Books and e-books Essay

Some people believe that printed books are no longer necessary in this digital era, as all writings can be stored electronically. Others think print books till play important role. Discuss both views and give your opinion.  In the past few years, e-books have been sold or downloaded for free in large numbers on the internet. These books and e-readers are challenging convention reading habits making the sales of traditional books decreased. But it still needs much consideration before eliminating altogether the need for printed books. There is no doubt that e-books are able to offer huge amount of information with feather like weight. Readers do not have to face the difficult choice of which book should be taken with on vacation, as one single e-reader like kindle or Nook would hold all the books you might want to read on the trip with no extra space in suitcase being wasted. E-books are also strong contenders when it comes to pricing. Because they are delivered in digital format, a part of the overhead including printing, storing and distribution can be avoided. And many classic books are free online, which is a boon to readers who only need a partly review or reference from those books. However, we cannot ignore a fact that the popularity of digital books can be a bit daunting for many readers who are used to going to the local book store, browsing the aisles and perhaps reading any chapter before purchasing. Or, there still are some senior readers who are reluctant to buy and learn to use an e-reader instead of holding a real book and making note wherever they want. Then when we talk about personal book collections, electronic ones can hardly be involved. Privately owned printed books can typically be displayed neatly as part of the household collection. These books may build up a reader’s spirit world and be good company as having friends being around. The bottom line is that both printed books and e-books have something to offer. We cannot simply eliminate the use of any single format because they are needed in different situation by various kinds of readers. They are all  making life better.