Books, E-book Readers and Tablets

For a bookworm, the ultimate retreat is to grab a book, lie back on a cozy chair and indulge in the pleasure of reading. The concept of reading a book has long been mingled with the feel of holding a book in your hands, turning its pages with the ever-familiar relaxing sound. With the advent of technology, booklovers have alternatives to pursue their reading habit that was almost unconceivable just a mere 20 years back. 
Some questions pop up these days: Have paper books lost their popularity? Why the growing inclination for reading e-books? Why are so many people reading on tablets or e-book readers instead of reading actual, real books? Well, it all depends on some vital factors that a modern-day reader has to put up with: Portability, availability, utility and storage. All these factors combined, shape the preferred reading medium of individual readers. Here's a comparative analysis to decide for yourself.

Books:
It's the REAL book. You can actually touch, smell and feel each and every page of the book that you are holding. That's the biggest comfort of reading paper books.
Pros: For compulsive readers, a real book is still the option. 
Cons: With modern apartments becoming smaller and interiors getting more and more minimalistic, storage of books is a concern. Sometimes we run out of places to keep the books. Moving around with books may be cumbersome to a few. Sometimes it takes a long time to get hold of a copy of the latest title from your favourite writer, and at times, you can't at all. 

E-book readers: 
Working Mechanism:
E-book readers like Kindle Paperwhite, Nook Glowlight, Kobo Aura and others use E-ink Technology. The device screen reflects the light from the outside on to the reader's eyes, it doesn't have the backlight tablets do, so  itreduces the strain on the eyes. While reading in the dark, the screen illuminates itself – but that's not like backlight in tabs, rather it directs the light towards the screen, not to the eyes of the reader.
Pros: E-book readers can give the closest experience of reading an actual book. Useful for readers who like to read long novels or books without that many pictures in it and for those who read more than one hour a day. Battery longevity puts E-book readers like Kindle/Kobo way ahead in the race compared to tabs. Charging once can give you weeks of uninterrupted reading liberty. 
Cons: E-book readers don't support colors. So for comic book and graphic novel readers, an e-book reader is a no-no.

Tablets:
Working Mechanism:
Contrary to e-book readers, tablets use backlight technology. 
Pros: The screen is illuminated uniformly, and due to the high resolution display, tabs are a fabulous reading alternative for graphic novels and comics. Tablets support virtually every format out there. Customisable apps to enhance the reading experience in a myriad of ways.
Cons: The backlight enters the eye directly (unlike the reflected light in case of E-book readers). Reading more than 45 minutes at a stretch can cause blurriness and strain on the eyes. Battery longevity is a real low-point too. Reading even with optimisation and everything takes a heavy toll on your device.
Both E-book readers and tablets provide you with more than abundant storage – let you carry thousands of books inside a device that fits in your pocket. But hey, don't start thinking that paperbooks are getting obsolete. After all, nothing can beat the comfort of reading an "actual" book over a mug of hot coffee, right?