Yesterday, a friend mentioned how they were happy that over the weekend they had managed to finish a book they had been meaning to read several months ago. They had done this by not scrolling on social media, switched off their phone, and picked up the library book instead.
When it comes to my phone, I’m fairly disciplined about scrolling. I don’t tend to get sucked into social media for more than a few minutes at a time. I tend to check in for any updates and browse new posts, but I have a short attention span when it comes to ads, so if I’m not seeing posts by those I follow, I don’t get sucked into mindless scrolling.
Ebooks: easy reading before bed
As someone who doesn’t use a Kindle reader, I read my ebooks through my Kindle app on my phone. It’s handy for bed, as I find it relaxing to read my KU books before I sleep – usually a good horror. Ghost stories before I sleep relaxes me. Did I mention I’m weird? Well, now you know, lol.
Paperbacks: better to read in the morning
I tend to read paperbacks while I have my morning coffee. I recently bought a set of expandable bookends for the coffee table which have allowed ease of access to my TBR books, which were previously in a pile. There’s something comforting about the smell of a paperback – as well as the smell of coffee.
Ebooks vs paperbacks: which is better for reading?
If forced to choose, I would say, given my reasons above that ebooks are better in terms of convenience. I have been saved from boredom many times by having my Kindle app there on my phone and tablet, whereas I don’t always have a paperback to hand. However, if we’re talking about reading for pleasure, then paperbacks are better, hands down. If I like an ebook I tend to buy the paperback to read again, and to display it on a bookshelf for aesthetic reasons.
What do you think? Which do you prefer?
Leilanie Stewart 
I’ve converted almost exclusively to ebooks, read through the app on my phone. Paperbacks are still great, but they’re inconvenient for reading in bed–apart from keeping the man awake with the light (and those little clip-onto-the-book reading lights are fiddly so I gave up on them) I usually wake up at some point to find the book on the floor when it fell while I was reading. It makes going on holiday a lot easier too – the weight of just a couple of paperbacks adds much to an already-close-to-the-limit suitcase, whereas a phone containing dozens, nay hundreds, of ebooks weighs no more for them. The waiting at the doctor or dentist, or waiting in the car for whatever reason, the phone is always there with books aplenty. It’s no contest, I’m afraid, it’s ebooks all the way for me now – and did I mention that the size of the text can be increased as eyesight dims with age? 🙂
Good point about holiday. ☺️ It’s great that once they’re downloaded on Kindle they don’t need a Wi-Fi connection to read, which makes the convenience factor even higher. I suppose overall I do tend to read more ebooks these days, though I still have a weak spot for the smell of a fresh new paperback. Also, great point about increasing the text size – I discovered that by happenstance once while trying to add a bookmark. Another handy thing is being able to use the search feature, as well as jumping easily between chapters because of the title menu. Just realising I could have said so much more about ebooks in this post! 😂
I write posts and realise they could have been fuller – but it does leave something for your readers to say, so no problem! 😊
[…] one of my previous posts about reading preferences, eBooks vs paperbacks: which is best for reading, I mentioned how I tend to read more eBooks overall because of the accessibility. Lately, it has […]