Books vs eBooks - a Question of Aesthetics

I want an electronic reader! I find myself stuck between the old and the new. On the one hand, I’m kind of old school and like the feel of a physical book in my hands. On the other hand, as a child of the Millennial Generation, I can’t help but want an eReader.

But first, what is an eReader? It’s an electronic version of a previously published or printed book. Depending on the brand, the specifications can vary in colour, size, features, battery life, storage, and price. There are many versions on the market such as the Amazon Kindle, the Whitcoulls Kobo, the Sony e-Reader, the Apple iPad (with more functions than just eReading), and many other brands and updated versions becoming rapidly available.

Even though I don’t (yet) own this magnificent piece of new technology, I do think the product has lived up to its expectations in terms of the benefits that it offers. Its compact size allows it to be portable for day to day commuting or whilst holidaying overseas; some eReader’s can even store up to 3500 books.

I recognize that my desire for this new technology is heavily fuelled by constant marketing and also because of the “upgrade-me culture” embedded in the society we live in today. By “upgrade-me culture,” I am referring to the obsession people have with upgrading to the latest technological gadgetry as discussed by Simon Armitage in his BBC documentary. To be frank, I plead guilty to this obsession. But in all honesty, how different is reading a physical book compared to reading a book on an electronic reader? (Apart from the fact that you would look kind of cool on the train to work.) And does one really need 3500 books? Is it even possible for someone to read that many books in a lifetime? Maybe. Although, at the core of the “upgrade-me” culture is not about needing as much as it is about wanting.

What is problematic for me, and potentially others, is the underlying feeling that as handy as the eReader is, it just does not feel the same as holding a physical book in your hands. It is as though the tactile engagement between the product and the person is lost with an electronic device. Or is it? Marshall and Eric McLulan wrote of electric sensibility that can have a certain “feel.” So, it is arguable that touch screens have a certain aesthetic that have not only taken over the computing world but also in how we can read our books today.

For many generations, people have naively assumed that the hardback novel would forever be held in high regard, but then came the trade paperback size novel and then in regular paperback size. Now increasingly in popularity, we are reading our books, magazines, and newspapers on an easy to use digital device. With just a quick touch of a finger, the page turns itself or scrolls down - demonstrating to us that this new aesthetic feeling is both exciting and attainable.