Someone commented that my book was a great book but that it needed an electronic version. I didn’t create an electronic version of the book for many reasons, and I want to share them with you. Most importantly, it would be a disservice to create an electronic bridge textbook, because readers don’t retain material from electronic books as well as they do from print books.

As an educator, my goal is for readers to learn. In case you doubt that hardcover books are better for learning, here are a few articles to consider:

– “Digital Versus Print: Which Mode Is Better for Learning?“
– “Are Hardcopy or Digital Books Better?“
– “The Case for Paper: Books vs. E-Readers“
– “When reading to learn, what works best for students — printed books or digital texts?“

Trying to absorb complicated material is different than reading a novel for pleasure. Perhaps if I were writing fiction, I’d consider having an electronic version. When reading a novel, it’s often fine to gloss over a few paragraphs here and there. As you can see from the articles above, textbooks are much better for recall and comprehension. If memory formation is the goal, then physical books are best. That doesn’t mean that digital books aren’t useful. For example, if I’m searching for specific information in a book, it’s convenient to do it electronically.

Another reason I didn’t offer my book in electronic form is that electronic books are much easier to pirate. Thieves can easily distribute electronic books for free all over the Internet, robbing authors of income. I spent a lot of money paying artists to illustrate the book and design the cover. If book bandits steal my book, I’ll never make enough money to pay the artists I had to hire. One author discusses this in an article entitled “Ebook Piracy Is Easy and Impossible to Stop Now.”

I make my books available to public libraries, where they can be read free legally. Librarians are usually happy to order my book for you if your local library doesn’t own a copy. There are other legal ways to read my book free. Many authors and publishing houses offer free copies of books if you agree to write an honest book review. Contact me if you’re a bridge player and might be interested in being part of my team of beta readers. Also, let me know what you think. Do you prefer a real book to an electronic book? Do you feel a hardcover book is the best format for a textbook? Should I offer an electronic version of my next book? I look forward to reading your comments.

Best,

Joanne