My friend recently acquired over one hundred e-books from another friend and offered to pass some of them another group of friends. A list was given and I skimmed through this list and made mental notes on which books I wanted but as I got to the third mental note, I realized something. Coming across some of these titles, I pictured myself curled on a couch, reading a paperback book in front of a fireplace. A paperback book. I couldn’t picture myself curled up with a Kindle or some sort of e-book reader.
In an age where technology is quickly advancing, I still prefer to have a physical book in front of me. Nicholas Carr introduces noted testimonials of “convenience” and “ease” regarding these e-readers and I thought I sided with them, but apparently not. I am a technologically-sound person; I am always on my iPhone or on my laptop. I found it strange that my first thought was of me with a book, but I guess our brains are just too used to associating “reading” with physical books. A book is better enjoyed when I am able to turn the physical pages with my own fingers because it adds a more personal feel to the act of reading. Flipping a page requires more physical exertion than scrolling a trackpad (the act of scrolling is now requiring less and less energy-we went from clicking and dragging a bar on the side of a page to lightly swiping two fingers on a trackpad).
This impersonal feeling makes it harder for me to read something. When reading something on the internet, there are too many distractions: too many links to click, too many tabs with sites open. When reading on an e-book reader, there are also too many distractions: the e-book simply holds too many books in one device! Too many choices for one to make. A book on the other hand, contains less distractions. It is only you and the book you hold in your hand. There may be the occasional scribble of the pen in your hand noting down an important/interesting sentence but other than that, I believe that there are minimal distractions.
Bottom line: book wins!