Physical books Essay

The answer to this question is a simple yes. We shall prove in our discussion why we have chosen this answer. With advances in technology the word ‘paper’ no longer implies a material made of cellulose pulp, derived mainly from wood. As we make further advances, we see that the definition of paper has changed. Physical books that were made of paper have morphed into digital copies called e-books that are available over various mediums of communication such as the Internet or even our very mobile phones. We know that everything has a certain shelf life and if continue to use it beyond that period we will cause ourselves harm, this is also true for physical paper books, time has come to move over the paper books and to enter the world of e-books. Two of the most important factors supporting the cause of the e-book are that it saves: 1. Time and 2. Money 1. Time: In this rapid moving world we are all constantly on the move and we require information immediately, with e-books we can find the information we want immediately. Money: We all want to save money; e-books will be available at only a fraction of the price of the paper books since it will be cheap for the publishers to produce and this benefit will in turn be passed on to the consumer. Reasons for decline of paper books and the popularity of e-books are obvious: 1. E-books can be view almost instantaneously: One can browse through the thousands of e-books available on the Internet by just typing the keywords and purchase the e-book we want by using our credit cards and download the e-book immediately, thus we are saving a lot of overhead costs. 2. E-books cheaper for the publisher to publish as various overhead costs are minimized: Various overheads costs such as huge and expensive printing machinery and their maintenance will disappear; also there will not be need of a large work force to manufacture e-books. 3. E-books cheaper for the consumer to purchase than physical paper books: Since the manufacturing costs of the publishers will be minimized, this will be passed down to the consumer. Thus the consumer will enjoy great savings. 4. E-books can reach a much larger audience worldwide: E-books can be launched instantaneously through out the world; there will be no waiting to buy our copy of the e-book. Also many times a physical paper book is not available in all parts of the world, but this will not be a problem with e-books. 5. E-books are environment friendly: Unlike physical books made from paper, which is derived from timber, e-books don’t need the resources of nature to be made. Thus we will be saving thousands of trees every year and thus reducing the greenhouse effect and making the earth a green place to live in. 6. We can have thousands e-books in our digital device: We can literally have thousands of e-books in our digital device such as a laptop or a computer. The number of e-books is only limited by the storage capacity of our computer or laptop. This is impossible with physical paper books. Can you imagine a person moving around with a library of paper books? But we can move around with our library of e-books on our laptop anywhere! Conclusion: We as humans should be ready to accept the change of books from the physical to the virtual. Are we truly ready to leave the paper copies of the great novels and instead view them as e-books? Some have even said that if we do this we’ll be disrespecting the great authors and poets, but as we wait, the world around us rapidly changing. In the end we may have no choice but to accept the e-book as it gains popularity and following every passing day. This it’s only a matter of time before the paper books are replaced by e-books. Thus we have observed and noted from the above examples that the books made of paper are on their way out and the time of the e-book has arrived. (Sam Kleinman 2007) Works Cited 1. ZATZ Publishing (2007) Print books vs. e-books by Sam Kleinman, page 1[last updated 2007] [Online] Available from: 2. ZATZ Publishing (2007) ZATZ Publishing (2007) Print books vs. e-books by Sam Kleinman, page 2 [last updated 2007] [Online] Available from: