I LOVE print books as much as the next #bookstagrammer, but I’m also obsessed with my Kindle. So what makes both of these formats so great, and what’s better about one versus the other? This is a prompt I gleaned from “101 Blog Post Ideas” by Jo Linsdell – the pros and cons of ebooks and print books.

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Ebooks

Pros

• You can carry them anywhere!
• You can pack multiple books for a trip without taking up any space in our suitcase.
• No one can tell what you’re reading. Enjoy those “guilty pleasure” books with no insecurities.
• They almost always cost less than print books.
• One copy lasts forever.

Cons

• You need internet access to download new books.
• They’re difficult to photograph if you’re a bookstagrammer or book blogger.
• If your friend uses a different ereader than you, you can’t share them as easily – and some books are never available to share.
• They require a little tech-savviness.
• Formatting can make them difficult to read.

Print books

Pros

• They’re fun to collect.
• It just feels RIGHT to read from a print book.
• They’re easy to photograph for bookstagrammers and book bloggers.
• They’re fun to display in your home.
• You can share them easily with friends.
• You can collect multiple editions of the same book.

Cons

• They take up a lot of space, both in your home and when packing for a beach getaway.
• They often cost more than ebooks.
• They can get damaged easily. A copy might last forever or until you spill your coffee on it.

What’s your preferred format to read from?