You know what I think is severely underappreciated in the online book community? Ebooks. When I watch booktube videos, everyone alway stands/sits in front of their huge gorgeous bookcases filled with beautiful hardback books, and when I scroll through my bookstagram feed, I hardly ever come across pictures showing a phone or e-reader displaying book covers. And from personal experience (bookstagram-wise), I think I know why: every photo of an ebook - i.e. my phone displaying the book cover - I have ever posted has gained a lot less likes and comments than my other pictures. To me, this is understandable to some extent, since physical books are usually a lot nicer to look at than my cracked phone screen, and they're honestly also a much bigger pleasure to photograph. But I feel like this practice probably excludes a lot of people from bookstagram in particular, who may not be able to afford buying physical copies of books or just prefer reading ebooks, and therefore don't have stacks of physical books to photograph. So today, I want to talk about why I think ebooks are great and we should all appreciate them more.
First and foremost: no one can see the cover of the book your reading. As someone who reads a lot in public and also occasionally reads New Adult books, this is a huge relief. Some publishers, and in the NA genre in particular, just insist on giving books absolutely hideous covers, i.e. half-naked men or whatnot, that are far too embarrassing to show to a room full of people I do not know. I think I've made my hate for book covers featuring men's naked torsos clear in many previous posts, and yet no one listens to me. Well, that's what ebooks are for. I can relax and read my book in peace without everyone around me judging me because of the book cover. I know we all say don't judge a book by it's cover, but if we're honest, everyone does it, especially to books other people are reading on the train.
Secondly, they do not take up as much space. Needing additional rooms in your home just because your book collection has gotten out of hand is - if we're being honest, and I love big book cases as much as the next person, trust me - technically a little unnecessary if you could also just store all those words and stories on your phone or e-reader. I know this is a sensitive topic, and I'm not going to deny that I also dream of one day owning my own personal library, but it's so much money that could, if we bookworms were willing to compromise, be spent on different things. Speaking of money, of course the ebooks themselves are usually quite a bit cheaper than the physical copies, so add that to the rent you could save by only reading ebooks.
Also, ebooks are a lot more practical than physical copies. I'm not saying I mind carrying around the additional weight every day, but I'm also not saying that I mind not carrying it around whenever I'm reading an ebook on my phone. And reading on my phone is really my favorite thing ever. I am constantly holding my phone in my hand anyway, so I can literally read all the time when I'm reading an ebook, which means I get through those books a lot faster as well. It's just not the same when I'm carrying around a physical book, because even though I try to use every moment I get to read, it's not worth taking out the book for a two minute wait at the bus stop, whereas on my phone it totally works. And for me, reading in bed works so much better with ebooks on my phone. I can comfortably lay on my side without getting cramps in my arms, which is such a relief.
Lastly, ebooks are always available. If I want to get a new book but don't have the patience to wait two weeks for it to be delivered? And my local bookstore doesn't have it, which it usually doesn't? I can just get the ebook and download it to my phone in a matter of seconds. This also works great when I'm on the train and just finished the book I was reading and can't make it through the rest of my commute without reading, or when I forgot my book at home in the first place.
Altogether, I have to say ebooks come with so many advantages, and yet I'm still one of those people who buy a lot more physical books than ebooks. I really only use ebooks for New Adult books or other embarrassing covers, or when I am somewhere without any reading material and an urgent need to read. I guess the pleasure of holding a book in my hand and flipping through the pages is worth more than I thought after all.
What are your thoughts on ebooks? Do you like them or are do you own one of those gorgeous book cases full of lovingly arranged physical books?
Last but not least, I want to leave you with a helpful link to Joséphine (@wordrevel)'s post with 5 tips on how to photograph your e-reader, since I feel like ebooks deserve more love especially on bookstagram!
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