In recent years, there has a massive surge in the popularity of non-traditional reading formats. With the wide variety of e-book readers and e-books available from retailers such as Amazon and Apple, the traditional hardback has seen some of its success diminish. This has led to intense debates amongst reading enthusiasts over which format is best suited for the current generation. Both e-book and hard-bound publications offer countless benefits to their readers. The medium the reader chooses for himself is largely dependent on his/her personal preference and lifestyle choice.
Old-school book lovers are known to be sticklers for traditional publishing i.e. they advocate the use of paperbacks and hardcovers and will not convert to newer mediums. These individuals view reading as a sensory experience. They argue that electronic copies are unable to capture the excitement experienced at opening up a new paper-based book. Most of the supporters of this school of thought consider reading to be a communal activity and will happily pass along their favorite reads to their friends. Top quality paper-based books are also said to offer better viewing angles and less strain on the eyes in comparison to digital counterparts. This is especially helpful for those who are short-sighted and the elderly. Perhaps the strongest argument presented by this group is that traditional publishing is environment friendly in comparison to the production of electronic devices. Carbon emission levels required to make a large amount of books (approximately 30-40) are the same as those required to make one e-reader. Furthermore, activities such as walking to the nearby library are still considered to be amongst the most eco-friendly in current times.
At the opposite end of the spectrum are the digital enthusiasts. Members of this tech-savvy group are in favor of widespread of e-book usage. E-books are known to have much cheaper average production costs ($0.50 vs. $4.05 for a hardcover) and this translates to lower prices for consumers. Some E-books are even available for free and can be downloaded at the Kindle store and other websites. E-books are also extremely portable as 1000’s of books can be stored in one e-book reader and moved around. This is perfect for those book lovers who like to carry reading material on their vacations and business trips. E-books offer a much higher degree of convenience than traditional books and are searchable. The reader can easily mark the spot when he/she stops reading and resume from the same part next time. E-book readers are strong supporters of privacy in reading habits and argue that is much easier to hide objectionable material from strangers on an e-book as opposed to one in the traditional format.
While e-books are having a strong impact on paperback/hardcover sales, traditional books are outselling their digital companions by a large margin. This can be seen in the sales trends for literary sensations such as Twilight and The Millennium Series. The later had sales of 30 million in paper-based books and only 1 million sales in the Kindle format. Similar trends can be seen in publisher sales for 2009 with $249.2 million coming in from conventional mediums and only $29.3 million from the digital sphere. You can get hardcover books from Abebooks, you can use Abebooks coupon to save on your order.
The figures in the demographic are indicative of the fact that there is still space for both mediums to grow in the publishing sector. We are left with no clear answers as to which format is the better one as advocates of both sides present strong arguments. Therefore, the focus should now be on co-existing peacefully and letting the reader decide which one he wants to use and at what time.
This post is written by John, he works at Coupon Audit.
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