The Pros and Cons of eBooks

Last updated on 13 February 2023

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So here’s the thing: there’s nothing quite like a physical copy of a book. But they’re not that friendly all the time. And while I’m a big fan of physical books, ebooks are such a great way to read that we’re going to take a look at the pros and cons of ebooks in this post.

I used to never read ebooks.

Like, ever.

And then I started getting cheap ebooks from Amazon when I bought my Kindle back in the day, but again wasn’t really a fan. It’s really been in the last maybe 6 years that I’ve really gotten more into ebooks. And mostly it’s been through the Libby App and Overdrive at the Auckland Public Libraries.

Do I like them more than physical books? Definitely not. They still have their cons. But there are a lot of pros to ebooks, too and it’s those that I really do love.

The 18th of September is Read an eBook Day, so in celebration, we’re going to take a look at these pros and cons of ebooks and then you can let me know what you think in the comments!

The Pros of eBooks

ebooks are cheaper

Usually, ebooks are a lot cheaper than physical books. You can get an ebook for as little as under $5 whereas the cheapest new physical paperback is probably around $18 (at least here in New Zealand).

If you’re a big book lover, then eBooks are going to save you a lot of money in the long haul.

You can read in low light.

Any midnight readers here? While you don’t want to spend too much time looking at your Kindle or tablet, ebooks do mean you don’t need to have a light on or be in brightly lit spaces to read a book.

Whether your partner is off to bed early and you want to read for a bit longer, or you’re camping, or you just don’t have much light where you want to read … an ebook has your back.

You can highlight and annotate.

One of my favourite things about ebooks is the ability to highlight quotes and segments of the text. I’ve now taken to saving those notes (mostly from non-fiction) to an Evernote file and tagging them with appropriate tags so I can find them easily later.

You can also quickly annotate your ebooks and add comments throughout.

Of course, you can definitely do this with physical books, and for non-fiction, I tend to do that, too. But it’s a lot easier to re-find your notes and highlights if you’ve got it in digital form.

Easier to travel with.

I don’t know about you, but when I travel (especially if I’m going away for a good chunk of time and I know I’ll be spending a lot of that time poo-side or relaxing), then I always struggled to figure out which books I should take with me.

Not a problem when you have ebooks! Ebooks are brilliant for travelling, because, again, they don’t take up any more room than the space of your Kindle or tablet, and you can literally take thousands with you. The downside to this? Charging it.

They take up less space than physical books.

I love my bookshelves. Like, a lot. They’re really pretty, okay?

But at the moment I have space where I live to have all those bookshelves and to spread the books out nicely. If I were where that didn’t allow for bookshelf space as much, then having ebooks is a better option.

You save so much space when you have a collection of ebooks living on the cloud somewhere, so if you’re living a in small space, they’re a goer.

Easily borrow from the library

When I discovered the wonders of the Libby App and Overdrive at the Auckland Library, I was well stoked. Now I borrow ebooks from the library all the time (as well as audiobooks), and it’s a great way to quickly have access to a book.

They don’t fall on your face as often

Okay, so this is a bit random, but if you’re a big reader (and I suspect you are!) then lying on your back with your book above your nose is a great way to read. Until you lose your grip as you turn a page and the book inevitably falls on your face. With an ebook? You can still drop it, sure, but it’s going to be less likely and less heavy.

The Cons of eBooks

They don’t look as nice as physical books on a bookshelf.

Going back to my point about pretty bookshelves … the first con to ebooks is that they just don’t look that pretty. In fact, you can’t even see them without opening an app. And while their covers might be nice, it’s just not the same. I know you know what I mean.

They can be distracting to read.

I don’t know about you but if I’m reading on my phone or tablet, then I find being on a screen quite distracting. Some apps will disallow notifications over the top of your reading apps, which is so good but I still find that just the act of being on screen to be quite distracting.

Perhaps it’s a hard-wired thing now … which is concerning. What do you think?

Reading can more difficult on a screen.

We look at how reading on a screen can be great in low light, but if you’re using a tablet that has a shine to it, you immediately get a bit of glare.

This is not only bad for our eyes, but it makes it a bit trickier to read in the first place. You want the physical experience of reading to be easy, even if the words you’re consuming are hard to take in.

The battery can run out.

Oh, the battery. If you’re not on to it, you’ll often find yourself opening up your tablet, phone, or Kindle to keep reading that really riveting book only to see that wee battery symbol flashing at you.

You know what you don’t have to charge? A physical book. Who knew?

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Conclusion

Those are some of the pros and cons of eBooks, but I wanted to know: do the pros outweigh the cons? Or are you a hard-core physical book lover? Let me know in the comments, and also add anything else you might include in this list.