Ever since I got my neat little B&N Nook Simple Touch, I’ve been thinking about how it compares with the classic pile-of-processed-wood-pulp normal book…
It surprises me how close the e-ink based readers get to the feel of a real “made-from-bits-of-dead-tree” book, it’s actually pretty startling, especially for an established bibliophile like me…
So, here’s the head-to-head
Size and Weight;
Real Book; varies depending on the book in question, can range from a few ounces to a few pounds
Reader; depends on the reader in question, for the sake of argument, in this post, I’ll use the weight of my B&N NST, weight of the NST? 7.48 Oz. (212 Grams)
Winner; Reader
It doesn’t matter if I’m reading “something light” (how about this leaflet, “Famous Jewish Sports Legends?” ) or the copy of The Ultimate Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (all five books in the Trilogy plus “Young Zaphod Plays it Safe”), the NST is still a svelte 7.48 Oz (Real UHHGTTG weight; 1.8 Lbs)
Capacity;
NST has 2 GB of memory, is capable of holding 1,000+ books, has a MicroSD card slot capable of supporting a 32GB card, which can be loaded with even more books, but just going by the stock 2 GB memory/1,000 book limit, it takes up far less space than 1,000 Real Books, Real Book capacity is limited only by the size/number/capacity of your physical bookshelves, but also bear in mind that, let’s say 1,000 copies of a 1.8 Lb hardcover book would weigh 1,800 Lbs!.. the NST packs that amount of capacity in one 7.48 Oz device
Real Book; limited by the space on your bookshelves, and the size of the books themselves, physically, the Real Books have the capacity advantage as you can always build more bookshelves, once you fill up all storage on the NST, you’d have to either delete/archive old books or buy another memory card
Physical winner; Real Books
Practical/usability winner; Reader, with an E-Reader, you can take those 1,000 books with you wherever you go, to take 1,000 Real Books with you, you’d need to cart along an inconveniently large building with you
…however, carting around 1,000 Real Books would give you a better workout…
Interface
Reader; gives you the ability to select multiple different fonts, font sizes, and formatting, customizing displayed text to your personal liking, don’t like the small type of your latest e-book? bump up the font size, hate the font chosen? change it, make the book look the way you want it to
if the book has footnotes/endnotes, tapping the note link takes you right to the note, tap again to return to the page you were on
reading multiple books?, the reader remembers where you are in each book, if you have the same reader app on your computer/smartphone/tablet and sync is turned on, you can start on your tablet/smartphone, stop, and pick up on your reader right where you left off on the tablet/smartphone
Real Book; Non-adjustable fonts/spacing/formatting, just what the publisher wanted it to be, type too small? get a pair of magnifying reading glasses, or a “Large Print Edition” if available
Footnotes/endnotes? flip to the pertinent note section, just make sure you don’t forget where you left off
Multiple books? you’ll need some form of physical bookmark, be it an actual bookmark, slip of paper, business card, or dog-earing the page
Winner; Reader - the control of formatting, logical note-linking, and remembering your place in multiple books make reading more natural and organic
Interaction with book
Reader; E-ink readers are good, dammned good, actually, the e-ink looks for all intents and purposes like real ink on real paper, the display has a non-glare matte finish and a very slight textured feel to it that feels very paper-like, it can be read in direct sunlight, or under normal room lighting with no eyestrain, glare, or washing out, “swiping” to turn pages on the display feels very natural, most modern E-Ink readers feel far closer to that elusive “real book” feel than a backlit LCD based tablet/reader like the Kindle Fire or Nook Color
Basically, if you’re looking to re-create that “real book” feel with an E-Reader, the E-Ink models (Kindle, Nook, Sony Reader, etc…) are FAR superior to the backlit LCD based tablets (Kindle Fire, Nook Color, iPad, Samsung Galaxy Tab, etc…), just don’t expect to watch Netflix, surf the web, watch YouTube or do anything even partially multimedia-intense with them, they’re Electronic Book Readers ONLY
Real Book; Still the King, real pages, real page turning action, the smell of processed paper, the feel of paper and ink, the tactile experience of a real book is something a Reader CANNOT completely recreate, and it’s something any true bibliophile will never give up, there’s something intangible, something real, something good about curling up with a real, actual, factual Book, the readers get darned close, but will never actually get there due to the lack of physical pages
Winner; Real Book
Durability
Reader; aside from the screen, Readers are remarkably durable, as long as they’re not dropped/stepped on/have liquid spilled on them, the books themselves won’t get ripped, torn, dog eared, pages won’t fall out of them, the spine/binding won’t break down and fail, get scribbled in or defaced, covers bent/wrinkled/torn off, e-book data files themselves just don’t wear out, even if you break the reading device, you can install them on the replacement and they’ll be good to go again
