EBooks

  A couple of days ago I had a really interesting conversation with my friend about books. It was a pretty popular debate among many book readers I feel. Ebooks versus normal books. I think there is some inevitability in the idea that physical books are and will be less popular the longer ebooks exist. More people’s first experience with reading will be through a screen than ever before. What do I think? As someone who has been part of the few generations that exist in the between period, I’m definitely not too worried about the future of physical books. They will always have their place, but sometimes necessity will demand that we use digital versions of these things that we love.


For some perspective, I live in an apartment that doesn’t really have the most space given what I already have here. I have a huge space for my Magic stuff, a separate space for where I can paint and assemble minis, another desk for my computer/work space, and then all the other stuff like a dining table. Even if you are unfamiliar with those hobbies, it’s not hard to imagine that they can end up taking a lot of space. So, in a bid to help keep the amount of open space in the apartment above something that could be described as cramped, I began to digitize my collection of books. There are actually a lot of really cool places to find digital versions of things. Google books, kindle, nook, and even some other sites that teachers wouldn’t publicly endorse have offered me almost everything I’ve ever needed when it comes to accessing things to read. That isn’t to say it is a better experience. I do miss the feel of physically turning pages, but that’s why I kept a few of my favorites/sentimental picks on a bookshelf so that I’m not completely devoid of paper books in my life. Yet, for the sake of keeping space, the majority of books I buy, whether it’s for classes or personal use, will be digital. One other cool thing I found during this process was that a lot of archives/museums/libraries are working to have digital versions of their collections posted. Now accessing them without either being a student or paying is hard, but that is part of why I feel you should take the opportunity if you are currently attending a school that is able to own a big archive. 


To bring it back from the little tangent, while I do like physical books better, I don’t really miss them. Like I said earlier, there are many things about the online stores that make getting the books I want way easier than making a trip out to the bookstore. I never have to worry about carrying a bunch of heavy books and definitely don’t need to worry about damaging them when I go out at all. That reads like I’m sponsored by someone but that’s sort of just how I feel. I’m not here to say that you will have the same experience as me, just that maybe you should try it. 


Probably a bit of a weird one again, the last few have been. I’ve just been a little busy with other things in life so I can’t really devote as much time as I would like, but I’m keeping at it. Just wanna keep saying thanks to anyone who even reads these :D.

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