my opinions

Since the day I planned my post about how books are romanticised by people who emphasise the sensorial experience of reading, I have been thinking about another pressing issue – mentioned as the last point in that post – which I had to write about in more detail. It’s the ultimate battle between the traditional paper books and the modern electronic counterparts, known simply as e-books.

The major news portals and web-magazines have dealt with this topic infinite times in the last years. Some sounded the alarm on the imminent death of traditional books and their publishers; others have reassured that e-books are not as big anymore as they seemed to be. Some articles are downright partial in favour of paper, while others go about it in a more balanced and scientific way.

Well, I will ignore the statistics and the research for now. As always, I will base my post on my own experience. I do not intend to promote any particular e-reader but I’ve only used an old-gen Kindle Paperwhite (excluding the e-reading on tablet and laptop, which is not good on the eyes), which I inherited from Matt.

I want to show my readers that using an e-book reader not only does not pose any threat to physical books but that it can also maximise your reading experience and increase your book possessions.

But first, let’s take a look at some basic advantages and disadvantages of having an e-reader.

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Calling all the book readers out there!

Have you ever come across articles, quotes or images that are repeatedly shared on social media and that are supposed to represent the ‘true reader’? They generally refer to ‘trivial’ things such as quantity of purchased books or the exaggerated reactions provoked by a good book.

If you love books, you probably agree with what they describe. Or perhaps, if you’re like me, you start questioning whether you’re really the book enthusiast that you thought yourself to be.

That is why I wanted to write about how books and the idea of reading are at times unnecessarily romanticised. I’ve rounded up 5 (just 5, because there are definitely more) common thoughts about books and I’m trying to challenge them with my point of view.

Don’t get me wrong: even I am prone to some fixations when it comes to books (for instance, I’m really into the aesthetics of shelving). So please consider this as a tongue-in-cheek post.

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