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For those that are unaware of this "series", check out the Prologue post. I update it after each subsequent post, with links to every segment. For this post we'll take a look at what physical and digital versions of books have over each other, and how the digital era has impacted both forms of media.
Books have been around for hundreds of years, and they've evolved through the decades. In the beginning books were written by hand. Typically only one copy would ever exist of any given book. This makes since, given how long it could take to re-write a book, especially if it had hand drawn images. Not to mention the fact that the first books were also very difficult to "check out" or borrow. This was because books were originally walls. Dating way back to the early caveman's paintings. Later on during the Egyptian era, carvings were still a primary medium.
However, tablets became an option.
Later on we moved to scrolls and parchments.
Finally, we entered the era of bound books. These could store infinitely more information than tablets and scrolls. The first iteration of books were called a Codex.
Once we reached the point of the printing press by Johannes Gutenberg (around 1440), stone and "codices" became a thing of the past. In the 1800 and 1900 printing vastly improved, especially in the late 1900's, when computers begin to contribute to the process.
Alright, now that the history "lesson" (yes, it was short and doesn't really give too much details), lets look at how physical books stack up to digital books (read as: eBooks). Throughout my 23 years on this earth, I have gone to book stores more times than I can count. Honestly, I love going to book stores. You find so many new authors and sometimes even sub-genres that you never knew existed (I'm going to be posting a video of my recent Barnes & Nobel trip to YouTube sometime soon, hopefully this coming week). Sure, you can find them through random searches, and Amazon's recommendations, but the feeling of walking through a large Brick and Mortar store, full of "knowledge" (obviously it's not all pure knowledge, especially the vampire and romance sections... can we boycott these genres already?). Books come in so many shapes and sizes! From full size, to large print, pocket sized language books to the JUMBO Atlas. Barnes and Noble is great for new books, but I also love going to used book stores. Something you'll never find in an eBook is a first edition of classic books like the Hobbit, in worn condition. Why did I add the last bit in (worn)? Because wear and tare is the truest indicator of a good book. Books frequently go down in price, and used books definitely tend to cost less than a brand new copy.
However, books aren't perfect. Traveling can make reading difficult if you have limited space. It's difficult, and VERY expensive to bring a large collection of books on a flight. Similarly, traveling with course/school books is unpleasant. In college I had several books that were easily 1000 pages. Lugging them to and from class everyday was anything but fun.
Enter eBooks and Audio books. To be honest, I've traveled quite a bit in the last 2 years. Flying for work and interviews, as well as vacationing. On my nook I have a decent little library of my favorite books, as well as many others I would like to read, and quite a few CS related books for work and side-projects. On my phone I have a decent little collection of audio books from Audible. In two devices weighing maybe two pounds, tops, I have more digital books than I do physical books, and yet I can take that little library of mine anywhere. This is by far the greatest benefit of digital books; portability. Not only can you have a library in your pocket, but you can also have that same library on your computer(s), tablet, and in the cloud. I'll also note that it's nice not having to worry about bookmarks falling out, or dropping the book and losing your place.
While you really can't sell back eBooks and Audio books (which is a benefit of physical books, especially for college students... those books are WAY too expensive!), they are frequently cheaper. Unfortunately, DRM's (Digital Rights Management) are embedded into most eBooks and audio books, which can make it difficult to use them on all of your preferred devices. For example, Amazons Kindle eBooks requires either a Kindle or the Kindle eReader app in order to read the books you purchased. Audio books purchased from Amazon (actually, through Audible) require the Audible app to listen to the audio books you purchased. Whereas physically books just require your eyes (or hands if you're reading braille), and a means of turning the pages. DRM's are frequently subjects of heated debate, but I'll save that topic for another day.
Honestly, I have found that I use both eBooks and physical books. If I really enjoy a eBook, you can bet that I'll be picking up a physical copy! Frequently I hear people say that books are dying, and that everyone is moving to eBooks and Audio books. But to be honest, I don't think this will happen any time soon. After all, authors and readers love Book Signing events.
