Why the e-book will never replace the paper-back, at least not in my heart

Harriet Pearson

Reading a book can be enjoyed by anyone, anytime, anywhere – it’s accessible. All that it requires is a pair of eyes (perhaps a pair of glasses too) a few fingers to turn the pages, a book and perhaps a brain. E-books, on the other hand, require a considerable amount more effort than any ordinary hardback or paperback. I’ll be honest, I’m not the biggest fan of the ‘e-book’ concept.

I have my qualms for various reasons; primarily because I believe books were made to have their pages turned – which is rendered not only impossible with the electronic version but unnecessary. Maybe I’m not being totally fair, e-books are pretty impressive. The available functions range from being able to make virtual annotations to reopening themselves on the last read page with anything in between including cross referencing hyperlinks and video clips. Surely if you wanted a video clip you’d just visit YouTube?

When we’re finished with a ‘proper’ book, generally we put it along with the rest of our other books, on the bookshelf. Whilst read e-books remain on a battery exhaustive resource that could break tomorrow, losing all 500 of the books you’ve ever bought – which is, surely, the 21st century redefinition of putting all your eggs in one basket. I’m not alone in wanting to avoid the conversion, JK Rowling is one of many authors who has promised not be converting in the future.

Of course, e-books save on valuable resources and are therefore the ‘greener’ option, but I’m still not convinced. Books have been around for centuries, millennia in fact. The first ever books can be traced back to ancient civilizations as early as 3,500 years ago! The first e-books were invented in the early ’70s. For tradition’s sake, if nothing else, please let’s not give up on the paper version anytime soon.