I often see people downing the Kindle, talking about how much better traditional books are, and how Kindles just don’t have the magic of regular books. I’ve even seen people cheer when Kindle book sales are down while traditional book sales are up. And while I like to relax in a chair with a traditional book as much as the next person, I’m in love with my Kindle as well and so I have come to write in its defense.

Kindles Have as Much Magic as the Stories On Them

As to the first point people make, about how Kindles just don’t have the same magic as a traditional book, that’s just fear of change talking. While it’s true that a physical book store is one of the most magical places on Earth, when it comes to single books themselves, a Kindle can be pretty magical too. The story is what transports a person to another world, not the form it comes in. It doesn’t matter whether it’s an audio presentation, a standard book, or a novel downloaded onto an e-reader, it’s the words that give you the ticket to transcend the boundaries of the real realm and take a journey to another place you could never get to in real life. If your magic traveling ticket depends on the package those words come in, then the story teller wasn’t doing a very good job; don’t blame the Kindle.

Kindles Are Better For the Environment

For another thing, and this is a big thing for me, Kindles are better for the environment than traditional books. Since very few traditional books are printed on recycled paper, or made with eco-friendly inks, they do more damage to the environment. And they do that damage over and over again with every book they print.

A Kindle ebook on the other hand, doesn’t waste trees or water, or pollute with unhealthy inks, since it’s a digital file and doesn’t require actual physical production (though I suppose a small number of electrons are greatly inconvenienced 😉 ). And while a single Kindle reader is less eco-friendly to produce than a single traditional book, in the long run, it’s far more eco-friendly, because one Kindle can be used to read so many ebooks. The production of one Kindle can save on the physical production of many books. So as long as you’re not getting a new Kindle every year, you’ll be well on your well to making a difference for the environment.

Kindles Help Indie Authors Get Their Foot in the Door

Another thing I like about Kindle ebooks, is that they give indie authors a fighting chance. Authors who might be rejected a million times by traditional publishers (a common reason these days is because they don’t have a big enough social media following) can publish their books as ebooks and put them out there. In the past self-publishing cost a lot of money because you had to put up money up front to have a large run printed, and then hope you could sell all those books. With ebooks, if the author’s book isn’t a success, they’re not out thousands of dollars in upfront costs.

Also because Kindle ebooks aren’t physical objects, they can be priced for more affordable prices. Many indie authors sell their ebooks for $5 or less to get them noticed, because honestly, who’s not going to take a chance on a book under $5? Even if the author is an unknown, if the book sounds good, it’s a small investment, rather taking a chance on some unknown author with a $20 print copy. Some of my favorite novels are from indie authors I’d never previously heard of, who were selling their books for under $5 and I was willing to take a chance on them because they sounded good and were affordable. (For example, if you haven’t read indie author A.G. Riddle’s Atlantis Gene series, you’re totally missing out on some awesome sci-fi!)

So with all that said, if you’re just a die-hard physical book fan, there’s another eco-friendly option that, sadly, not enough people take advantage of. Your local library! Library books are eco-friendly because one copy can be read by many people rather than having to print a new copy for each person. If you find a book you absolutely love, you can always purchase the Kindle version later as well, to keep for your very own. (And if you really need that traditional book feel, try this tutorial for making your e-reader seem more like a real book)

And as a final added bonus, Kindles are a hell of a space saver. So if you’re someone like me who loves books, but is limited on space for book shelves, Kindles make book storage a super easy task.

So the next time you hear someone spouting on about how much better and more magical “real” books are, tell them some of them benefits of Kindle books. After all, Kindle books are better for the planet, and what could be more magical than that?

Written By Amber Reifsteck, The Woodland Elf

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