E-books vs. Physical Books: Why the Format Shouldn't Matter

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I was reading this article which talked about the time old topic of e-books vs. physical books. By now, this argument has been exhausted. Readers are divided into those who love e-books and those who think they are the worst invention of all time (okay, that may be a bit of an exaggeration, but you get the idea). Of course, there are those who fall in the middle but they don't tend to be in the forefront of the argument. Me personally, I love physical books because they're easier for me to read–my eyes tend to get tired after reading from a screen for a little bit–and I also find that I can remember what I've read better when reading from a book than from a screen. But in my opinion, the argument in regards to the future of writing and reading is irrelevant. The people that say that e-books are ruining the future of reading are silly. E-books are just another form of reading. I think that the old fashioned printed book will never completely disappear, but even if they were to, that would not stop readers from reading. Even those who hate e-books with a burning passion and swear they will never ever buy a Kindle or Nook would be forced to if all the physical books in the world were suddenly destroyed. Why? Because readers can live without physical books, but they can't live without reading.

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The thing is, readers will always read. There are many reasons why people are drawn to fiction: as an escape from the drudgery of regular life, for recreation, to allow their minds to become one with a fantastical and make-believe world. The types of people who enjoy reading will always find ways to read. Sure, there are many people who don't read outside of school or work (I honestly can't figure out how they keep themselves from getting bored), but I think that the number of people like that aren't getting any larger or smaller. It has nothing to do with TV, movies, video games, the Internet or what have you. It has to do with the personality. And that goes for readers as well. That's why books will survive, in one form or another. And it shouldn't matter whether you read on a screen or from a page. What matters is that the stories will still be there.

Now, this also raises the interesting topic of where the future of fiction and literature is going content-wise; whether we'll end up with more unique, thought-provoking stories or books akin to Twilight and 50 Shades of Grey. That is a whole other topic, something that may be very controversial, and I'll leave that to another post. I just wanted to try to convince the people ranting about the doom of the book to set aside their blind love for the physical book and consider the e-book. Once again, I'm personally not a fan and if I can avoid reading an e-book, I certainly will. But, I don't think they are bad or good. They're just different. And the format of the book does not change the contents of the book. The story is still there, it may just look different. And the story is what truly matters.