There's a NY Times article called Online, R U Really Reading?, which centers around a 15-year old called Nadia who shows no interest in books whenever her mother takes her and her younger sister to the library. Instead, she prefers to to chat online, watch music videos on YouTube, and post and read stories on Quizilla and FanFiction.net.
The New Generation prefers reading online, which is either e-books or just doing stuff online.
With the Amazon Kindle, a device that lets you read e-books on it, people started focusing more on ebooks.
However, e-books haven't totally dominated the reading revolution.
If I had to choose between printed books and e-books, I'd go for printed books because they give you the 'feel' of reading: the cover illustration of the book, the type or glossiness of the paper and etc.
But because you cannot order books via Amazon from Sudan, I'm thankful for e-books and I've just created an account on e-books.com.
When reading an e-book, I think a laptop is more handy than a desktop, because you can read wherever you want on a laptop. A good screen is also essential.
On the other hand, reading a printed book doesn't require anything at all (except light if you're reading in the dark).
Regarding the NY Times article, I don't think that doing stuff online can actually replace reading even though whatever you're doing online you are being subjected to some text, because when you're not reading something online, you don't read as if you're reading a book: you skip long words and even whole phrases.
I also prefer reading books because since I spend most of my time in front of the screen, which isn't really good for your eyes, reading gives me some time off the screen. I've also read that by reading on screen too much you could have difficulty reading text on paper, so that why reading books makes a balance for me.
"But others say the Internet has created a new kind of reading, one that schools and society should not discount. The Web inspires a teenager like Nadia, who might otherwise spend most of her leisure time watching television, to read and write".... that's also another point.
E-books can also be a solution for those who live in places where there are no bookstores in their area.
Also, after purchasing e-books online allows you to download the book immediately, but if you order a book the shipping might take some time. E-books are cheaper too.
Both e-books and books have advantages and disadvantages.
I think that after some time, e-books will replace printed books (just like ipods have replaced CDs and mp3s).
If U can't beat 'em, join 'em!
image credit: http://www.intertechpira.com/
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