The Rise of eBooks & Kindle | Books versus Ebooks

Books versus Ebooks and Kindles

Books versus Ebooks and Kindles

EBooks, kindles, reading apps etc. are all points of contention for the avid bookworm and reader. Often you hear someone say “there’s nothing like reading from the physical copy”, “reading on a screen all day is bad for your eyes” or a personal favourite “but don’t you just love the smell of a new book?” Yes, yes we do. Albeit not when they are from a charity shop – those books can be great but smelly!

Anyway, when we talk about eBooks and kindles, of course it goes against the grain of what we are about here at The Book Resort. We’re hardly going to gift people an eBook because then what would be the point of the gift box and subscription? Maybe we could gift everyone a kindle so? (You wish!)

However, eBooks and the online availability of books is actually a wonderful thing. This digitally driven availability of literature is particularly amazing for people who cannot access physical books, who cannot afford books (they can be pricey) or for those night time readers - screens are great! Particularly now in Covid-19 times when bookshops and libraries are closed, we can now buy and borrow books online, which is just so amazing!

We agree there’s nothing like sitting in a coffee shop, drinking your extra-large Americano, reading the physical copy of a great book and everyone asking “what are you reading?” However the reality is that this is not for everyone. So why do we have ‘kindle shame’? (We just made that term up right now – you’re welcome).

For example, let’s take a university student who is in the midst of studying their English degree. They would probably be reading 5-10 books a semester and, depending on the author, the book size and the information available in the book (be it study material or a simple novel), the price of these books often surpasses most students part-time income. Here ladies and gentlemen, is where the kindle steps in with books for 99c!! You can’t go wrong if you’re a student.

Think about those who are also big into travelling around the world. We have often seen this with Siobhan O’Hagan (@siobh.ohagan if you’re looking to follow her on Instagram) who is a huge reader but travels all the time (which, by the way, we are super jealous of!) She can hardly be expected to carry all those books with her every time she goes abroad. Could you imagine trying to get on a Ryanair flight with a bag of books? They would most definitely get ‘lost in transit’. Why should we have to lose all the amazing information and knowledge books have to offer us just because we have a misconstrued idea about technology? Are we scared of it? That’s an issue for another day!

However at the end of the day, a book is a book and trust me, there is nothing like filling that bookshelf with all those books you bought, were gifted or ‘borrowed’ over the years! However, here’s the solution – you can do BOTH!

Kindles are great for travelling or if there is a classic book sale. However, if I know that I am absolutely going to love a book and read it over and over again– I’ll simply buy the physical copy! See all those self-help books? I buy those too because I love to write in them!

So there we have it – a solution – do both (if you want!)

P.s we’re not here to tell you what to do; we’re just here to tell you our thoughts!

Keep on reading guys whether that is via a kindle or a physical book!

The Book Resort x

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