Why E-Books Are Great

I prefer e-books to print. Regardless of your opinions on the matter, here are some advantages of e-books. ***

 Reason #1: Your book collection takes up less space

I remember collecting books in high school. I used to have boxes upon boxes full of them. Every time I got a new book or wanted to read an old one, I'd have to take out my entire collection and rearrange them. I quickly ran out of space and was forced to throw away many of them. Now, I store them all on my tiny e-reader. It takes up hardly any space at all and allows me to bring my whole library with me wherever I go.

Reason #2: Built in Dictionaries

E-readers help me increase my vocabulary. It's easy to look up words, all I have to do is highlight them and I can retrieve the definition. I've come across many words that I didn't know the meaning of while I was reading books, but usually forget to look them up in the dictionary later. I'm too into a book to take the time to actually search my house for a dictionary and then sift through the giant collection of words in order to find the one I'm looking for. E-reader dictionaries only take a few seconds to use.

Reason #3: My books don't fall apart no matter how many times I read them.

I've been teased about this by people I know in person. I treat my books roughly. I've gotten brand new novels before and read them once only to have them fall apart by the end of my reading. I tried to avoid this by getting hard cover books, but they actually fall apart even quicker for me.

I've read my e-reader a million times. There is no destroyed spine or pages that are falling out of the book, no matter how many times I read any of the novels on it. I love it. It always made me nervous opening a book because I wanted it to look new forever. My e-reader looks the same all the time. And it saves me money because I no longer have to buy replacements.

Reason #4: The books cost less.

And allow me to buy and read more. Yay!

Reason #5: The books are easier to purchase.

I live in the middle of nowhere. We have a tiny bookstore where I live, but it doesn't have popular books like Hunger Games or Harry Potter or other books I might be looking for. In order to get those, I have to travel an hour away, which is something I have to do to purchase most things.

A trip out shopping for the day can be a lot of fun, but I can't do it often because of the long drive. I go shopping maybe once a month and have to jam pack everything together. It's exhausting.

With my e-reader, I can lay in bed, even when I am sick and tired and in my pajamas and easily purchase any books I like using the online store and my internet connection.

Reason #6: I can read in the dark without a flash light.

You have no idea how long I've wished to do this. I never have flash lights available nearby and most of the time I can only read after I've finished all my tasks for the day and my boyfriend is sleeping next to me (so the lights are off.) It's nice to have an e-reader. The light isn't annoying to the person sleeping, but bright enough for the reader to see.

Reason #7: It's easier for anyone to get published.

Before now, writers had to go through agents and publishing companies in order to publish their books. Now anyone can do it. Some people view this as a bad thing because poor literature will get published. I view it as a way to stop censorship. What a small group of people (publishers and agents) think we should all enjoy, isn't necessary what we all want to read. It allows readers to make decisions for themselves and find books that fit their preferences. It also allows people who aren't writing for trends, but may be writing a good book, to get their work out there.

There's nothing wrong with the books that go through agents and publishing houses, but it's nice to have more freedom.

Which do you prefer: e-readers or print books? Do you own an e-reader?

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*** I own a kindle fire and based this article on my experiences with it. Not all e-readers have the features that a kindle fire does.