I’m sure I don’t need to tell you that ebooks are huge these days. Selling electronic books is easier than selling print books.

The reasons people buy more ebooks than print are fairly obvious. First off, ebooks are more affordable. Some books in print are ten dollars or more than what you can buy in ebook format. Secondly, consumers receive their ordered books instantly. They don’t have to wait a week for their order to be delivered, nor do they have to leave the house to go to the book store. Another reason is that book lovers no longer have to have their book collection take over the space in their home. They can keep all of their books in one small electronic device. No one can argue with the convenience of buying ebooks.

But I know a lot of readers out there who prefer traditional print books anyway. They like being able to hold the book, feel the texture of its pages, and even smell it.

I can understand that. Back in the day, I used to spend a lot of my free time hanging out at my local Barnes and Noble. I loved the smell of new books combined with the coffee and baked goods in their cafe. To this day, those combined scents make me feel soothed and completely at home. Of course, I don’t smell that when I’m reading a book at home, but there truly is a difference when reading a print book. One convenience with a printed book is that I can skim through it easier if I need to. This is especially the case when I’m talking with other book lovers and am trying to use a specific example from a book. It take a lot longer to search through an ebook than it is to flip through the pages of a printed book to find what I”m talking about.

Some readers will buy the digital version of a book first, and then buy the printed version if they really love the book. This makes sense to me because if you really love it, you’d want the printed version to add to your library.

So while the practical side of me loves to have my Kindle and download inexpensive ebooks, there is another part of me that is very proud of the small library I’ve created in my home. (It may seem small to you avid readers out there, but I have four large book shelves filled double-deep in my little townhome. I think my husband is incredibly grateful for the Kindle, or he’d have to put up with our house looking like a book dump!)

What is your preference? Do you like being a traditionalist and only getting printed books? Are you in love with the convenience of modern technology and download new ebooks every day? Or are you more like me, able to love and appreciate both versions of books? I’d love to hear your thoughts!