Ebook or Printed Book - Which Works Best for You?

I just finished a great ebook I borrowed from my local library. I was excited about what I might read next, but when I went to my virtual library shelf, I had no books checked out, only “holds” that won’t be ready for several weeks. What to do, what to do … I could easily do some searching and find something electronic from my local library, or I could look through the hundreds of ebooks I have purchased over the years online. Or, dare I select a printed book from one of the dozens on the bookshelves surrounding me? I decided to go for it and chose a book by one of my favorite authors I had bought in hard copy at some point, and that I can’t get in electronic form from my library. So why the hesitancy and odd feeling of dread?

My name is Angela Crider Neary and I’m an ebook junkie! It snuck up on me gradually during 2020 when it was much easier to get a book electronically from the library or purchase one online rather than go to the actual library or a book store. I started out by reading two books at once—one ebook and one hard copy. But eventually, I found myself gravitating toward the ebooks. Here’s why:

• Instant gratification! You can order an ebook online or request one from the library and boom, it immediately appears on your electronic device.
• For books that aren’t immediately available from the library, you can place them on hold. It’s like Christmas morning when you receive a “Hold Ready” notification from the library! (Although this can also be frustrating when all your holds come in at the same time even though you strategically scheduled them to come in one after the other. But you can always reschedule them!)
• You can increase the font on an e-reader so that reading is easy on aging eyes. I make it really, REALLY big. (This may be the “biggest” reason I prefer ebooks.)
• Ebooks are easier to read any place or any time since most of us have our phones with us everywhere we go. Like when you’re in a long line, on the bus/train/ferry, or in the doctor’s office waiting room. I have insomnia and enjoy being able to reach over to my night table, grab my phone, and access an ebook without turning on any lights, or even moving much for that matter, so I don’t wake up my husband or cat.  
• You can press down on a word in an ebook and get a quick definition or translation. 
• You can search for words or phrases in an ebook. For example, if you forgot what happened when a character was initially introduced, you can search for the character’s name and return to that portion of the book.
• Ebooks cut down on the physical clutter. Although I love having oodles of books around the house, I may have a bit of a hoarding problem. It’s much better for me, at this stage in my life, not to accumulate more “stuff.” 

Don’t get me wrong. I have nothing against printed books. I have boxes and boxes and shelves and shelves of paperbacks and hard covers. I enjoy gazing at them and feel comforted by their presence. There’s nothing like the smell of an old book. I won’t give up on them completely, but if there’s a choice between an ebook and a physical book, I’ll probably take the ebook.

What about you? Do you prefer ebooks or printed books? What makes you like one or the other better? 

Angela Crider Neary is an attorney by day and writer by night. She is an avid mystery reader and especially enjoys reading novels set in interesting locales. She was inspired to write her first mystery novella, Li'l Tom and the Pussyfoot Detective Bureau: The Case of the Parrots Desaparecidos, by one of her favorite areas in San Francisco, Telegraph Hill.  Her second book, Li'l Tom and the Case of the New Year Dragon is now available.  To learn more, visit her on Facebook and Amazon.