In our modern world there is a growing split in the reading community. Largely between people who stand by collecting and reading physical copies of books, and people who have embraced digital versions of books like PDFs, eBooks, or audiobooks.
An object like a book can be found in our natural world, made up of pieces of paper bound together full of either handwritten or printed out letters.
A book is something we still see so persistently in our daily lives that it might not have crossed your mind that an eBook in actuality is a digitally translated version of a printed book. As with all translations there a few aspects that are lost from the natural object to the digital representation.
Books are textured, you can feel the spine and design covers on a book from the front and back. Any raised or sunken lines will be felt. The smell a new book carries or the musty odor that clings to a more weathered book; you can feel the weight in your hands as you pick up different books.
Each book has a different weight depending on how long it is. The ability to physically turn the pages is also lost when taken into the digital space. Not to mention that over time, books begin to wear out and in many cases that is precisely what book lovers adore. The ability to see the passage of time through a book as it ages and yellows.
Natural books also have the ability to be one of a kind, limited edition printed copies. A book may be written or printed as little as only twenty times or more than 100 times. It is these kinds of special events that draw readers and collectors to purchase books as an irreplaceable experience.
In contrast, ebooks bring the ability to search for specific words or phrases throughout the book. They are more portable than natural books. While it is true that you can theoretically take a book anywhere, the physical weight of a book and fear of damaging it may dissuade many from taking their books out on adventures.
Ebooks can be saved either directly onto your phone or through an app on your phone, laptop, or dedicated ebook reader. This ease of access makes it easier for many to take their “books” on their adventures with them without fear or losing or damaging their “books.”
Not to mention that with ebooks you can have infinite copies of a book. No matter how large the amount of units are printed of a natural book, there is still going to be a finite number printed due to the physical constraint of production costs.