Comparison and contrast essay: E-Books or printed books

With the advent of the internet, reading has become more accessible. Life has changed
as we knew it, and as a result, education has evolved. Both eBooks and printed books
offer the same literary works, however, they have many differences. The purpose of this
essay is to analyze the advantages of digital books in contrast to printed books.
E-Books are becoming more and more popular nowadays, it is easy to understand why.
E-books are more portable than printed books, they are more environmentally friendly
and offer more accessibility.

First, in terms of portability and durability, e-Books are more portable than printed
books. You can have multiple books on any electronic device you have; furthermore,
they can be carried anywhere you like. In contrast, printed books can be very heavy.
Hardbound editions are usually thick, which means it is uncomfortable to hold them for
long periods. According to studies, “the factors that typically go into choosing an e-book
over a printed book are portability (93.3%) and the ability to carry multiple books at once
(73.3%)”. [ CITATION Mik151 \l 12298 ]

Second, Ebooks are more environmentally friendly than printed books. Research made
by [CITATION Gre15 \l 12298 ] shows that each year more than two billion books are printed
in the US, this consumes around 32 million trees. Therefore, the book publishing
industry presents a considerable threat to forests. An average of 153 billion gallons of
water is used by paper mills to produce books annually, in contrast, creating an E-Book
uses seven times less water. Furthermore, by printing paperbacks and hardcovers, we
release 1% of ink emissions for simply one product; this issue is easily solved by
Ebooks since all we need is to design a cover and add it into the electronic book.
Additionally, printed books use the highest number of carbon footprint in the publishing
area. [CITATION NTU14 \l 12298 ]

Third, Ebooks offer more accessibility than printed books. To read printed books, you
need to buy them at a bookstore, order them online, or you need to go to the library and
see if the one you need is available. Buying printed books also means you will need a
bookshelf to store your printed books in. In contrast, eBooks can instantly be bought
and read by any electronic device within minutes. There are millions of eBooks
available, and you can buy any of them at the tap of a button.

The main purpose of this essay was to analyze the similitudes and differences between
E-books and printed books. Based on the research, it can be concluded that even
though both have pros and cons, e-books offer more accessibility, flexibility, and
portability, in both reading for pleasure and for educational purposes. It is your decision
to make the safest choice.

WORKS CITED
Byars, Mikayla Nicole. Printed books versus Digital Books. June 2015. Web.
Greenpoint Content and publishing. Saving the environment: another reason to love
ebooks. August 2015. Web.
NTU Libraries. Are E-Books More Green? November 2014. Web.