Hello Friends! How are you today? Hope you are getting tons of free time to read your current read.

I am an avid reader (duh, that is why I have this blog), and I love my paperbacks. But every now and then I would think about getting a kindle. I used to google “Kindle v/s Paperback” or “Pros and Cons of Kindle” to see if I need a kindle. And though I love my paperbacks, I always thought of giving kindle a try. I told myself that one day I’ll buy a kindle and see what the fuzz is all about. And lo and behold, last August, my brother gifted me Kindle Paperwhite!

 

Now that I, too, am using a kindle for quite some time, I can also write a post about cold war between kindle and paperback.

So, here we go!

 

 

• Size and Weight

Paperbacks can come in varying sizes. Long and slim. Short and fat. And though there’s a saying “Size doesn’t matter”, it does matter in this case. Sometimes the book will be too long or too fat to fit in your bag. So you end up carrying it in your hand and you might need a massage at the end of the day depending on how heavy the book was. Also, when placing the book on your bookshelf, having books of uneven height is a big bookworm pet peeve.

On the other hand, kindle (or any e-reader for that matter) is just one size and weight. It’s easy to slip in any bag and is not even heavy if you have to carry it in your hand.

 

• Mobility

With size and weight comes mobility. Again, the paperbacks are sometimes difficult to carry around. I remember when I used to take my paperback to college. The night before, I would check my bag and see which textbooks (which I might need in college the next day) I can leave behind in order to fit in my fat Harry Potter.

But with kindle, you don’t have that problem. It can easily fit in between my textbooks.

 

• No. of books

I mostly read one book at a time and therefore I carry only one book with me. But there are many booklovers out there (Hi Buddy!) who NEED to carry more than one book. What if this book finishes and I still have an hour left to reach my destination? What if I suddenly feel the need to read a romance novel instead of a crime fiction? What if this book ends with a cliff hanger? I definitely have to take the next book in the series with me too. The ‘What ifs’ are endless. This may result in carrying an extra bag with you. One for your regular stuff and another just for books.

But with kindle, you can carry thousands of books with you without breaking a sweat. You can even read multiple books at a time without even losing the last page you read.

 

• The Touch

Ask any booklover. We LOVE to feel and smell of the paperbacks. We feel the cover and its embossed title. We feel the pages. We smell the pages. We like the sound of page turning. We hug our paperbacks with love. We slap our paperbacks with frustration. We run our fingers through the spines when passing by a bookshelf. Be it new or old, we love them equally.

But when it comes to kindle, this aesthetic feature is missing. This is one of the reasons why I kept pushing the thought of buying a kindle. Now that I have a kindle I can say that I was right. All that it feels and smells of is plastic. And we have enough of plastic in our environment, thank you.

 

• Bookshelf

Bookshelf = shelf for books

Now this is only possible if you have paperbacks, kindle is of no use here. Yes I agree, not everyone has the space to have a bookshelf, then the kindle is of use. But most of us want to have a bookshelf where we can proudly place and show our paperbacks. And I also believe that every booklover dreams of having a personal library. (Think of the library from The Beauty and The Beast)

 

• Engagement

I don’t know about all of you, but this is what I have experienced.

While reading paperbacks, I am more invested, engaged and in sync with the plot and characters. I am simply not distracted by the noises around me. I don’t even hear when my mum calls me for the fifth time. Or was it sixth? I don’t know. I was busy unraveling the murder mysteries in And Then There Were None. (Agatha Christie = Queen of Crime!!!)

But with kindle, I can be easily distracted and I don’t even need a major noise for that. I need to look away from the screen after ever two pages. I don’t know why.

 

• Other points of differences
• Signed copies – We are proud to show off our collection of signed paperbacks. You can’t get a signed ebook.
• Dictionary – When stuck at a word you don’t know the meaning of, kindle’s built-in dictionary comes to use instantly. For paperbacks, you need to search for the meaning in a dictionary.
• Reading in dark – You can read kindle in the dark without disturbing others, but that won’t be the case with paperbacks.
• Free Books and New Authors – With kindle, you can get access to free books which you try and see if you like them. And if you do like them, you end up adding new authors to your radar. Getting free paperbacks is usually a rare occasion.
• Great in pictures – Like me, if you have a Bookstagram (Instagram for books, check mine out @rubina_reads) you have to agree that paperbacks look way much prettier and alive in pictures. With kindle, they look plain and flat.
• Break from Electronics – Paperbacks provide us a break from the electronics we use in our lives. It’s a temporary respite from the machine world. But with kindle, we are again busying ourselves with electronics. And to be honest, we have enough of electronics we need to keep charging.

 

So this is my contribution towards the “Kindle v/s Paperback” cold war.

Both have their plus points. Both have their flaws too. It’s all up to you which one you prefer. Which one is feasible? Which one works for you? It’s your choice.

Personally, I love my paperbacks more. But that doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy my kindle.

 

At the end of the day, be it paperback or kindle, the sole purpose of both of them is to takes us to a world that is different from the one we are currently living in. To make the story appear real in our imagination. To make us believe that these characters are real people. To entertain us and to teach us. And to make a lasting impression that cannot be erased off easily. If this purpose is fulfilled, it won’t matter if it’s a paperback or an e-book. It will stay with you always.

 

These are my thoughts. But I would like to know yours too. Do connect with me on any of my social media and let me know what you think.

Happy Reading!

Love, Rubina