What do you prefer Paperbacks or e books?

If someone asked me this question a few days back, I would have strongly voted in favor of paperbacks. After all, I have been reading them for almost two and a half decades.

The woody smell of paper, the slightly pungent odor of ink, the sweet rustle of pages had been comforting me for a long long time. Every time I find myself in a library, with rows upon rows of books, I feel as if I have been transported into another world, where new adventures are waiting for me, strangers to befriend me, new ideas to invigorate me!

In an effort to embrace new technologies, I had tried reading books on net, mainly book reading sites, where classics are available for free. But, somehow reading them on monitor did not appeal me. And, my romance with paperbacks continued.

But, a few days back, I downloaded an e reader app called kobo on my android tablet, and in a blink, a whole new world opened for me. I discovered that eBooks can also be as much fun as a real book. In fact, the eBooks are much easier to carry, unobtrusively lying in your tab or phone, coming alive on a single click.

Add to this, the eBooks are much less expensive. In fact, most of the classics are available without any cost. Since, the books do not take much time to be streamed, you can simply check them out, and decide whether to continue reading, or just simply delete them and move on. While, if you ever buy or borrow books, it is hardly possible to replace them, and, at times, you are stuck with undesirable ones, bought on a whim.

In a way, I find my die hard loyalty to paperbacks slightly shifting towards the electronic medium. And, now Google has launched Google Play Books in India, and even the new releases by Indian writers can be downloaded within a few seconds.

Though, I found them way too expensive as compared to the paperbacks available in the open market. And, in a way, I don’t feel comfortable paying a hefty amount for something virtual.

But, novelty has an obvious charm, and it has inspired me to download quite a few books on Kobo, Google Play Books and kindle app, and hopefully would read and review them soon.

While the debate between paperbacks and eBooks and which one is the best e reader can continue forever, I think the reader in me has come out on the top. As the medium may change, but my love for written words is never going to dwindle! I solemnly welcome the epistles of knowledge whether they come engraved on wooden pulp or stream through the invisible portal!