Opening a book versus opening a program. Flipping a page versus scrolling up and down. The differences between books and e-books are well-known, but reading paper books can benefit readers more than e-books.
Cody Eves, sophomore industrial and systems engineering major, said he noticed the link between memory and reading print books.
“You can memorize better by doing physical actions during the process. By flipping the page you’re more likely to memorize something than if you were just clicking a button,” Eves said.
Keri Murcray, assistant librarian at Annie Gabriel Library, said readers can gain an understanding of books by writing in the margins.
“I like to take notes, highlight and underline, and I don’t like the way e-books do that,” Murcray said.
When reading an e-book on electronics, such as phones, e-readers and laptops, it is easy to become distracted by the internet or notifications.
In a study conducted by the University of Utah, only 2.5 percent of subjects were able to multitask while reading without losing quality of memorized information.
One does not always need to choose between e-books or regular books.
Dr. Toni Kirk, professor of English at CBU, said the act of reading, regardless of whether it is a physical book or e-book, is important.
“Books have given me the gift of self-education and literature has given me philosophical and spiritual insight. Reading makes me a much better writer and communicator,” Kirk said.
