It’s the start of the new school year, and that means it’s time to dive into another year of books, but maybe it’s time for a change. It’s no secret that a new medium is on the rise in the world of literature. It’s known as the ebook. With the advent of new utilities such as the iPad, Kindle, and numerous other touch-based electronics, ebooks have risen through the ranks to be a valid competitor with print media. But is this new method of reading books actually worth your time and money?

Several Scituate High students were asked about their overall opinions on ebooks as opposed to the everyday hardcover. The answer was a general appreciation for ebooks, even though students may have preferred an actual book to its digital counterpart. Junior Paul Gunn tells the Scituation “I generally prefer normal books, but I think ebooks are a convenient option.” Even still, students at Scituate high prefer paper books.

Could this preference be due to a general lack of experience with ebooks, as they are a recent invention? Maybe, its possible that later down the road, ebooks may be the chosen format, as they are usually the more convenient option when buying a book.

This brings up the next point, ebooks are an extremely expedient medium when you are buying a book. It’s one thing to have to go to a bookstore to buy a physical copy, or even order online and wait days for your copy to come, but ebooks have an entirely separate process altogether. You can just go on a computer or tablet, load up an online market, and be reading your book in seconds. The convenience of the ebook is certainly one of its strongest selling points, and is the sole reason I decided to use only ebooks for my assigned summer reading.

After spending the entire summer with nothing but ebooks, I can definitely attest to the opinion that a regular book is easier to pick up and get into, and of course you don’t need to worry about a book running out of batteries. Ebooks still have many benefits on their side though, most e-readers have built in bookmark functions, and you can even search for specific words or phrases when doing research. Although classic print books are the preference among most today, ebooks just might be the wave of the future they were originally intended to be.