As a new age of literature dawns, we are now faced with one of the most crucial decisions of our lives: are e-books better than hardbacks? We don’t think so.
From e-books to audiobooks, the literature and publishing industries are constantly evolving – technological advances are carving a new path for literature consumption and, clearly, there has been the demand for such. In the US alone, 266 million e-books were sold in 2017 as opposed to 69 million in 2010.
Cast your mind back to 2007, 11 long years ago, when the first Amazon Kindle was launched – the device, the brand’s first e-reader, was described as ‘a giant leap for all’ and compared to the Apple iPod’s transformative impact on the music industry. In fact, some suggested that the rise of the e-book meant the death of the physical book – that people just don’t want to read physical books anymore.
Millennials, as a generation, have a reputation. We’re technology obsessed social media users that don’t appreciate the better things in life. Our lives are more about speed and ease rather than slowing down and properly appreciating things in the way they should be appreciated. We read our Twitter and Instagram feeds, we listen to podcasts and, if we’re going to read an actual book, it’ll be via an e-reader such as the Amazon Kindle. Apparently, it’s all about scrolling and tapping, rather than flipping pages of a book. But that’s hardly the case.
Whether it be because our lives are so digitalised and technology-based generally, we want to escape reality and switch off for a while – to put our phones down and enter a world that’s not necessarily our own. So we pick up a book – there are no distractions, no text messages, no notifications or likes, it’s the perfect escape and the whole novelty of physical books just doesn’t get old. Walking into a book shop and properly wracking the bookshelves until you find the ‘one’, the smell of a freshly purchased book, the excitement you get when you get to the end of a chapter, fiercely turning the pages of the book because you simply can’t stop reading it. Nothing compares.
Call me old fashioned but there’s just something about having a physical copy in front of you. The words printed on the page in nothing but black and white, letting your imagination go wild and allowing you to immerse yourself in a story and experience it in your own way, with your own interpretations of plotlines and characters. That’s what reading is about. Allowing you to be transported to another world, where almost anything is possible. That’s not quite the same with audiobooks in particular – there are benefits, of course, but do you get the same immersive feeling? Do you get to imagine the characters and the story in the same way, with the same freedom of interpretation? Not really.
Don’t get me wrong, e-books and audiobooks are great for on the go. They’re light, accessible and generally an easy option. Think going on holiday – with a Kindle, for example, you can take potentially hundreds of books with you without adding any extra hassle or weight – physical books aren’t quite the same in that sense. E-books are great if you have the need for them and, quite clearly, there is a demand for them – people do have the need for them, otherwise they wouldn’t be as popular as they are.
It’s obviously simply a matter of personal preference but I know, for me, you just cannot beat a good hard copy of a book. And I hate to break it to the critics out there, but it’s not just me that thinks this – according to research by PubTrack Digital, in 2017, e-book sales were down 10% compared to sales of physical books and, in only the first four months of 2018, e-book sales were down 3%. So no, the death of the physical book isn’t here yet. If anything, it’s a time for revival. We’re not quite over them just yet.
Please note: this piece was originally written for PAGE Magazine.
Please note: this piece was originally written for PAGE Magazine.
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