Should I Purchase a Digital Copy or a Physical Copy of a Book?

The world is changing with technology. E-book and digital books are making it convenient for book lovers to instantly download and read, whereas, in the old day, readers had to wait until they could purchase a copy from their local bookstores. They also could rent a copy from the library but it was almost impossible to be the lucky one who got a copy not already rented out. Nowadays, in today's trend, it comes to the buyer's preference. Readers have more powers on where to buy their book. As a reader, I like the physical feel of a book. I am also an impatient reader. If there is a book that I, eagerly want to read and cannot wait to go to a store, I download it and read it off my Kindle.

I would guess that my problem with Kindle is the convenience factor. There are times that I don't have my device with me. It also runs out of battery if you put it aside after a read. The next that you go to it, you cannot read until you begin to charge it. It can become unconvineint. Then, there is iBook so readily available on both my iPhone and iPad. I slowly found myself to use Apple to download books. I do enjoy reading my books on Kindle too. However, the books that I am reading, now, tend to be all on my Apple devices. It is more convenient. My iPhone is with me all the time when I am outside. There are times that I am in a coffee shop waiting for a friend. That is when I can use the time to read a bit before my friend arrives. If I am at a friend's place, they are on the phone, I get to quickly continue on reading a few pages.

I go to the library to borrow books on a subject that I am studying. My favorite place to go is an actual bookstore. There, everything is organized and displayed beautifully. With the digital world, it is hard to jump from one genre to another without getting lost in it all. There are a lot of distractions online. In the search of a genre, you have limitation to six to ten listings a page. Bookstores, however, are perfect. You can walk and browse each section, the entire shelf, 100 to 200 books are all organized with the author's last names. You get to quickly compare and read the back of each book. Bookstores also make it easy to notice newly released books.

It is not that you cannot online. Amazon lists the top 100 bestselling titles. However, you still don't get to grab each book and take a quick look. Online, you have to go through each book page separately, open, read, close and return to the main page. It is a different feel. Some may like it but for me, it feels nicer when I am shopping in a bookstore. The price range ends up to be the same if you are ordering the physical version online and have to pay for shipping. With libraries, they are slower at bringing titles in. They don't have the latest and most popular books may not become available for marketing purposes.

I think that there are people who like books more than digital. There are also those who only download digital copies onto their devices. I, personally, like the feeling of holding a book when I am going to rest or go to bed. However, I do also read from my iPhone and sometimes Kindle for books that I have yet to finish reading. I do re-read books that I like, as well. I would think that many book lovers who want the convenience of reading from wherever they are, would be like me.

It is hard for me to predict that in the near future that there would be much change in e-book and book purchases for readers. We have readers of all kinds with plenty of options available. I am one who uses most of them. And, to be working at publishing, I can view and compare. It is evident that from consumer's purchasing habits, all of the bookseller platforms available will continue to have a promising future, for some time. So, go ahead and get that book that you have been waiting to read through online ordering, or dropping by your favorite bookstore or getting a digital version so that you can start reading it from wherever you are and as soon as possible.

Nazanin Marzban

BSc/Pysch, Certified Coach, Author

Crownlight Publisher

info@crownlightpublisher.com

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