E-Books: Good or Bad?

We are the generation that taps screens instead of turning pages. We carry all our books in one small leather case instead of carrying around pounds of them in backpacks. From the iPad to the Kindle to the Nook there is an e-book reader for everyone. But is it a good investment? Should you ditch the long bookstore lines and high prices and buy only e-books?  Yes and no.

Although e-books are a cheaper alternative they do lack some of a hardcover book’s best features. Mainly, turning to a specific page. Of course, you can scroll through the table of contents or use the ‘location’ feature on any e-book reader. However, these location features don’t always use the same page numbers as the hardcover book. For example, the hardcover biology book page 139 could be page 200 on your Kindle or iPad. This isn’t a glitch in e-book readers. Because you can adjust type and image size it shuffles with the page order. Don’t let that deter you from e-books. You can jump straight to the start of chapters through the table of contents.

For literature classes the e-book versions will save you a few dollars. The best part of e-books is the instant delivery. No need to wait an hour in line or even for one day shipping. If you need to read the chapter for tomorrow you’ll have it in under a minute.

Science, history and other typical textbooks will save you a bundle, at least $50, in the electronic version. But there are a few things to keep in mind beforehand. If your books have a lot of detailed images, like labeled parts of the brain, I would suggest investing in the iPad, the Kindle Fire or the Nook Color. These versions show the images perfectly; crisp and detailed. The only problem with these versions is the backlighting. It hurts the eyes to read on a lighted screen, like when you read on your laptop. The original brilliance of e-book readers was the screen, like reading an actual paper page. The downside with these is the poor image quality and you do need good lightening. 

There are some clear positives with hardcover books. As new versions of e-books come out they have added those features. On all of the 3 major devices, the Nook, Kindle and iPad, you can highlight text, add notes, touch down on a word and get the dictionary definition. The Kindle has even added social media to your reading experience. You can tweet or post on Facebook, what you’ve highlighted, noted or even questions on a certain passage in the book. As an even bigger money saver? Amazon has e-text book rentals. Pay a fraction of the price read, highlight and annotate the e-book for the whole semester and return it without emptying your wallet. For more literary classes Amazon has a lending library. Available for any device that uses the kindle app, including smartphones, laptops and e-book readers, you can rent, with a prime membership, from thousands of books for free. Keep them as long as you like, no due dates no late fees.

E-books and e-book readers are a sensational move forward in technology. The features make what is usually a boring hour of reading a textbook by yourself more social, entertaining and most importantly productive.