Paper > Pixels

E-books vs. print books is an all-too-common debate. The publishing world gets divided between the two, especially now that so many new digital imprints are being established and thriving in ways that traditional, printed publishing could never allow. There are benefits to both and it really depends on your personality which one is the best fit for your lifestyle. If you're a constant traveler or can't fathom making space for all the books you read every year, chances are an e-reader is the greatest purchase you've ever made. For others, you probably love the look and feel of physical books.

For me, my reading time is split between digital and print. However, this split is out of necessity rather than preference. It should come as no surprise that I love physical books. All the books I read for myself are in print and I collect various types of books for the shelves in my home. I view a book as more than just a story: the cover and interior design is often just as important to me as the written content.

Still, the digital side of reading has been a necessary part of my life. I've been interning at literary agencies for a year now and I've read countless manuscripts over that period of time. Rather than always sitting at my desk and reading on my computer screen, I add manuscripts to my iPad and read them wherever I damn well please.

The fact that I use an iPad, not a designated e-reader, speaks volumes. Since both my work and my favourite past-time require reading words on pages, the paper/pixel distinction has been really helpful for finding that work-life balance. I don't have an e-reader because I don't buy published books in digital form. Those books (whether they be novels, short story collections, graphic novels, etc.) are what I read for fun and proudly display on my shelves.

tl;dr  For me, paper will always trump pixels.

* This post is part of The Book Chat, a weekly link-up hosted by The Tangerine. Join us every Thursday for a new discussion. Next week's topic: the first book you ever loved.