actually miss reading books in printed format?
It was around this time that I was actually gifted an Amazon Kindle of my own. It was one of the earlier generations, so nothing was conducted by touch. I used buttons to turn the page, and was able to type one letter at a time with the arrow keys. It was kind of a pain to do things this way, but once I loaded the books I wanted to read things were a little better. It was nice being able to read outside without the sun interfering with a glare, as it did on my phone. The screen was much larger, which was another perk of the Kindle. But something still just wasn’t right.
I hadn’t visited a library in a good, long while when I first decided to take my oldest to get his own library card and check out books. I figured while I was there, I could put my old library card to use and pick up some reading material for myself. One of my favorite things to do as a kid was randomly pick books at the library that looked good. These days I have a tendency to Google reviews of everything, but this time I decided to just pick out things that looked interesting. Hauling our books out to the car and into the house was one of those moments where I appreciated the convenience of e-reading solutions, but I was still excited to get home and physically flip through pages again. And I don't normally haul every book I check out around with me anyway.
I definitely prefer the way a book feels in my hands to a phone or an e-reader. I don’t know why. It’s been years since I first took my kid to the library that first time, but we still take bi-weekly trips up there to find new books to read. My son is in the same boat as I am now. He uses a Kindle Fire from time to time, which has interactive books on it, but he still prefers to read physical books.
Even with textbooks for school, I much prefer having a physical textbook to a digital copy. Having both is great, if I’m lucky, but if I had to choose just one, I would choose physical over digital in a heartbeat.
With my first smartphone, I predicted that traditional print material would be obsolete within the decade. Now, however, I am convinced that traditional print is here to stay, at least longer than the short ten years I predicted it would be around. However, I do still highly appreciate the convenience that eReading has provided for us as well – especially with the advancements in modern eReaders over the original. Still, I’ve found that there’s more than enough room for both in my world.
Readers, when it comes to reading, which do you prefer? Do you solely prefer using eReaders, traditional print, or are you a fan of both? Let us know in the comments below!
