It is no secret that I love books. Books bring us knowledge that we once did not have and there is a certain amount of power in that. For me, books are the tools I need to perform my job and my ministry. Just like a mechanic needs certain wrenches and power tools, the theologian and teacher needs good books. It is with this mindset that I have grown my library to around 2800 volumes. Many of my books are digital and are contained in Logos Bible Software, others are on my Kindle, and then there are still others that live on shelves in my office. If you were to break my library down it would probably be around 2200 digital volumes and 600 print volumes (624 to be exact at time of writing).
There is a growing trend in publishing where more digital copies are now being purchased than print copies. The Amazon Kindle has been the primary factor in this. As of this last April Amazon has said they are selling more digital books than they are print books. There are still many out there, many people I know, who simply refuse to go the route of digital…and I get that. People love the feel of a book in their hands and the fragrance of the paper under their noses—I am no different. There are many pros and cons lists that people have created to look at this subject. Before I share with you my pros and cons of digital books let me share with you my rationale of how I choose to buy a book in print or digital.
I like having most of my reference works in Logos so they are fully searchable. These works include commentaries, systematic theologies, dictionaries, encyclopedias, and larger sets that might take up a lot of shelf space. Aside from these types of books I also have thousands of journal articles in Logos that are fully searchable. Then if non-reference type books I am looking to buy are available in Logos or on the Kindle I’ll get them digitally, but if they are not I will get the print version. I won’t typically wait for a Kindle version or Logos version to arrive if a print version is already out. There is just no saying how long the wait could be. So what about those pros and cons of digital material?
Pros
1. Searchability
2. With the Kindle I can have hundreds of books with me at all times and in total it weighs less than a pound!
3. With Logos the power to preform complex searches is a snap
4. Kindle books tend to cost less than print books
5. Saves some series shelf space and the cost of bookshelves
6. If you move frequently (I’ve moved 15 or more times in the last 15 years) books become arduous to move with you
7. Environmentally friendly in that digital books can save tons of paper
Cons
1. Page recognition. One of the tools some people use to remember what they read is to recall where the material is on the printed page. This is not possible with digital books.
2. You have to have some sort of hardware to read a book with
3. Difficult to share a digital book, however, some books on the Kindle can be shared temporarily with friends, but this function is left up to the publisher if they are willing to allow it.
4. Many times digital books are not available when the print book comes out, this is especially true of books on Logos.
5. Studies have shown that people tend to read slower with digital books (this is not true for me, I actually can read faster on my Kindle)
6. You have battery life to worry about, whether that is on a Kindle or on a comptuer
There are a myriad of factors not even listed or discussed here. Even though the list for the cons appears longer, I am still a strong supporter of the digital book movement. An article I read years ago that has been helpful can be found here.
So what do you think…tell me your thoughts about the ebook revolution and how it is or is not changing your life.
Jim Hamilton over at “
