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The Difference Between E-books and Physical Books

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E-books vs. Physical Books

 The Great Debate

Physical books have been the standard for many years.  Until the recent development of things such as an iPad or a Kindle, most people would have just carried around the physical version of the book instead.  Now, it seems as if people are beginning to prefer the e-book over the beloved physical book.  But which is better?  By looking at The Monster at the End of This Book by John Stone we may be able to discern the different qualities that attract readers to both of these formats.

The Pros and Cons of an E-book

Now, I am assuming we have all seen someone reading some kind of thing on their phone.  Whether it be fan-fiction or on the Kindle app, people are always reading on their phones.  There are some pros to being able to access books on your phone, and there are also some cons.  With The Monster at the End of This Book, there are definitely some good things going for the online version, but it does also have some bad things as well.  Here is a list of pros and cons for the E-Book version:

The Pros:

  1. It's interactive!  The books runs itself like a game, instead of your typical e-book.  There are elements such as arrows that you can add to turn the pages easier, you can pop off the ropes that Grover uses to tie the pages together, and you can knock down a brick wall.
  2. Grover narrates it himself.  Instead of having to take the time to read the book with a terrible Grover impression (or good, whichever you prefer), you can hand your phone or tablet to the kid, or you can use it yourself.  There is more emotion in Grover's voice that makes this seem like you are watching an episode of Sesame Street.
  3. It is better to read/ listen this version at night.  You won't have to get out a flashlight or a book light in order to see the pages as the screen is already lit.

The Cons:

  1. It will be expensive to replace the device it's on if it gets destroyed.  An iPad and other tablets may cost a pretty penny, as well as your phone, so having to replace this version of the book will cost more than it is worth.
  2. It can get loud.  With Grover does yell while he is narrating, and if you have this at full volume with no headphones or earbuds in, it can be really loud.
  3. It costs a smidgen more than the physical copy.  The physical copy costs roughly $4.20, while the e-book version costs $4.99 in the app store.  While that isn't a hefty sum, it still does cost more than the physical version.

Here's a video of the e-book


Proper credits go to the owner of the book and the YouTube video.

The Pros and Cons of the Physical Book

Personally, this is the version that I prefer when I am reading for enjoyment or reading for classes.  It is so much easier to annotate books when they are in physical form.  Now with The Monster at the End of This Book, I do prefer the app.  It is so much more fun to listen and watch Grover go through the crisis of facing a monster at the end of a book.  With that said though, there are things that I do like about the physical version, and there are things I dislike.  Here is a list of pros and cons:

The Pros

  1. It's slim.  It is not a very long book, nor is it very tall, so it can be easy to take with you on vacation if you have kids you want to read it to.
  2. It's more personal.  I always enjoyed having books read to me as a kid, so being able to read this to my little brother has made it an enjoyable experience.  I'm able to engage with him more while reading this to him than I am if he is looking at the online version of this book.
  3. It's cheap.  The copy that I have cost, like I said above, $4.20(ish) from Walmart.  It's not a children's book that will break the bank, so that is why I put the cost here.

The Cons

  1. It can get destroyed easier than the e-book.  One wrong placement in a bag or on the shelf, could spell the end of this book.  It is also more susceptible to water damage because the pages can get wet.
  2. It's quiet.  If you have a kid or kids who just want to look at the pictures without having the book read to them, this is a great solution!  No one has to read it out loud, and that automatically makes it so much quieter than the e-book.
  3. You could get a paper-cut.  Your finger could slip against the edge of the book pages, and you could get a nasty paper-cut.

Here is a video of the physical book



Proper credits go to the owner of the book and the YouTube video.

You have reached the end of this blog post.  Sadly, there is no monster here.  Sorry!