eBooks Versus Traditional Print — Where Do You Stand?

The world has changed. Technology has come farther in the last 20 years than anyone could have ever expected. One can now find any bit of information one could dream of on the Internet. We can talk with each other in video chat from half way across the world. Letters can be mailed,  packages can be delivered at the push of a button, and even books can be printed at the exact moment customers compete a transaction. No commercial item or industry method of production has been untouched by this Technological Revolution. I even hear that even books are now being digitized...

eBooks are now widely considered the "new medium" for written works.  The files full of HTML coding convey the everything a print book does—but there is no ink, no paper, not even a cover. The words of any book are just put on a screen. Just buy your book, download it to your device, and you are good to go. No need to lug around heavy books around anymore. They are just at your fingertips. You could have your entire bookshelf in your pocket, but is the experience the same as cracking the spine, smelling the wood pulp, and putting one's eye to crackled ink on a page?

eBooks would seem like the best way to read in our digital age. With eBooks, the advantages are very easy to see—portability, cost reduction, seachability, and increased availability make the eBook option a tempting proposition. However, even with the "inefficiencies" of traditional print, this format has its own benefits. First of which, is that you actually own your book. Many readers don't realize that when you click the "Purchase" button on your preferred eBook store, you are not actually buying the book. You are buying a licence to read the book. There is also the experience aspect of reading a print edition. Some people just prefer having those tactile experiences previously mentioned of a book in one's hands. It's hard to think of  curling up with a good eReader as a good old fashioned book. Ultimately, personal preference of efficiency versus experience is the end of the argument.

Is the future, or the past more your style? Traditional, or digital? Let us know what your thoughts are in the comment section below.