Previously this year, I wrote an article on books versus films. Now, I bring you my thoughts on books versus e-books. Is there a difference? Does one format matter over another? Can they coincide peacefully together or are they doomed to forever be apart? What about the costs and the differences in formatting?

To start off with, anyone who spends a large amount of their time reading knows that there is a big difference between reading a physical book and reading an e-book. Flipping pages is vastly different, since one is a physical page and one is a swipe on a device. With the physical book, flipping pages is sometimes better since you can tell you're only flipping one page. With digital copies, one wrong press of a button or an accidental swipe can leave you thirty pages ahead of where you were. With digital copies you do have a benefit in that you can bookmark your pages much easier. The feature for bookmarks is often right in whatever reading app that you have on your phone/tablet. With physical books, bookmarks have to be physical items which can be more of a hassle. In this books and e-books are about even.

There's also the brightness factor to consider. With actual books, you have to provide your own light in order to read. Curling up outside with a good book often means finding strategic places where you can spend a long time reading without having to move because the sun has moved. With e-books, the brightness can often be adjusted right on your reading device to account for extra light or darkness from outside sources. The brightness adjustment with e-books often means that you're prepared for all sorts of weather without even trying. In this e-books takes the lead.

Now, about the costs, e-books are inherently cheaper when bought on their own. However, if you're an avid reader and tend to buy large amounts of series or sagas, then the prices can add up quickly. However, even the most expensive e-books still tend to run lower than the physical books. The most expensive e-books that I've personally come across are at most a little over four dollars. Most physical books, in new format tend to run around the middle or high end of twenty dollars. New York Times Bestsellers tend to cost even more than that. There is the exception in buying used physical books since depending on their condition, they can be almost as cheap as an e-book. Most reading apps such the Barnes and Noble Nook App or the Amazon Kindle App have phone compatibility so they can be used on other electronic devices that most of us in today's technology age have anyways. In this, e-books also takes the lead.

The last point that I'd like to touch upon for this debate is comfort and quality. Now this is almost exclusively going to be based off of personal preferences. I've been reading for the vast majority of my short life and my personal preference has always been physical books. The comfort of holding the physical books in my hands and not even realizing that i'm turning pages faster at the good parts has always been something I've loved. Curling up during a rainy day with a cup of tea wrapped up in a blanket or cardigan and reading a good book has always been one of my greatest comforts. However, I do also own a Kindle and have the Nook e-book app. There are times when it's easier for me to read on my phone or tablet in order to help relax. For instance, during breaks at work, the e-book format is much easier to deal with since I carry my phone to work with me. It's also easier to load an e-book on your phone during your twenty minute break than it is to lug a book out of your storage locker/cabinet just to only be able to read a page for half a second. In this, I'm divided. Both are great options and provide comfort. Both also provide quality in that they both allow a person to read easily.

E-books generally take the cake. They're easy to use, have a lot of great features and it's a lot harder to run out of storage space. However, I'm always going to personally be a physical book sort of girl. There's nothing like opening up a new book and taking in that new book smell before diving in.