Electronic or Paper? Which is Your Favorite?

By Campbell Sharpe

We are all comfortable with the codex. We like clean, prismatic packets of paper with sturdy covers and glued spines, the form that has existed in our society for centuries. It beat out alternative sources of media like scrolls and accordions because of its ease of consumption. You can put a book in your purse. You can read a book alone and even with one hand. The physical book has been created to meet our needs. These developments have society's fingerprints all over them and eBooks are another step in that development. Electronic devices like cellphones and tablets are the most popular convenience item of our time. They do everything and go everywhere. It is only natural that books merge with this technology too. Just as the codex was shaped by society’s needs, the eBook is sculpted by modern convenience. Its development was inevitable.

            There was quite a bit of worry in the publishing industry that eBooks would usurp the codex as a medium. As that has yet to occur and now seems rather unlikely, the point is moot. Instead, I view the book/eBook debate as a preference of form. Each has its merits. Each has its faults. I will leave it up to you to decide which is better.

            The codex is tangible. I like the feel of book spines, of turning pages, of impressed letters under glossy jackets, not to mention the new book smell. And the old book smell. I do not know what they put in book paper, but it smells better than any tablet ever could. Reading a physical book is more of an experience and finishing a codex is much more satisfying than completing an eBook. I love the look of matching hardcovers sitting on my shelf. That, of course, also means that physical books take up a lot of space. Especially when traveling, I have to limit myself to three physical books. If I breeze through my choices, I am stranded and storiless.         

eBooks, on the other hand, are extremely portable. They can go with you anywhere and you can access them from anywhere. And I mean more than when you are on vacation. eBooks give readers opportunities to experience books that are banned in their libraries or unable to be sent to their homes. You can be in the most remote village in the world and as long as you have electricity, you can read anything you want. It is remarkable. Though readers do lose out on the paratexts that come with physical books for many access is a more important feature.

            This debate is more than a preference between look and convenience and it certainly is not a disagreement between the past and the present. Both forms of books share the same information and carry out the ultimate goal of the author: to tell a story. That is why Cozy Cat offers both physical and electronic options. Do you have a preference?