Why Do I Have To Choose?

As a kid, I remember that lots of my friends got rewarded for good grades on their report card - most of them with money. A dollar or so for every A, etc. My mom, however, rewarded me with something different - books. When I did well on my report card, my mom and I would make a trip to Barnes and Nobel and I would get to pick out three or four new books. It was one of my favorite things growing up. My dad and I went to the Harry Potter book premieres and waited in line to get our pre-ordered copy of the newest book. My freshman year of college I drove for hours to just find a Barnes and Nobel - for me you just can't beat being surrounded by physical books. And given the choice I'll always choose a paper book over an e-book. In this sense I completely agree with a lot of what the article is saying about how e-books just can't quite measure up to print books.

However...

I've realized that there are exceptions to this and they have to do with the uses of the book. For a lot of my business foundations classes an online version of the book has been included with the print copy  and 9 times out of 10 I don't even open the printed copy. I think this is mostly because I'm not sitting down and actually reading the text book. I'm just using it to look up information in reference to a question - which is much easier in a digital copy than a printed copy.
Another reason is if there is a significant difference in the price. Say the printed copy is $20 and the online version is $0.99, I'll go for the digital version.

But why do I harbor such a love for print books? Is it just because I've grown up on it? What about kids who grow up with e-readers as their main source of books? Should digital just be used when a physical book just doesn't work? This article by Scholastic talks about the benefits of print and digital books for young readers. Their "bottom line is kids have a lot to gain from both reading tools." And that whether it's a digital book, or physical one it's important for parents to discuss whats happening in the story and engage with their child in the book. This article talks about the actual "problem now is that both print and e-books are popular." And that each product has "their relative drawbacks." Their bottom line? "The reality is that there is absolutely no reason print and e-books can't coexist in the market."