e-Book or Physical Text Book

[BiscuitStripes, BSN, RN]

Do you prefer an e-book or a physical text book when taking courses?

I've completed my prerequisite courses and should be starting nursing school hopefully in the next few months (I was accepted to a program and now the start date got delayed). I have most of my physical text books from my science classes (anatomy, physiology, micro, chemistry, life span development, etc.) on a bookshelf. I like having the collection and I feel it would be easier in the future to refer back to material in a physical textbook than pulling up an e-book.

Then again, e-books are much cheaper, and I can "carry" numerous books in my iPad. As I begin nursing school, I'm not sure if I'll have the option between e-books or physical books, but I was wondering what you all prefer? I think I learn the same with either of them, because when I read an e-book, I download it to my iPad and use my stylus to highlight, but I'm not sure if I should keep spending the money on physical text books to add to my collection and have for future reference, or if I should just save money and stick with e-books.

[Ruby Vee, BSN]

After my first year of nursing, I rarely referred back to my physical text books. There was always newer and more current literature to consult. The last I saw of my textbooks was when my (ex) husband locked the puppy in the storeroom with my books . . . and when I came home and let him out, there was a flurry of little white paper scraps. On your iPad, you can keep them forever. Or dump them to make room and then re-download them again later if you decide you need them. You can carry them with you wherever you go with no extra weight. Of course, you cannot pay an unexpected lab fee by selling your e-books the way you can with last semester's texts.

[Quota, BSN, RN]

I'm just old and set in my ways and prefer having a physical book to read for school vs an ebook. I will be honest and admit I haven't given ebooks a real chance for school either. I'm fine with recreational reading on my kindle.

I'm also renting all my books this semester so it isn't about keeping them for later reference for me. Just like having a physical book.

[Bbkitty09, BSN, RN]

Used physical book. Can be cheaper than ebooks and renting.

[thoughtful21, BSN, RN]

I usually prefer paper books, but for nursing school I used e-books almost exclusively.

I started off my first semester buying both the paper copies and the e-books. In retrospect, I should've saved the money and skipped the paper copies, because I hardly ever used them. The e-books were much handier and more accessible. It's so nice to highlight in them, write notes without running out of space, and be able to access them from anywhere, anytime! Some of them come with an audio reader too, and some have special features like practice questions and audio vocabulary.

There were a few times when paper copies were useful. In class, when a teacher referenced a book, it was sometimes nice to have the physical book to look at. Some books have more charts and pictures, and those are sometimes easier to look at on paper. (But you can also print them out from your ebook if you want.) It's nice to have a paper copy for those times that you don't have internet access (such as some clinicals, or during a long car ride.)

I was able to sell a few of my physical books to incoming students. If you would like to buy paper copies for your first semester, to see what works better for you, maybe you can sell them if you decide that you don't need them. You could also check with the nursing students in the class ahead of you to see what they recommend. They might have great advice about which books are better on paper, (if any, or none).

Good luck with your first semester!