I have been a fan of paper books(I will refer to them as books here) all throughout. I think books have an upper hand over e-books, not a hands down victory though.
There is no need to rant about the pluses of books per se. I think it is very much apparent to most of us. But ebooks is something of a different category. I think the first major trouble is you got to read them from the computer, and that means you stare at the monitor for it. Try reading for 2 hours and you would know what it means. Just this fact alone seems to be stress out so many people that they stay away from e-books, for good. But that is more to do with the pathetic monitors than ebooks itself. But still, as of now, it scores against ebooks. Life is definitely not fair.
Besides, if you are reading on the internet, you never know when a particular book is going to be there or not. A ebook you see today may not be there tomorrow. This has happened to me many times, especially with the site oshoworld.com, which initially had hundreds of Osho’s talk as ebooks. I cannot fathom what prompted them to take it off(not taken off, but takes infinite time to download).
One definite advantage is storage space for ebooks. They dont get dusty. But they lack the overall look and feel of a real book. Online libraries can have a great collection of ebooks and that can really help people separated in space from them. If you have an ebook, u might as well mail a copy of it to your friend. You lose nothing. If you lend out your book to a friend, you are indirectly saying it goodbye.
Also, it would be definitely cheaper to get ebooks than the more physical version. Also, they dont get eaten by moths. I am sure many a booklover has a part of his precious books to these insects who apparently believe that eating a book would make them wiser.
Elders who are not very much friendly with computers may not be really able to benefit out of them, though I doubt if there are too many such elders! Another disconcerting fact about ebooks is it reminds me of work! Only technical specifications of software come in that format! Also, as a friend pointed out in a review, you cannot take your computer to bed! So no relaxing at night, lying on your back with your favourite ebook.
And yes, there is this issue of trees. I am sure many environmentalist would read this with a smile. How many trees are being cut to produce books that may not be even read once. As technology progresses, and as humans get out of their own self imposed conditioning, ebooks are sure to gain popularity. How popular, I am not sure.
The question of tacticity of books is not just an emotional need. Many people find it a need to hold it in their hands to read, flipping pages away merrily. Especially us Indians, who believe more in touch and feel.
I would definitely call the world progressed when our newspapers stop their regular version for e-papers. That would save a lot of tropical forests in Malaysia, Nepal et al and protect the earth.
Though there is a definite need in the world for more ebooks, I doubt if it would ever come close to replacing the’proper’ books from the minds of people. But a day may come, when our great-grand children might wake us from sleep to ask - hey grandpa, what is this thing called book?