If you’re like me, you know the struggle. After I’ve set sight on a new book for my library and hovering over the “buy” button I struggle to decide if I should get the physical or the digital / eBook variant of a book. Since I don’t want to waste any more time and energy thinking and deciding I came up with a few markers to check and help me decide.

Let’s take a look what I value and dislike in each of the two variants. Of course where one shines is where the other loses so I won’t specifically highlight the exact opposite but rather liste a more comprehensive overview.

eBooks

I’m not going to lie - the first time I held an eBook reader I was convinced I’m never going to touch a physical book again. Turns out I was wrong.

Positive: note taking

This is one of the biggest upsides eBooks. I can only speak of the Kindle version but taking notes is a breeze. Highlighting or making annotations is pretty easy. Also re-discovering or mergin my notes into my Knowledge Management System is super convenient. Since Kindle also has macOS native Apps I can work side by side and copy & paste and even generate digital tasks out of sparks I had while reading.

Which reminds me - I still need to check out how to automatically pull notes through the Kindle API and parse them into my Knowledge Management System.

Positive: no lights needed

I really like to red before going to bed. But sometimes I stay up later than my wife. With an eBook reader I’m in no need to leave the lights on and keep everybody awake just so I can read.

Positive: internet attached

I’m a non native speaker but I still almost exclusivey read english books. From time to time, more so in fiction, there are words I don’t really know or understand. Highlighting and getting an english explanation with examples really helps me build my vocabulary.

Negative: Re-read-ability

I really dislike re-reading specific chapters on my Kindle.
For me, taking out a book from your shelve, flicking through it and stopping if something sticks out is way faster and more enjoyable on physical books. I’ll likely stumble over something interesting in a physical book than in a eBook. Skipping multiple pages on an eBook reader might be okay-ish but the response time of e-ink displays isn’t really on par with using paper.

Negative: Dependency

Once you use services like Kindle or buy which only work with specific hardware you’re in what is called a “vendor lock in”.
I don’t think this is too much of an issue for the majority but should be kept in mind. You probably kind of depend on a company to keep having access to your books. You can not switch devices easily or export bought books.

This is also kind of fine by me because after I finish a book I try to squeeze as much as possible out of it. I convert all my notes and highlights to a seperate file in my note taking app, completely controlled by myself. So if the vendor fails me I can still recover with my own files or even get the physical copy.

Physical books

Physical books started it all and make out the majority of my “collection”. From Harry Potter, His Dark Materials into non-fiction from Richard Dawkins and reading non-fiction almost exclusively for the last 10+ years, physical books were my always part of my life.

Positive: the physicality

Pretty obvious but it’s just something different to experience a book with more senses.
To riffle through the pages while reading a chapter.
To smell fresh ink or old paper.
Making reading a mulit-sensory experience is so much more sastifactory than staring into a soulless device. Picking up an old book seeing the creases and withering I just can’t stop being reminded that physical books are made to endure

Positive: sharing is caring

I really like to talk about stuff I know and consumed. So chances are pretty high conversations with me head into topics I’ve read about. The next logical step for me - if appreciated and wanted - is to get the most fitting book and lend it for them to get the same insight I had.

Negative: mobility

Wether it’s for holidays or on my commute - phsyical books just take up more space. Most of the time I can only take one or two books with me. Which kind of sucks if I’m working on something and gathered a lot of research. Needing multiple physical books for project kind of bind me to a certain physical space. Not something I always want.

How I decide

The conclusion? I’ve came up with different markes - some maybe not really objective - but they work for me. Here they are.

1. Do I - at any time - want to gift or lend this book to anybody?

If yes - there’s a good chance I’ll buy the physical version. Gifting a book is in itself a pretty strong indicator of how good a book is.

2. Do I want to look up something from time to time

This comes directly from the re-read-ability.
Is this a book I want or need to pick up from time to time and look something up? If yes - buying the physical version is an instant yes. Some recent examples include books like “Built to move” or “The daily stoic”.

3. Do I like the cover?

Listen, I’m a visual guy. You shouldn’t judge a book by it’s cover but if the cover’s really good there’s a higher chance I’ll get the physical copy and put it in my book shelve.
It gets especially hard for fiction literature.

4. Do I want to pass on this book to my kids?

A big dream of mine is to build an private library over time. Therefore I need to have a substantial amount of physical books as a foundation. As I kid (or even now) I would’ve loved to have access to books which helped my parents.

Conclusion

Even though I now have some help in deciding I still struggle or make the wrong decision. After finishing a book I sometimes still think to myself “Shoud’ve bought the other version”. But the beauty of it - if I bought a physical book - I can sell it. If I bought the eBook I can also get the physical edition on top. Books - at least for me - are not a luxury but an investement in myself. And yes, that counts for fiction as well as non-fiction literature.