I bought an ebook yesterday.  I never really set any challenge rules around electronic media, so I thought I would share my though process around this purchase.

I bought the ebook Jesus Calling by Sarah Young.  I’m well aware that I own enough print books to build a small house if I wanted to, but I really wanted this book.  A friend of mine gave me a couple of devotionals out of it, devotionals that were not only perfect for me those days, but in a short ADHD format.

So I could have bought a used copy of this book in print, so why did I go electronic?

Cost savings. Including shipping, a used copy of this book cost more than the new print one and more than the electronic version.  Although the challenge of no retail shopping had nothing to do with money, it’s been a nice benefit.

Environmental savings. No words printed on dead trees.  So I have some mixed feelings here.  I like printed books.  I like to hold them, feel them, smell the ink and paper, but most important, I like writing in them.  The electronic version takes away these things, or in some way, changes them.  I can highlight, take notes, look up words and phrases, but it’s limiting.  The juxtaposition here is I still have to own a device to view the ebooks and it still takes electricity to run these devices.  Not sure which is better.  A future blog post?  More than likely.

Empty bookshelf. This is where I get weird.  It was driving me crazy to have the ‘digitally empty’ bookshelf.  My hope is to write a book at the end of this challenge, not just a book about the experience, but a take-action book.  I also had the desire to do an extreme shelf makeover, as this oak bookcase is not working for me.  Does this make me a digital hoarder?  I believe they designed this empty bookshelf for people like me that will want to fill it up with books.  I don’t have any empty bookshelves in my house, why would I have a digital one?

All in all, I’m loving the book.  And my kids love the electronic devices a little too much, so I think I’ll get them the kids ebook Jesus Calling for Kids.  After all, they use my electronic devices more than I do… most of the time.  ;)

What are your thoughts on electronic media versus print media? I didn’t buy a physical thing, I bought an electronic file.  It feels a little odd.