Recently, BookTrust teamed up with the Open University to find out if kids prefer their stories on e-readers or in a paper-and-ink book. They surveyed over 1500 parents who had kids up to the age of eight to and the result? 76% preferred print books.
“The study found that reasons for preferring print books over e-books included children enjoying turning the book’s pages, owning their own book and choosing books from the library.”
BookTrust chief executive, Diana Gerald said, “BookTrust is an unrivalled fan of printed books, but we must all embrace the digital world as children are growing up using many different platforms for their reading.”
We’re all for reading in whatever way you like best (with a shameful weakness for pretty covers), but what about you MP!ers? We decided to conduct our own Twitter experiment to see if e-readers were more of a force among our own followers.
First, we asked if they even used e-readers:
How often do you use an Kindle/e-reader?
— Maximum Pop! Books (@maximumpopbooks) February 11, 2016
And then, we asked why one was better than the other, and here’s what we got in response:
@maximumpopbooks Neither. They each suit different purposes. My mother prefers ebooks because she can adjust the font! (She's going blind.)
— Nikki (@shanaqui) February 11, 2016
https://twitter.com/karriejean91/status/697815991464681474
@maximumpopbooks Hardcovers! Because they are so comfy and the smelll of the pages!! ♥♥
— Haniya ⛄☕ (@haniyabookling) February 11, 2016
@maximumpopbooks I will Always prefer an actual book, but Ebooks are soooooo much easier to read and hold!
— Leah • Girl vs Books (@girlvsbooks_) February 11, 2016
@maximumpopbooks Both! I like print for pretty shelves and my e-reader for travelling and reading unweildy, chunky books
— Sophie Waters (@sophie_waters) February 11, 2016
@maximumpopbooks print book because I like the feel and smell
— Cityofdemi_gods (@evemichelle21) February 11, 2016
"@maximumpopbooks Print, always print. To hold the words in you hands like a gift from the author, a story written for you.
— G.A.Taylor (@GATaylor3) February 11, 2016
Conclusion? Print books are still our favourites due to hug-ability and their wondrous scent, but e-readers definitely have their uses too.
So it seems as thought the Day of the Kindle has not yet struck, and print books continue to rule the book world (for now), but what do you think? Should e-books be used more, or are print books just all-out champion of literature forever-and-ever? Let us know @maximumpopbooks.