Books, books and books.
Knowledge is what is important, not the source.
’’Let noble thoughts come to my mind from all sides’’ said a great man just hinting at the above. When a person is thirsty, he only tries to get some water to quench his thirst and as long as the water is potable, he is least bothered whether the water is from a well or a pond or from a river. Similarly, books are books after all. Whether E, C or something else. The prefix does not matter, albeit the content does.

However both (E-books and paper books) have got their own merits and demerits.

E-books are available in electronic format as a softcopy. Hence they can only be read on an electronic device like a PC. Hence some device is necessary to read E-books. This makes the book non-portable. It also becomes power dependent and the user is bound to sit in one corner in one position and read. This strains the body and the eyes. Moreover, one cannot easily book mark, underline important points or add personal notes. The very thought of all these disadvantages in itself is a big turn off.
However disadvantages are not all that an e-book has. There are many advantages also.
An e-book is really useful if the book happens to be a user manual or a data sheet or a technical reference. It is very important if the book is a directory.

So what are the features of the e-book that make it useful in these cases?

The answer is the powerful automatic search facility that is available with it. Browsing of pages is fast and effective. There is a provison to zoom the pages there by increasing its clarity and one need not worry about the wear and tear of the book. If the book is lost/corrupted it can always be downloaded again or a backup copy can be kept. Comapratively cheaper than paper book.

The paper book comes with its own charms and convenience which everybody is aware of. Hence if you are reading a book for pleasure then definitely go for a paper book. It may be a little costly compared to its electronic version, but it is worth the money.

However both the e-book and paper-book are interconvertible, i.e., if you take the print out of an e-book, it becomes a paper book and if you scan a paper book, it can be used as an e-book.