Electronic Books vs. Traditional Books

With the presence of Kindle, iPad and other electronic book readers, it seems like the traditional books are losing to their electronic versions. Geoffrey Flowler and Jeffrey Trachtenberg from the Wall Street Journal think that traditional books may not be able to survive the digital age. Just like in the music industry, people have turned away from physical records and CDs, and embraced the new format of MP3s. David Kusek writes in his book “The Future of Music,” that music is becoming more of a service than a product. It is about “accessing” it, not owning it. Maybe it will be the same for the press industry. For books, it will not be about owning the physical books anymore, but simply about accessing the content. 

However, when Apple first introduced iPad in Hong Kong in July in a book expo, the above theory was not proven. During the expo, it was reported that traditional books appeared more popular than any forms of electronic books. People were more excited about traditional books than the iPad. In the traditional books section, people were lining up to purchase latest traditional books, in contrast to the desolate electronic readers section. 

I was once a “bookworm.”  I am obsessed with the world in these books and well as the physical books themselves. I like touching these books, smelling the scent of the ink, and feeling their weight. I like the cover, the spine, and even the little page numbers in them because they indicate a “process” – from discovering to experiencing, then to loving. For me, reading is not just an emotional experience; it is also a tactile experience. Literature is art, and I like owning the greatest artworks. I like seeing them lining up on my bookshelves, whether or not I have read them all.

And I know I’m not the only one. I asked several of my friends, and most of them told me that they actually prefer traditional books. “Reading on the screen hurts my eye,” they told me, “I just like books. They are so beautiful.”

I also heard from one of my designer friends that today’s book design is all about the tactile experience. It is not about the content anymore. The book design needs to create a tactile experience that readers don’t get from a flat screen. In order to compete with the freely accessible electronic versions online, designers pay much attention to the materials of the book cover, the paper, and the typography. Book design needs to give the book an “edge”, a personality – not just black Times New Roman on a white backlit computer screen. 

Therefore I believe, traditional books are not dead, and will not be. Yes, electronic books will become more popular and more prominent because they are cheap, accessible and easy to store. But some people – people like me, people who see a book as an art – will never give up the touch of the paper, the smell of the ink, and the satisfaction when you turn to the last page.