Real Book; I’ve lost count of the number of Real Books I’ve worn out, I’ve probably purchased HHGTTG at least four times, 'cause I keep wearing them out, my copy of The Dilbert Principle is battered and worn, and my Far Side cartoon books are scattered all over the house (what can I say, my nephew’s discovered them and loves them )
Winner; Reader
Power/Runtime
Reader; E-Ink readers, with WiFi off and reading an hour a day can go approx. one to two MONTHS between charges, color LCD tablets/readers/smartphones range from 3-12 hours, depending on battery capacity and screen brightness
Real Book; it’s a real book, it doesn’t need power to work
Winner; Real Book
Price/value
Reader; once the initial hardware investment has been made, e-books are about the same price as real books, despite what the reader vendors want you to believe, the only real actual expense you need for an E-Book is the Reader itself, that can range from surprisingly cheap to surprisingly expensive;
Cheapest option; an E-Reader application for your smartphone/tablet/computer, price can be anywhere from Free to a few dollars, E-book reading experience depends on the device in question, smartphones are the closest thing to an actual Reader device, but may be hampered by the small screen (iPhone series and the 3.5" Android devices in particular), screen protectors and durable cases (like the OtterBox) are strongly recommended
Mid-price option; Dedicated E-Reader like the Amazon Kindle/Sony Reader/ B&N Nook. E-Ink based readers are hovering around $100 for the device, and come with a charging cable you can use on your computer, free hint though, you don’t NEED the dedicated “brick” AC adapter if you already have a modern Smartphone, I charge my NST with the little Apple USB Charging Plug that came with my iPhone, it puts out the required 5V AC / 1A necessary to charge my Nook
You also don’t generally NEED a case, or screen protector on an E-Ink device, the screens are pretty fingerprint resistant, and you likely won’t need the extra protection of an anti-scratch protector like the Zagg Invisishield, unless you plan to bring the device everywhere with you, or to the beach
Expensive option; A Tablet type system like the Kindle Fire, Nook Color, Samsung Galaxy Tab, or iPad, these are basically laptops without a physical keyboard or optical drive, they are media consumption devices, and can basically “do it all”, e-books, streaming video and music, .mp3’s, but you pay a price for that ability, $200 and up, and for these devices I would STRONGLY reccomend BOTH a case AND a screen protector like the Zagg Invisishield, mainly due to the high cost of the device, and the fact that you’ll be taking it with you everywhere, just like a smartphone
Real Book; no electronic reader necessary, it’s a physical book, and far cheaper than an e-book, actually, a physical book represents a greater value than an E-Book, as you actually get an actual, physical book for your, oh let’s say, $8, the $8 you’re spending on an “E-Book” is in actuality, purchasing a license to use a downloaded data file on your reader device, you don’t actually own the book, you don’t actually have anything physical or tangible for the $8 you’ve spent, I can’t “reach into” my NST and pull out a specific batch of data and say *this is that book I just purchased, see, it’s a copy of Terry Pratchett’s “Soul Music” *, wheras I can go over to my bookshelf and pull out my actua, physical copy of HHGTTG, or Soul Music, or The Dilbert Principle, or one of my Far Side books, or a Dave Barry compendium, or… well, you get the picture
But then again, it’s easier to carry around my NST, or open my Nook app, Apple iBooks app, or the Amazon Kindle app on my iPhone, and be able to have on it the UHGTTG, Soul Music, Hogfather, Bram Stokers Dracula, the Zombie Survival Guide, etc…, it’s easier and more convenient than carrying around the physical books themselves
Final Results;
Winner; too close to call, depends on your preferences
E-Readers are convenient, lightweight, can hold a decent library of books in far less space than the equivalent physical books
Real Books are cheaper, and require no power, but take up more room, wear out with extensive reading, and can be heavier than a reader
Personally, I give a very, very slight edge to the E-Reader, the ability to carry multiple books in a device not much bigger than a paperback book itself is quite amazing to me, that said, I still loves me a real page-turny real book, the tactile experience has to count for something
so, the final results;
Size/Weight; Reader wins
Capacity; Tie
Reader holds more in a smaller form factor, but has memory limitations
Real books limited only by the size of the bookshelves in your Book-Storage-Room
Interface; Reader wins
Interaction with book; Real Book wins
Durability; Reader wins
Power/Runtime; Real Book wins
Price/Value; Real Book wins
Reader has two wins, Real book has three wins, the Tie is dropped from the competition, so based on the remaining scores, the OVERALL winner is…
THE REAL BOOK!