Friday 30 October 2015

Why I love ebooks...

To celebrate School Library Month, I’ve been asked by MyVoucherCodes to write about ebooks – how I feel about them and how I think they change the way young people read and interact with books.

I love talking about ebooks, not just because I am a Kindle addict but also because without ebooks, I would be reading probably one book a month instead of the 20+ I read in an average month now. None of this - my love of reading, my blog (and the friends made through it) – would exist without ebooks and that’s why I always try and encourage people to read them as it’s a great way of being introduced to the joys of reading, discovering the type of books you like and finding a favourite author or two.

For me, there is no competition between ebooks and print books. Both tell the same stories and encourage reading, which is never a bad thing. Here are nine reasons why I love ebooks.



One
You can read ebooks conveniently, any time of day or night. I hate when it’s getting darker or I’m reading through the night and I have to turn a light or lamp on, get into the right position so it’s hitting my book and sit there uncomfortably reading a few more pages. Then I have to get up and turn the light off when I’m done. My Kindle tablet is backlit and that light is so underrated! Now I can snuggle up under my covers and carry on reading my book all night with no problem at all.



Two
They allow authors without traditional publishing deals to find a voice – and share it. There are so many indie/self-published authors who are yet to find a big publisher willing to publish their books, yet they write brilliant stories. I know many self-published authors whose books are always at the top of my TBR and without ebooks, and the authors being able to publish them digitally through Amazon, their writing would go undiscovered which would be a shame.



Three
There’s always a book bargain waiting for you. Have you seen the prices of ebooks? A lot of them are impossible to resist and top up our e-readers with an attractive selection of books very, very quickly. Sure, all ebook readers end up with a One-Click addiction but it’s worth it! Some of them are even free.



Four
You don’t even need an e-reader to read them. I went months without a Kindle, reading ebooks on my computer and phone. An ebook is always there waiting to be read, regardless of what device you have with you. And thanks to the Kindle app, I never need to worry about forgetting to take my book or Kindle with me. I can just sneak a few minutes reading on my phone or through the app on my Uni computer. Each device syncs with the others too so if you’ve read chapter sixteen on your Kindle, your phone’s Kindle app will automatically reach chapter sixteen too.



Five
No more waiting for the postman to deliver your books and no more trekking to the shops in the rubbish weather because you need that book right now. Just buy it for your Kindle and it will be there, delivered in a matter of seconds for you to read straight away.



Six
Ebooks take up no room. Yes I have reached that point where I can barely enter a room without being attacked by a hundred toppled over books. My ebooks are safe and secure in my Kindle – and this way nobody can tell me off for buying too many books because they will never know… *hides order history on Amazon*



Seven
I can finish a book on-the-go and start a new one straight away. No longer do I have to work out whether I’m going to finish my paperback during the day and therefore need to pack an extra book just in case.



Eight
Without ebooks there would be no Netgalley. Sob. I can’t even imagine my life without Netgalley! All those beautiful ebooks that I download, pre-release, from Netgalley so I can read and review them before the print version is even available. Netgalley is such a vital website for so many book bloggers, especially those who like to focus on new books and advance reading copies. The excitement of reading a book before it’s published never goes away.



Nine
No more looooong debates about which books to bring on holiday with you. Actually, that’s a lie, I still have those debates but at least with my Kindle, I can bring a thousand extra books with me to choose from as well. Who fancies dragging their entire book collection along with them on holiday?




As for changing the way young people read, I think ebooks have made reading a lot more accessible for children. No longer do they have to worry about lobbing a book around with them at school or reading something their friends might not approve of, they can just sit back with their phone or tablet for a little while and read. Ebooks often feel faster to get through than print books as well so the more they enjoy the first book, the quicker and easier it is for them to carry on with the next book, and the one after that… Even better, so many ebooks from libraries are free so the kids don’t even have to spend all their pocket money, once they have realised how great books are.

For even younger children – it’s now even easier to introduce them to books, especially if your kids are known for taking your phones and iPads and investigating – just make sure you’ve left a book open for them and see how they react! Children’s ebooks especially are so interactive that it makes them fun to read and any assumption that reading is boring (never!) would be proven wrong.

Whilst most children might choose to pick up an iPad rather than a book, in the digital age picking up an iPad is picking up a book at the same time – so who knows what world could be entered and stories could be discovered?

Are you an ebook fan? Why do you love reading ebooks?

8 comments:

  1. Nothing to add, but completely agree with all the points. Think you have summed up perfectly the reasons I love my kindle and ridiculously large ebook collection.

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    1. Thanks, Rachel! We do like hoarding ebooks don't we... :)

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  2. I like e-books for a lot of the same reasons as you-I like the amount of bargains you can grab on Amazon and Smashwords, I like taking that on holiday instead of a bag of paperbacks to choose from, and I find I can read these faster than traditional paperbacks. So there are many reasons to love the e-reader! I admit though that if I love an e-book, I buy a paperback copy for my collection!

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    1. Glad you agree. I always buy paperback copies of my favourite books too, I definitely love collecting paperbacks but I prefer reading ebooks!

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  3. Great post, Sophie and I agree with everything you've said. I mainly read on Kindle but I still buy books for my shelves if a gorgeous edition of a book I've loved is released. :)

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    1. Thanks, Hayley! Same here - nothing beats a beautiful paperback on your shelf :)

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  4. This is a really well written post. I'm trying to be more open to the idea of ebooks, but I have to say, I've had the complete opposite experience on just about every point. I love lugging books around, struggling to arrange my shelves, and darting off to Barnes & Noble in terrible weather is a favorite pastime of mine. But the same thing doesn't work for everyone. I'm glad you're reading as much as you are and enjoying ebooks. This was definitely an insightful post for me and I appreciate you sharing your thoughts. :)

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    1. Thank you, Sierra! I definitely understand what you mean and I know I couldn't just read ebooks and no paperbacks, I'd miss them too much! But the convenience and practicality of ebooks wins everytime for me as - especially for those late nights when I want to pick and stay up with a new book :)

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