New technology only sometimes completely replaces the technology that came before. We’re well into the streaming age of television, for example, but broadcast TV still exists and likely will for decades to come. It’s the same way for ebooks: The market is growing but paper books are still extremely popular.
And that makes sense to me. I love reading ebooks, especially while traveling: It’s hard to beat the convenience of hundreds of books taking up the space of one small e-reader. But sometimes, after reading a book electronically, I want to get a paper copy. Why? Because paper books are permanent and tangible in a way that ebooks just aren’t.
If you really love a book, there’s nothing like a paper copy. Here are a few things that paper books can do that ebooks just can’t.
You can lend them out
If you have a physical copy of a book there is nothing stopping you from lending it to a friend or family member. All you need to do is pick up the book and hand it to them. This can be annoying, sure—some people are terrible about giving back books. But lending out a book to someone you like talking to is great because you can now talk about the book you just lent them. It’s a small thing you can do to build community.
[Related: Keep your brain in shape by reading more books]
Yes, it is possible to lend out some Kindle books, but there are limits. Only some publishers allow their ebooks to be lent out, and you can only lend them to people who also use Kindle devices. It’s complicated—mostly for reasons that have more to do with lawyers than technology but complicated nonetheless. Paper books, meanwhile, are simple: You just hand them to another person and they can read. It’s great.
You can write in them
I’m going to be honest: This one doesn’t apply to me. I was raised to never write in books and I cringe when I see someone else do it. For many people, though, a big part of the appeal of a paper book is the ability to underline occasional text and write free-hand in the margins. Ebooks try to replicate this functionality, somewhat, but nothing that exists is currently as flexible as a pen in your hand. If you’re the kind of person who writes in a book you should probably stick to paper copies.
You can show them off
There’s no way around this: A shelf full of books just looks great. Across the room from me right now, is a shelf I built with my wife full of books we both love—my cat is sleeping on them. It’s cozy, and it’s exactly the kind of thing an ebook collection can’t give you. Even when my cat isn’t asleep, though, it’s something people who are in our house can look at to get a sense of who we are. I like that.
[Related: How to protect your books long term]
You can pass them on
Do you feel done with a book you’ve read? As in, you’re pretty sure you never want to read it again? Well, if it’s an ebook it just kinda sits there, in your digital collection, forever. You can delete the file from your device if you want to free up storage space and that’s about it.
That’s not how paper books work. You can sell them, for one thing, or you can just give them away. You could stick them in a little free library, or hand them to your friend. The book keeps existing when you’re done reading it, basically. And another thing: Digital books can’t be inherited by your family or other loved ones, according to the AARP. That’s because the licensing of the ebook belongs to you, and can’t be transferred, even in death. That’s different from a paper book collection, which could hypothetically stay in your family for generations or even be passed on to a library.
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