This is a guest post I originally wrote for Jersey Girl’s Book Reviews for my Hidden World Blog Tour. But for those of you who missed the post, I wanted to share it here. Enjoy!
Sometimes when I come up to a green light in a congested area, I’ll think that I have more room than I do. I’ll pull up and unknowingly block the intersection. Then, the light turns red. I tap my fingers on the steering wheel and pretend I can’t see the driver in the car to my right glaring at me through their windshield. All I can at that moment is, “dang it. I’mthat person.”
Well today, I’m that person for a different reason. I’m here to play devil’s advocate for the eBook / print book debate. It’s blasphemous. It’s controversial. It’s on.
PRINT BOOKS
Let’s start off with the paperbacks and hardcovers of the world. It seems as if we’ve always had these. They’ve been around for millennia. Once status symbols reserved for those who could read, they’ve become a prime option for entertainment for anyone who has an imagination. In this heavily technological world, they don’t need batteries. They never run out of juice. If you’re accident-prone like me or your dog chews through your copy ofSwitched, you can buy another one. It’s only $15, which is nothing compared to what an eReader or tablet would cost to replace. There’s no DRM on a paperback, and you can throw that book at whatever friend will take it once you’re done. You can host a giveaway to drive readers to your blog. It’s tangible. It’s real. And boy don’t pages just smell nice?
EBOOKS
On the other hand, you can’t deny that eBooks are easier to store. And by easier, I mean exponentially so. Bookshelves become unnecessary when you can host hundreds of books on a small memory card. You have your entire library with you – including the digital notes you added to any books you’ve read – and you can take all of that data with you anywhere. If you get bored of a story while waiting at the DMV, you can switch to another one in a second. No going out to your car and possibly missing your number being called. No wishing you’d brought more than one book with you. It’s all just there.
THE DEBATE
Now, no one answer is going to be best for everyone. We humans are far too complicated for that! But it is important to sit back and look at our options. For some people, reading on a screen is too jarring. For them paper might be better, but it’s also important to remember that the Kindle’s screen is designed to look like paper. I didn’t believe this until I saw one. Even I had to admit it was impressively close.
There are hundreds (if not thousands) of posts on this debate. A twitter thread with this topic is going to spiral into oblivion. EReaders have been popular for awhile, and yet they still spark controversy in the book world. Despite it all, though, I don’t think the debates really matter in the end.
The world is shifting towards digitizing everything, true, but that doesn’t mean paperbacks are going away. They won’t ! Too many people love the feel of a print edition. I own 200 eBooks, and even I still have paperbacks. Ultimately, you’re going to buy what you want to buy, and none of the countless debates or arguments will really sway you one way or the other. It was crucial that my novel be available in both formats for exactly this reason.
Lichgates, my young adult fantasy novel, is available in any medium available – eBook or otherwise – because it doesn’t matter what the more popular means of purchasing may be. All that matters is that anyone can buy it if the book sounds like it’s up their alley. That’s what this digital revolution is really about: making novels more available to readers.
Personally, I think my book reading system has the best of both worlds. I read all new books on my Nook unless it’s a print edition ARC (even though I like my Nook, I’m probably going to get a tablet soon so that I can get the apps for both Barnes & Noble and Amazon, instead of being restricted to just Barnes & Noble). In most cases, eBooks cost much less than print, which lets me test out the book for a relatively low cost. Then, if I love it and it’s a new favorite, I buy the print edition and put it on my bookshelf to showcase. These are the books I could read again and again, forever, because they’re just that good.
This works for me, and it might not work for you. Either way, all that matters is you have the chance to read your favorites and discover new ones. if you get a chance to pick up Lichgates, I hope that you like it. Happy reading, everyone, and thanks for stopping by! Make sure you post your thoughts on the eBook / print edition debate.
About The Author:
S.M. Boyce is a fantasy and paranormal fiction novelist who also dabbles in contemporary fiction and comedy. She updates her blog a few times each week so that you have something to wake you up in the morning.
She also has a B.A. in Creative Writing which, naturally, qualifies her to be pompous and serve you french fries.