There’s nothing better than sitting down in a quiet place and picking out a good book after you get home from class.  

Books are a part of all our daily lives and come in many forms from long-form novels to short stories. 

Over the years, there has been debate about whether a physical novel is better than an electronic book. The answer is clear: the physical novel is superior.  

I would like to first point out that you can physically move through an actual book. With e-books you must flip through a screen. Flipping pages in paper and hardback copies is a more immersive experience while you read.  

As someone who has read both physical novels and e-books, I find a better experience with the actual copies that you can get your hands on. I mainly appreciate them due to the ability to own an actual copy. You will always have the title with you no matter what, and no one can take it from you.  

E-books are nice due to the stories being on a phone, computer or tablet so you don’t have ripped pages and frayed covers. You have a book that can never soil. But you will not have full confidence that you own your e-book.

Yes, you paid for the book online, but what stops that device from losing your book? What stops that company from not taking it away from you eventually?

Technology is a useful tool for always keeping lots of information at our fingertips, including books. But it is also faulty. It can lose documents and photos. Technology can also lose books.  

Second, tablets and phones have a limited amount of battery and require a charge after long use.

With physical novels, you can read however long and much you want without having to worry about grabbing the charging cord off the counter and plugging in your device.

You can basically enjoy your book without having to worry about the screen going dark after a few hours of binge reading.  

And speaking of screens going dark, there is the issue of electronic page numbers and screen swiping.

E-books used on apps specifically do have page numbers in a corner. But in apps like google play books, your page numbers are not always accurate. They do not always count down correctly and can make it easier to not realize how far you are in a novel if you really want to know.  

Swiping screens become an issue due to whether a phone or tablet picks up your finger on the touch screen. While it’s not a large concern, it can become annoying when you want to read in the winter with gloves on and cannot make your screen flip the page.  

Physical books don’t require your bare fingers for flipping pages. All that you need to do is manually turn a page, even with gloves on.  

Last, I want to mention how much eye strain an e-book can cause.

We all know the age-old argument that screens can alter eyesight. Even if you turn down the brightness on your screen, you can still cause eye strain due to lower light levels and a hard ability to see the words on the screen.

Physical books don’t cause 24/7 eye strain and can be read in all kinds of lighting areas in a building, giving many options on where to read.

All you need is the perfect place to relax with a physical book.  

Michelle Doty can be reached at 581-2812 or at mrdoty@eiu.edu.