The availability of e-books is increasing every day. And even the most conservative of us are wondering, shouldn’t we get ourselves one to replace all paper books? E-books are undoubtedly a big and beautiful plus in themselves, but they also have disadvantages that should not be forgotten. Because for some, one minus can outweigh all the pluses. And vice versa.
Pros:
1. Instant bookmarks
You can highlight quotes or even entire paragraphs so you can easily find them again – this is one of the key features of e-books. This opportunity can be used by other people as well. For example, on the Amazon Kindle, it’s easy to list quotes and paragraphs so other people can see them.
“I must say that the only thing I lack in e-books is individuality. For example, I used to borrow a book from a friend with his notes. There is something impersonal in e-ink books. But readers will continue to develop, probably to the book had “its own face”, it will be possible to write by hand “.
2. Notes
You can create and easily display various notes – a big plus of electronic “readers”.
3. Definitions of words
“I recently bought a few electronic poetry books from an online store. Poet lovers probably know that modern poets love to use fancy and incomprehensible words. So one of the features that helped me a lot in the last week was that it only cost me to poke into a word, as the meaning was immediately shown below. This is very useful, I am grateful to heaven that I have electronic collections of poetry, not paper. “
4. Ability to work with Twitter and Facebook
One user noted on Twitter that he liked the ability to tweet from his Kindle or send quotes from a book he liked to Facebook.
5. Search
You can search for any words within an e-book or over the Internet if your reader has a network connection. This greatly improves the readability.
Most of these features are just the tip of the iceberg of e-reader capabilities. The e-book format gives you a unique chance to use all the known multimedia features: trailers, links, word-for-word, interviews, actors reciting poetry, etc.
Minuses:
1. Fragility
Readers are a complex device, and all the disadvantages of electronic devices are inherent in it, including susceptibility to environmental influences. You can read a paper book in the bathroom without fear of drowning; forget in the sun, without fear of dropping it from the fifth floor. In such situations, the e-reader is unlikely to be left with anything workable.
2. Fragility
No one yet knows how long readers will live – they appeared just a few years ago. They are essentially small computers, and the life cycle of a computer is limited to approximately 10 years. Paper books live for decades and even centuries, which is easy to see when you come to any public library or visit your parents.
3. Anonymity
Does anyone remember the good old days when you went to visit your friends for the right book? When you met with someone just to get the desired and such a rare specimen? Books were very often given both for holidays and simply for no reason to please. And what pleasure is it in the gift of a “set of ones and zeroes” that has no physical form? Virtually none. The lack of real physical contact can be a powerful argument for many.
4. No BOOK feeling
It may sound strange, but for many it is very important that they have in their hands a real, “physical” book, which has a certain shape in space, in which you can turn the pages, hear their rustling and see how much you have already read.
5. Not very easy operation
A paper book does not need to update the firmware, think about compatibility, buy memory cards, get used to the convenience (or inconvenience) of the location of the buttons and make sure that the charge does not run out. Which, in fairness, is enough for a long time, but this is also bad – you will relax and will not notice how it will remain at zero. Using a paper book is very simple – you take it, open it and read it.