Books v/s eBooks

The argument begins again, with the launch of Barnes and Noble's Nook, a handheld book reader, as direct competition to Amazon's Kindle, the most popular book reader so far. We take a look at the evolution of reading through the ages.

Story-telling is supposed to have evolved as a way to ward off boredom. Legend has it that people use to sit in groups, maybe around a fire, and one designated storyteller would keep them enchanted for hours with his ability to tell a good story.

This led to man recording the written word on surfaces that were available back then, centuries ago - on sheepskin, animal skin, papyrus and rocks. As the world stepped into the second millennium, writers popularized the habit of writing with quills on vellum.

This paved the way for printing; the invention of the first printing press is credited to Johann Gutenberg in the 15th century. This expanded access to information, as copying a handbook would take years before this.

Now that hundreds and thousands of books could be printed, libraries sprung up. Readership also grew because it was no longer tough to find a book one wanted to read. But brick and mortar stores could only cater locally, a concern that was soon addressed by the ever dependable Internet.

With the advent of online shopping, bibliophiles were now able to buy books from anywhere in the world, provided they had the means to do so. But this wasn't enough - the e-book revolution kicked in. Books were now available for legal downloads, in e-copies.

Now to address the one question that was looming large in every book lover's mind - how can one have thousands of books that don't take up that much space? Amazon came to the rescue with its handheld reader, the Kindle 2, the latest version of which will be available in India soon, for a price of Rs. 12,500.

While the Kindle may not be the first e-reader, the fact that it is backed by Amazon, the most powerful bookseller in the world, opens a whole new gateway to users to the device. Some key features of Kindle 2 include a slim body, lightning download speed, international coverage and paper-like display.

Not to be outdone, Barnes and Noble, another huge name in the business of books, came out with its own portable e-book reader, the Nook. Nook with Wi-Fi connectivity lets one browse and download books at broadband speeds. The Nook additionally lets you plug in an SD Card with e-books in it.

This brings us back to square one - which do you prefer? Books or E-Books? Here are what some people we asked this question to had to say:

''Well, I think, though e-books will make life much easier but its vulnerability will still make it very much inaccessible. However, it will make reading more interesting with a picturesque touch,'' says Bikash, who is working with a leading media house.

But not all feel the same. Sushma, a housewife, says, ''The kick that I get by reading a book cannot be replaced by reading literature on an e-book. I need to feel the book in my hands to get a complete reading experience.''