’’Reading an ebook is far superior to reading a traditional paper book’’- came across this comment on a webpage, and my eyes almost popped out, making me wonder how on earth did this person conclude so.

Agreed ebooks occupy much lesser space vis a vis paper books, now imagine me walking around my house with a Digicard or a cd which has a book on it, i go pull out a chair ,turn on the iPOd and sit to read my ebook, hmmm.something isnt right here,is it? I need a computer/laptop to slide the disk in and be able to access the book and to then read it. That, to me is too much hassle, for i have a PC at home and i cant possibly lug it around under my arm with the keyboard tucked in my bag and mouse hanging out of my handbag, quite a sight isnt it? yea, i can see you nodding and laughing.. So you see, ebook,no matter how compact they are, are not meant for leisurely reading.

Although i do agree, that when you want to read a book that has gone out of circulation or no copies are available in your local library or book store and if a friend says ’’hey, i have it in my mailbox, shall send it to you in a jiffy’’,that is when it comes in handy.. You can download it onto your system and enjoy the book. But even then,reading a book ,page after page on a small 14’’ computer screen can be very tiring and stressful and the pleasure of reading is absolutely lost, so what do you do. Take a print out of that and sit on the sofa or in your garden and relish it.
Once again, ’’paper’’ comes into the picture..

Books, i believe are a person’s best friends and when we carry a book around, it doesnt mean we are lugging something heavy and cumbersome, you dont see people carrying a Dictionary around all the time do u? so, when a person has a book in their hand, it means they get onto reading it whenever they find a couple of free minutes, smiling or being gripped with fear depending on their choice. I cant possibly do the same with an ebook, would take me atleast a couple of mins to set up my laptop and to load the disc and wait for it to load,praying battery doesnt run out and then try and read as much as i can before times up and i need to shut it down.. Sigh!! So much time wasted.

Paper books will remain to be collector’s items. The coffee table book or the magazine in a doctor’s waiting room, book won’t be replaced ever, given the fact that book lovers still go in for hardback and paperback books, there’s no danger of them disappearing anytime soon. Not only are print books holding their own against ebooks in the market, but they also have several features that ebooks are not able to match.

For starters, everyone is used to paper books. They know how to use them, how to mark their place, how to annotate them, how to organize them, and where to get them. With ebooks, this isn’t always the case, i myself am not aware of many ebooks, except for one that my friend sent across, now that book i would again love to have a copy of. He mailed it to me and i took print out of every page,all of those 70odd pages and relished them over cups of coffee and midnight snacks..Plus i have a lovely collection of Bookmarks that i love using when am reading...:)

All in all, it seems that ebooks and print books are able to complement each other’s strengths and weaknesses quite well.

Happy reading...