Can e-books replace paperbacks?

[psychopathycathy]

Not for me, to be honest!
I have trouble getting my hands on hard copies, so I resort to using epubs, but there's still nothing like the feeling of holding an actual book in your hands and flipping the pages.

However, I find that e-books are extremely convenient, especially when I'm on the go. Also, since I write a lot of book reviews, it's a lot easier to flip to scenes and bookmark/highlight places in the e-book.

So no, e-books cannot replace paperbacks, but there's nothing wrong with using both!

[L_Nance]

I've often thought that Kindles/e-books were an abomination..until I got one! Wowza! I love my paperbacks still but the convenience is amazing!

[Travelbuglove]

I love collecting books and dream of having a big library in my dream home one day. Then moving day comes and I curse at myself for all the books I impulsively buy. As much as I hate to say it, the digital collections are not as impressive but they surely don't take as long to dust.

[SerendipityThree]

In practicality, I imagine e-books replace a great amount of books. Furthermore, if you don't care much for a book, you do not have the physical clutter to deal with after.
I do like to have a hard copy of my absolute favorite books though, that I can go back to time and again.

[PrettyGeekChic]

So no, e-books cannot replace paperbacks, but there's nothing wrong with using both!

I completely agree with you! I have reading apps on 4 different devices and I loooove storing my books 'in the cloud', but nothing is more thrilling to me than walking into a new library or curling up in a bookstore. My tablet may give me access to much of my favorite literature, but I don't stroke it (like a weirdo ) when I discover something!

[Karen Hope]

I would have to say that for me, it's already a done deal. Actual hard cover books are more of a novelty now than a necessity. With the exception of young children learning to read I see no advantage to hard cover, paperback books except for a persons personal preference. The impact on the environment alone with paper books is catastrophic and all measures should be taken to conserve our planets resources when possible. E-book can contain far more information in a fraction of the space. For me it's a no brainer. I understand, though, that some people, especially of the older generation have a visceral relationship with actually holding a physical book, and that it provides part of the enjoyment of the reading experience for them.

[Abdessalem KCHIRED]

No at all, the paper editions hav a magic that is not in the e-books

[rosec]

For textbooks or hardbacks with a large page count, ebooks are cheaper and more convenient to carry around.
At college, teaching referred to ebook versions not paper.
Its a matter of personal choice formost readers but with businesses&schools its buying cost and storage space that it the major draw of ebooks.

[easy_dc13]

I think it's going to be a really long time before e-books will be able to replace paperbacks. Just like payphones still having a spot (albeit, almost obsolete) in the midst of all of these fancy smartphones and devices, paperbacks will be hard to beat out. Right now, e-books are made for convenience but people still love turning pages one by one so I can't see it happening until the next century unless there is a drastic shift of some kind.

[Jasmine M Wardiya]

Some schools are shifting towards providing ipads with books preloaded onto them. My old high school is one of them, but I graduated before they started that and don't know how it's working out. On the whole though, as long as people buy paperbacks, there's a market and lots of homes for them. And there's still all the paperbacks already printed, even if the world shifts towards no new ones being printed. So as long as there are people out there who still love paperbacks, I think they'll still be around. Some books I've got copies on both: convenience vs. pleasure at work there. Do not want to carry seven kilo textbooks to uni and back every day after all.

[Jennyluvsbooks33]

Though I love the convenience of a ebook they will never replace my love of traditional books. I love everything about a book. The way it looks and feels and smells. I get satisfaction out of touching and turning the pages of a book. In addition, a ebook just doesn't give me that same cozy feeling when I curl up to read it as a traditional old fashioned book does.

[Jody_Vote]

I do use my kindle a lot, but also buy my favorite books so I have them as you never know when your electronic devices may crash

[tempebrown]

I hope eBooks never replace traditional books. I cannot imagine not having shelves and shelves of books in my home, especially those who have been signed by the authors. Nope...can't see it.

[Diving doc]

I think the vast majority of books can be, but there are certain types of books where paper will always win-

Children's books- you can't cut out sections of pages, or have textures the way you can with paper(or thick card for younger children) and pictures just aren't the same.

Reference books/textbooks- flicking to different sections of an e-book will never be quite as easy as in the paper version.

For most novels though, I think paper books now have a pretty short lifespan left, and despite being a paper enthusiast, after getting my kindle, I now find myself tapping the page to turn on the odd occasion I actually read a paper book now. ?

[Vulgate]

Potentially, but anything with important information that needs to be referenced quickly should be stored in paper form. Anything with historical significance should also be in paper form, and mass produced if possible.