As an illustrator, I love printed books and magazines. Nothing can match a crisp page with beautiful type inked onto its surface. Book illustrations are best in print without a doubt (though that might change in the future given a screen’s potential for higher dark/light contrast and greater color pallet).

But as a reader, I prefer ebooks to physical print.

Part of my preference may be due to my near-sightedness (the small screen isn’t a problem). However a lot of it has to do with ease of reading. Ever try to read a book while lying on your back? In a darkened bedroom? In the wind?

There are a lot of places where I find myself reading an ebook (in my case on a very basic $99 eBookwise reader) where I couldn’t easily read a print book or magazine.

I have discovered that book and magazine reading is an awkward business. After using the ebook reader for a while, the awkwardness of the printed page becomes painfully apparent: You have to be hold everything just so or the page glares in the light (or is hidden in the shadows), your neck and head have to be torqued just so to accommodate the page. Pages stick together, context can be lost traveling from one page to the next.

Print only seems convenient because we’re used to its torture. After reading ebooks for a time, the inconvenience of printed materials becomes more apparent.

Don’t get me wrong. I’d hate to see print become rare. The beauty of a printed page, the texture of the paper, the smell of paper and ink, the fine details of type and book illustrations… all sorts of subtle things that make printed materials magical will never be matched by any ebook reader.

But today, when I want to read a novel where only the story matters and book illustrations are of little concern, I reach for my eBookwise reader.

=====================
When not reading ebooks, Duncan Long is a freelance illustrator who has worked for HarperCollins, PS Publishing, Pocket Books, Solomon Press, Fort Ross, and many other publishers and self-publishing authors. See his cover illustrations at: DuncanLong.com
=====================